Newtown’s winning streak ends as the Penrith Panthers claim the 2026 NSW Cup premiership title.

Match Report:

Despite the best hopes of many thousands of Newtown supporters, the Jets fell short in their quest for the 2026 NSW Cup premiership honours. A disciplined, well-prepared and talented Penrith team won last Saturday night’s Grand Final at CommBank Stadium convincingly by 36-6.

One oddity of this premiership decider was that the two teams were meeting for the first time in over six months, with the 2026 NSW Cup draw providing that the Jets and the Panthers would only play against each other once in the competition rounds, and that was back in Round Two on the 14th March.

Riley Jones tacles this Penrith player, with Blake Hosking (left) and Harrison Hassett close by (MAF)

Newtown was captained on Saturday might by Jayden Berrell, who had indicated during the week that he would be returning to his home state of Queensland at the completion of this season. Liam Ison came back into the fullback position for Newtown after a short layoff due to injury, and Michael Gabrael was selected at right-centre after serving a suspension incurred in a Cronulla Sharks NRL fixture. Utility player Riley Jones was included on the interchange bench.

There was a curious symmetry during the course of this game – the first and third quarters were fiercely contested for the most part, but the Panthers then scored three tries within a tight time frame in quick succession in both halves. Jaxon Lavender and Liam Ison had combined for a possible scoring chance in the tenth minute but the Penrith defence proved to be up to the task. There was another fleeting chance as the ball was moved quickly towards Kristian Dixon’s wing, but an errant pass went over the sideline.

The Panthers obtained possession as a result of a marginal forward pass inside Newtown’s quarter in the 16th minute, and they quickly slammed on tries in the 18th, 20th and 23rd minutes, with the two conversions giving Penrith a rapidly-compiled 16-0 lead.

Newtown’s fullback Liam Ison goes close but is apprehended by the Panthers defence (MAF)

The Panthers would score another unconverted try in the 35th minute, and Kristian Dixon went desperately close to scoring in the 39th minute after seizing upon a well-directed grubber kick by Riley Pollard into the north-east corner.

Newtown’s right-side winger Kristian Dixon goes close to scoring in the 39th minute of the first half (MAF)

The pre-match media assessment of this Penrith team was that they had repeatedly shown they had the ability to “choke their opponents out of the game”, by way of dominating possession and their swarming, unrelenting defence. A serious breach of Newtown’s midfield defence for Penrith’s second try, and suspect backline defence for two Panthers tries down the Jets left side contributed to the Mountain Men’s 20-0 halftime lead.

Kristian Dixon’s near miss in the 39th minute (foiled by some exceptional and well-practiced Penrith on-line defence) might well have been a vital moment for any prospects of a Newtown fightback in the second half. The Jets in fact had only been on the attack inside Penrith’s twenty-metre zone twice in the first half. While it had taken the Panthers 18 minutes to break the deadlock, they had grabbed their opportunities through crisp attack and strong defence. .

These four Jets defenders (from left to right: Kristian Dixon, Michael Gabrael, Blake Hosking and Jaxon Lavender) combine to drag this Panthers player across the sideline (MAF)

This was obviously a well-prepared Penrith team which had anticipated and shut down Newtown’s set plays that had previously brought success in the consecutive knock-out finals against the New Zealand Warriors, North Sydney and the Newcastle Knights.

Newtown’s metres gained through the middle in those previous finals matches had been thwarted by the strong Penrith forwards defence, although Felix Faatili and Brad Fearnley had made good ground through tough opposition.

Brad Fearnley takes the ball up, 26th September 2026 (MAF)

The loss of Jayden Berrell in the 27th minute through leg injury was a sledge-hammer blow to Newtown’s prospects, given his superb midfield defence, clever and varied dummy-half ball play, wily grubber kicks in behind the opponents’ defensive line, as well as his experienced on-field marshalling and encouragement to his team-mates. The combination of losing Jayden Berrell’s input on the very night Newtown was up against this quality Penrith team was a major contributing factor to Newtown’s loss.

As in the first half, Penrith did not score any further points until close to the halfway point of the second half. The Panthers had kept the ball alive inside Newtown’s twenty-metre zone in the 58th minute and were rewarded with a converted try. With the Panthers now leading by 26-0 and with just on twenty minutes left to play, the BarTV commentator Morgan Campbell was justifiably confident in being prepared to call the result for this premiership decider.

The two team captains … From the left: Kalani Leuluai-Going (Penrith) and Jayden Berrell (Newtown), 26th September 2026 (MAF)

Barely four minutes later the rampant Panthers scored from a grubber kick into the northern in-goal zone, with the conversion then extending Penrith’s lead to 32-0.

Just five minutes later, the powerhouse Penrith prop who had set up the Panthers second try claimed one for himself as he cannoned over to blow the score out to 36-0. This try wasn’t converted as the football struck an upright and bounced away.

Newtown made it onto the scoreboard when Jaxon Lavender snapped up a ricocheting grubber kick by Riley Pollard to score near the southern end goal-posts, with Kristian Dixon’s conversion locking in what was to be the full-time score of 36-6 in Penrith’s favour.

Newtown halfback Riley Pollard gets his kick away with Panthers players close by (MAF)

Riley Pollard, Tuku Hau Tapuha and Taj Ford saved tries in the last ten minutes that otherwise might have taken the Panthers’ points tally out to the other side of 50.

On what was a very warm Spring evening, it was apparent that the teams who had gained dominance over their opposition in both the Jersey Flegg Cup and NSW Cup grand finals had run up big scores and were assisted by the playing conditions. The livestream commentary team were moved to repeat their earlier observation that Penrith’s preparation for the NSW Cup grand final had obviously been meticulous – their video sessions had focused on Newtown’s set plays and the combinations between Jayden Berrell, Riley Pollard, Taj Ford and Liam Ison. Dame Fortune’s intervention with respect to the enforced absence of Jayden Berrell was obviously a huge bonus to the Mountain Men.

Taj Ford, Tuku Hau Tapuha and Jaxon Lavender deal with this Penrith ball-carrier (MAF)

Penrith’s team captain in a post-match interview observed that “there is a mental toughness instilled in all Penrith teams. They are taught to achieve domination over their opponents and to maintain it.”

The key match statistics in areas such as overall possession; time spent in possession; set completions; tackle breaks; missed tackles; and time spent in the opposition’s half and the twenty-metre zone were all overwhelmingly in Penrith’s favour on the night. Interestingly, the numbers of errors made and penalties conceded were fairly even between both teams.

Newtown Jets NSW Cup Head Coach George Ndaira (Newtown RLFC)

Newtown’s recent winning streak of nine matches extending from Round 21 (26th July) against Manly-Warringah, to the Preliminary Final on the 19th September against the Newcastle Knights may very well be an all-time club record (which is being checked by club historians).

The Newtown Jets retained custody of several inter-club trophy challenges such as the revered Frank Hyde Shield (versus North Sydney); the Jack Rayner-Frank “Bumper” Farrell Cup contested against South Sydney; the Tom Kirk Cup versus St George-Illawarra; and, somewhat ironically, the Ken Wilson-Ray Blacklock Cup contested against Penrith (when Newtown won 38-16 back on the 14th March); and finally, a loss to our old 1908 NSWRL Foundation Club rivals Western Suburbs, with the canny Magpies laying claim to the Tom Raudonikis Cup for 2026.

Newtown Jets President Barry Cotter and Jets head coach George Ndaira in conversation after full-time on Saturday, 26th September 2026 (MAF)

While it is hard to come to terms with such a decisive Grand Final defeat, there were many other substantial developments during the 2026 season, including the opening of the splendid refurbishment of the buildings infrastructure at Henson Park; the successful Beer, Footy and Food Festival and the well-attended Club Reunion Day; and in particular the extension of our successful rugby league partnership with our good allies, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks RLFC.

Be sure to watch the Newtown Jets social media, website and email newsletters for news on the 2026 end of season Presentation Night.

Newtown prop Tuku Hau Tapuha in full Pacific Island regalia after full-time on Saturday (MAF)

Match Details:

NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup

Grand Final

Saturday, 26th September 2026

CommBank Stadium, Parramatta

Newtown v Penrith

Kick-Off: 7.00pm.

Weather: Warm, cloudy, slight breeze, rain had been forecast.

Playing surface: Excellent.

Match Officials:
Referee: Kieren Irons

Touch Judges: Tom Cambourn, Clayton Wills

In-Goal Judges: Martin Jones, William Greatbatch

Standby: Mitch Currie
Video Referee: Todd Smith.

Match Result:
Penrith 36:
Jesse McLean 2, Jaxen Edgar, Kalani Leuluai-Going,

Nick Murphy, Zakouri Clarke, Luron Patea tries;

Zakouri Clarke 4 conversions

defeated
Newtown 6:
Jaxon Lavender try;

Kristian Dixon 1 conversion.

Half-Time: Penrith led 20-0.

The Grand Final teams were:

Newtown:
Fullback: Liam Ison

Wingers: Kristian Dixon, Samuel Stonestreet

Centres: Chris Vea’ila, Michael Gabrael

Halves: Taj Ford, Riley Pollard

Lock: Blake Hosking

Second-Rowers: Jaxon Lavender, Harrison Hassett

Front-Rowers: Tuku Hau Tapuha, Braden Uele

Hooker: Jayden Berrell (Captain)

Interchange:
Sam McCulloch, Brad Fearnley

Felix Faatili, Riley Jones

Reserve: Jontay-Junior Betham-Misa

Team Manager: Jason Pritchard

Blue Shirt Trainer: Tom Haberecht

Yellow Shirt Trainer: Brett Kaplan

Orange Shirt Trainer: Chris Moubarak

Game Day Doctor: Dr Chris Lam

Head Coach: George Ndaira.

Penrith:
Fullback: Jaxen Edgar

Wingers: Nick Murphy, Jesse McLean

Centres: Patrick Moi Moi, Izack Tago

Halves: Haami Loza, Kurt Falls

Lock: Luron Patea

Second-Rowers: Zakauri Clarke, Kalani Leuluai-Going (Captain)
Front-Rowers: Tom Ale, Jake Vailalo

Hooker: Billy Scott

Interchange:
Lukusi Tapaatoutai, Jirah Liddiard

Buster Hindmarsh, Josh Ruxton

Reserve: Tobias Crosby

Blue Shirt Trainer: Mark Dugandzich

Yellow Shirt Trainer: Chris Jelfs

Orange Shirt Trainer: Kevin McKinlay

Game Day Doctor: Dr Mark Mousaad

Head Coach: Matt Eisenhuth.

Match Timeline:

First half:
Penrith kicked off, running to the southern end.

16th minute: Newtown error, forward pass.

17th minute: Jesse McLean (Penrith) try

Converted by Zakauri Clarke. Penrith 6-0.

20th minute: Line break by Luron Patea (Penrith)

20th minute: Jaxen Edgar (Penrith) try

Converted by Zakauri Clarke. Penrith 12-0.

22nd minute: Newtown penalised for a dangerous tackle.

24th minute: Kalani Leuluai-Going (Penrith) try

Not converted. Penrith 16-0.

27th minute: Jayden Berrell (Newtown) off, Riley Jones on

35th minute: Jesse McLean (Penrith) try

Not converted. Penrith 20-0.

Half-Time: Penrith 20, Newtown 0.

Second-Half:
Newtown kicked off to the southern end.

57th minute: Nick Murphy (Penrith) try.

Converted by Zakauri Clarke. Penrith 26-0.

61st minute: Zakauri Clarke (Penrith) try.

Converted by Zakauri Clarke. Penrith 32-0.

65th minute: Luron Patea (Penrith) try

Not converted. Penrith 36-0.

68th minute: Jaxon Lavender (Newtown) try.

Converted by Kristian Dixon. Penrith 36-6.

Full-Time: Penrith 36 defeated Newtown 6.

Newtown Jets flags were flying in Marrickville Road during the NSW Cup Grand Final week (Newtown RLFC)

Match Statistics:

Top performing players:
Blake Hosking (Newtown): 40 tackles;

Liam Ison (Newtown): 159 run metres

Jaxon Lavender (Newtown): 1 line break.

Team Statistics:

Newtown (N); Penrith (P).

Possession: P 61%, N 39%

Time in possession: P 30.35; N 19.30

Completion rate: P 82%; N 70%; P 37/45; N 24/34.

All runs: P 196, N 135

All run metres: P 1757, N 1117

Post contact metres: P 619; N 425

Line breaks: P 6, N 1

Tackle breaks: P 82, N 18

Average set distance: P 39.06, N 32.88

Kick return metres: P 144, N 92

Average play the ball speed: P 3.56, N 3.58

Offloaded passing: P 11, N 7

Receipts: P 458, N 315

Total passes: P 245, N 167

Dummy passes: P 7, N 1

Kicks: P 21, N 18

Kicking metres: P 573; N 420

Forced dropouts: P 4, N 0

Kick defusal: P 100%, N 75%

Bombs: P 4, N 4

Grubbers: P 7, N 7

Tackles made: P 249, N 382

Missed tackles: P 18, N 82

Intercepts: P 0, N 1

Ineffective tackles: P 15, N 22

Errors: P 10, N 11

Penalties conceded: P 5, N 6

Ruck infringements: P 3, N 3

Inside 10 metres: P 0, N 1

Interchange: P 8, N 7.

Jets fullback Liam Ison with his family cheer squad after full-time (MAF)