It was a top-class display of second-tier rugby league on a great day at Henson Park last Saturday.
Match Report:
Last Saturday afternoon at Henson Park was a wonderful advertisement for the vibrant NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup competition. It was a perfect sunny winter’s day; a good crowd was in attendance; the refurbished Henson Park crowd amenities looked resplendent; the playing surface was excellent; and most of all, the Newtown Jets and St George-Illawarra Dragons turned on a thrilling, high standard contest.
Newtown won the match 34-22 but trailed 10-0 early in the first half, 16-6 after 25 minutes, and 22-18 ten minutes into the second half. The Dragons began the match at top speed, no doubt emboldened by their club’s victory in the NRL competition on the previous weekend. They had scored two tries in the opening ten minutes and dominated possession and territory in that time.
Giant Newtown middle forward Tuku Hau Tapuha is right in the middle of a trio of Dragons defenders.
The Newtown fightback began when their lethal backline spine comprising the team captain and fullback Liam Ison, five-eighth Taj Ford and halfback Riley Pollard combined superbly for Pollard to dive over underneath the Hill end goal posts. The Jets scored two tries late in the first half through wingers Morgan Harper and Kristian Dixon. Pollard converted all three tries (including one from right on the sideline) and Newtown took an 18-16 lead into the half-time break.
The Dragons regained the lead ten minutes into the second half with a determined “crash play” try.
Classy winger Morgan Harper, in his first game with the Jets after recovering from an injury, looks to break clear on Saturday.
The game was into the final quarter when Newtown regained the lead by way of Liam Ison’s soaring contest of a high kick, with the ball going quickly through a couple of pairs of hands to send the in-form second-rower Jaxon Lavender over to score. The reliable Pollard once again converted and Newtown now led by 24-22 with just under 15 minutes left to play.
The result of this game was still “up for grabs” and the Dragons were still very much in the contest. Quick hands through Newtown’s left-side attack sent Morgan Harper in for his second try, much to the raucous delight of a large concentration of Jets supporters at that south-eastern corner of the ground. This try wasn’t converted and although Newtown now led by 28-22, the Dragons could still salvage a drawn result.
Jets fullback and captain Liam Ison contests this high kick against a Dragons opponent, with the outcome proving to be very beneficial for Newtown.
The big crowd was roaring as the Dragons tried to break free from within their own 20 metres zone. A desperate pass was seized upon by Riley Pollard who guaranteed the Jets victory with a try (and another conversion) in the last minute of the game.
This was a high standard match that kept the Henson Park crowd thoroughly entertained. Ison, Ford and Pollard all had huge games and showed they are going to be top players of the future. Hard-running winger Kristian Dixon made a lot of metres and scored a sensational try right on halftime. He was awarded the Built Smart Solutions Player of the Match in the post-match dressing rooms ceremony. Dixon had run 164 metres in the game and second-rower Jaxon Lavender made 36 tackles.
All of the Newtown forwards deserve commendation for taking on and taming a very big and fiercely-determined St George-Illawarra pack.
The Jets travel across the Tasman to take on last year’s premiers, the New Zealand Warriors, at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Saturday, 13th June at 2.45pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time). This match is a curtain-raiser to the New Zealand Warriors versus Cronulla Sharks NRL fixture.
The New Zealand Warriors NSW Cup team isn’t quite as strong as their red-hot 2025 team, but they are just behind Newtown on the NSW Cup competition table after the completion of 14 rounds, and this Saturday’s game is of the utmost importance to both clubs.
Newtown winger Kristian Dixon had a great all-round game for the Jets on Saturday, and he was awarded the Built Smart Solutions Player of the Match.
Match Details:
NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 14
Saturday, 6th June 2026
Henson Park
Newtown v St George-Illawarra
Kick-Off: 3.00pm.
Weather: A perfect early Winter’s day; 18 degrees; clear, sunny sky. Very little breeze.
Playing surface: Excellent
There was a good crowd in attendance at Henson Park.
There was also a great crowd on the field at half-time.
Match Officials:
Referee: Clayton Wills
Touch Judges: Ethan Klein, Micheal Ford
Jets winger Morgan Harper scored two tries on debut for Newtown, and his family members joined him in a post-match celebratory photo.
Match Result: -
Newtown 34:
Riley Pollard 2, Morgan Harper 2,
Kristian Dixon, Jaxon Lavender tries;
Riley Pollard 5 conversions
defeated
St George-Illawarra 22:
Joseph O’Neill, Kye Andrews,
Luciano Leilua, Jacob Webster tries;
Tom Kirk 3 conversions.
Half-Time: Newtown led by 18-16.
The teams: -
Newtown:
Fullback: Liam Ison (Captain)
Wingers: Kristian Dixon, Morgan Harper
Centres: Joe Nadenic, Michael Gabrael
Halves: Taj Ford, Riley Pollard
Lock: Blake Hosking
Second-Rowers: Jaxon Lavender, Harrison Hassett
Front-Rowers: Tuku Hau Tapuha, Jontay-Junior Betham-Misa
Hooker: Kobie Wilson
Interchange:
Brad Fearnley, Sam McCulloch
Felix Faatili, Xavier Cacciotti
Reserve: Khaled Rajab.
Blue shirt trainer: Tom Haberecht
Yellow shirt trainer: Brett Kaplan
Orange shirt trainer: Chris Moubarak
Game Day Doctor: Dr Daryl Wong
Coach: George Ndaira.
St George-Illawarra:
Fullback: Wes Pring
Wingers: Tom Kirk, Kye Andrews
Centres: Tyler Peckham-Harris, Nick Tsougranis
Halves: Lyhkan King-Togia, Joseph O’Neill
Lock: Jacob Halangahau
Second-Rowers: Jarrah Treweek, Luciano Leilua
Front-Rowers: Hame Sele, Jacob Webster
Hooker: Ha’ele Finau
Interchange:
Dexter Grant, Dylan Coutts
Matthew Alhazim, Rye Hutchinson
Reserve: Nick Quinn
Coach: Willie Talau.
Jets second-rower Jaxon Lavender breaks clear for what was a vital second-half try for Newtown.
Match Timeline:
First Half:
Newtown kicked off, running to the northern end.
5th minute: Joseph O’Neill try.
Conversion by Tom Kirk. Dragons 6-0.
8th minute: Kye Andrews try.
Not converted. Dragons 10-0.
17th minute: Riley Pollard try.
Riley Pollard conversion. Dragons 10-6.
24th minute: Taj Ford (Newtown) on report for a dangerous tackle.
25th minute: Luciano Leilua try.
Converted by Tom Kirk. Dragons 16-6.
33rd minute: Matthew Alhazim on report for a dangerous tackle.
35th minute: Morgan Harper try in the north-west corner.
Converted by Riley Pollard from the sideline. Dragons 16-12.
39th minute: Kristian Dixon try.
Converted by Riley Pollard.
Half-Time: Newtown led by 18-16.
Second Half.
Dragons kicked off, with Newtown running to the Sydenham Road end.
49th minute: Liam Ison (Newtown) on report for a dangerous tackle.
50th minute: Jacob Webster try.
Converted by Tom Kirk. Dragons 22-18.
65th minute: Jaxon Lavender try.
Converted by Riley Pollard. Newtown 24-22.
74th minute: Morgan Harper try.
Not converted. Newtown 28-22.
79th minute: Riley Pollard try.
Converted by Riley Pollard Newtown 34-22.
Full-Time: Newtown 34 defeated St George-Illawarra 22.
Match Statistics: -
Newtown player statistics:
Jason Lavender: Most tackles – 35
Kristian Dixon: Most run metres – 164
Morgan Harper: Most line breaks – 2.
Team Statistics:
(Newtown: N; St George-Illawarra: D).
Possession: N 48%, D 52%
Time in possession: N 24.00; D 25.50
Completion rate: N 83%, D 70%
All runs: N 165, D 182
Metres run: N 1522, D 1767
Post contact metres: N 510, D 650
Line breaks: N 7, D 6
Tackle breaks: N 11, D 42
Average set distance: N 42.3, D 44.2
Kick return metres: N 115, D 195
Average play the ball speed: N 3.74, D 3.31
Offloads: N 4, D 14
Total passes: N 196, D 233
Dummy passes: N 5, D 15
Kicks: N 19, D 7
Kicking metres: N 552, D 415
Forced drop-outs: N 1, D 2
Kick defusal: N 67%, D 71%
Bombs: N 6, D 3
Grubbers: N 1, D 2
Tackles made: N 334, D 319
Missed tackles: N 42, D 11
Intercepts: N 1, D 0
Ineffective tackles: N 22, D 4
Errors: N 9, D 12
Penalties conceded: N 5, D 4
Ruck infringements: N 2, D 2
Inside the 10 metres: N 1, D 1
On reports: N 2, D 1
Interchanges: N 7, D 7
HIA: N 0, D 1.
Next match details:
NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 15
Saturday, 13th June 2026
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
New Zealand Warriors (8th place) v Newtown (5th place)
Kick-Off: 2.45pm (AEST).
