Jets make it five wins in a row – but the Parramatta Eels made them earn this victory

The Newtown Jets had every right to regard this 13th Round NSW Cup match against Parramatta as a real danger game.

The Eels were coming off their fourth successive win; a new NRL coach had been installed and Trent Barrett had indicated that he would be looking closely at the club’s NSW Cup players; Parramatta was playing at home in the majestic CommBank Stadium; and there was also the unknown factor as to how Newtown would cope playing in a five-day turnaround since the Jets last game against Penrith.

The Eels made a quick start to the match, scoring a try in the sixth minute. Jets coach George Ndaira had predicted that Parramatta would come out firing.

Newtown responded in the 14th minute, with Billy Burns taking the ball close to the Parra tryline. Tom Rodwell nearly caught a high kick at Parramatta’s end, and he managed to flick the ball back to Mawene Hiroti, who beat three defenders to score.

The Jets turned on some smart ball play for their second try, which involved Niwhai Puru, Burns, Puru again, and Jayden Berrell (returning from injury) who put Liam Ison over to score near the posts.

The multi-skilled Jayden Berrell rolled a grubber-kick into the Parramatta in-goal where Billy Burns won the race to ground the ball for Newtown’s third try.

Newtown scored their fourth try when Berrell cleverly switched play up the left side and Tom Rodwell scored in the corner.

Right on halftime Newtown failed to defuse a high kick at their own end of the field, and the Eels scored a try right on the siren, making the half-time score 24-8 in Newtown’s favour.

Parra scored again early in the second half and were clearly on a roll, trailing by 24-12. Fortunately, the Eels hadn’t converted any of their tries but the margin was starting to get uncomfortably close.

The Eels forced Newtown into a goal-line drop-kick situation and they were starting to get their midfield off-loads working. Once again Parra did the Jets a favour by failing to catch a high kick by Niwhai Puru into the south-west corner, with Sam Stonestreet snapping up the bouncing ball to score. Hiroti’s conversion attempt from wide out bounced off and away from the left-hand upright.

Parra weren’t done with yet and scored another try, this time from a high kick near the goal-posts that Newtown players were unable to defuse. Now the Eels trailed 28-18 with ten minutes to play, and it was a somewhat nervous countdown by the Newtown officials and supporters in the stadium.

The giant Newtown front-rower Tuku Hau Tapuha scattered several tiring Eels defenders as he surged through to score next to the southern end goal-posts with just two minutes on the clock. Newtown’s final winning margin of 34-18 was perhaps slightly generous to the Jets, given the manner in which Parramatta managed to keep fighting back.

Coach George Ndaira said after the game “that he would take five wins in a row any day. Parra had won four in a row coming into this game and were most certainly primed for a determined performance”.

“Newtown had scored four tries in the first half, with three of them coming within a quick-fire burst of ten minutes”.

These tries, plus Mawene Hiroti’s four conversions gave Newtown ”somewhat of a firewall” for the second half that the Eels found hard to run down.

“The Jets turned on some great execution in their ball play , with Newtown creating these try-scoring opportunities in the first half, and making sure they took them. Two of Parramatta’s tries (the two scored from dropped high kicks) should have been avoided, and we let Parra off the hook in the second half.”

“Overall, this had been a good team effort with the Jets players working hard for each other. Jesse Colquhoun was playing his first match of the season; big Tuku had come back during the week from the NRL squad, and Billy Burns led from the front and showed good leadership. Jayden Berrell was back after several weeks out with an elbow injury, and he was as clever as ever at dummy-half.”

“Parra had stayed in the game through a somewhat fluky try, arising from a high kick that ricocheted off the goal posts!”

Significant match statistical indicators, such as Possession, Time in Possession and Completions, all finished remarkably close between the two clubs on Thursday.

The Jets now have a longer break until their next match, extending from Thursday, 30th May to Saturday, 8th June.

Newtown meets the Sydney Roosters at Henson Park on Saturday, 8th June at 3.00pm.

Cronulla Sharks take on the Roosters in Jersey Flegg Henson Park on Saturday from 1.15pm.

Jets fans will remember with considerable chagrin that Newtown lost two critical competition points against the Sydney Roosters in 223, along with other NSW Cup teams who were well below us on the competition table.

NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 13
Thursday, 30th May 2024
CommBank Stadium, O’Connell Street, Parramatta
Parramatta v Newtown

Kick-Off: 5.20pm.

This match was broadcast live on Triple H 100.1 FM

It was a curtain-raiser to the NRL fixture between Parramatta and Cronulla-Sutherland.

Weather: Fine, 20 degrees

Playing surface: Excellent

Newtown’s team was: –
Fullback: Liam Ison
Wingers: Sam Stonestreet, Tom Rodwell

Centres: Jackson Ferris, Mawene Hiroti
Halves: Khaled Rajab, Niwhai Puru
Lock: Blake Hosking
Second-Rowers: Billy Burns (Captain), Kyle Pickering
Front-Rowers: Tuku Hau Tapuha, Rhys Dakin
Hooker: Jayden Berrell
Interchange: Jesse Colquhoun, Brad Fearnley, Billy Magoulias, Sam Healey
Reserve: Josh Cook
Coach: George Ndaira
Blue Shirt Trainer: Tom Haberecht
Yellow Shirt Trainer: Fletcher Graham
Orange Shirt Trainer: Chris Moubarak.

Parramatta’s team was:
Fullback: Zac Cini
Wingers: Lorenzo Mulitalo, Rusiate Isaac Lumelume
Centres: Jake Tago, Morgan Harper
Halves: Daejarn Asi, Ethan Sanders
Lock: Charlie Guymer
Second-Rowers: Daniel Keir, Matthew Doorey
Front-Rowers: Luca Moretti, Brock Parker
Hooker: Matthew Arthur

Interchange: Meni Luke, Kyle Cassel, William Latu, Reece Alderton

Reserve: Saxon Pryke
Coach: Nathan Cayless
Blue Shirt Trainer: Craig Brennan
Yellow Shirt Trainer: Mike Williams
Orange Shirt Trainer: Trent Bowden

Match Result: –
Newtown 34:

Mawene Hiroti, Liam Ison, Billy Burns, Tom Rodwell,
Sam Stonestreet, Tuku Hau Tapuha tries:
Mawene Hiroti 5 conversions

defeated
Parramatta 18:
Rusiate Isaac Lumelume, Lorenzo Mulitalo, Jake Tago, Daniel Keir tries;

Daejarn Asi 1 conversion.

Half-Time: Newtown led 24-8.

NSW Cup Highlights – Parramatta Eels v Newtown Jets – Round 13 – CommBank Stadium, 30th May 2024:

https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2024/05/30/nsw-cup-highlights–eels-v-jets—round-13

The Short Side – Luke Lewis – NSW Cup, Round 13:
https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2024/05/30/the-short-side-with-luke-lewis–round-13/

Coach George Ndaira’s post-match comments:
https://x.com/newtownrlfc/status/1796446926852030757

The NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup competition table after 13 rounds:
https://www.nswrl.com.au/ladder/?competition=113&round=13&season=2024

Match Timeline: –
First Half:
Kick-off at 5.20pm.
Parramatta kicked off, running to the southern end of CommBank Stadium.

5th minute: An error at Newtown’s end give Parramatta possession.

6th minute: Isaac Lumelume scores in the south-east corner.

Not converted. Parramatta 4-0.

17th minute: Mawene Hiroti gains possession and scores after Parramatta had been unable to field a high kick.

Mawene Hiroti converts his own try. Newtown 6-4.

25th minute: Liam Ison scores to the left of the northern end goal posts.

Converted by Mawene Hiroti. Newtown 12-4.
32nd minute: Billy Burns try.

Converted by Mawene Hiroti. Newtown 18-4.

35th minute: Tom Rodwell scores in the north-west corner.
Converted by Mawene Hiroti. Newtown 24-4.
40th minute: High kick not defused by Newtown.
Try to Lorenzo Mulitalo (Parramatta). Not converted. Newtown 24-8.
Halftime: Newtown led 24-8.

Second Half:
Two penalties brought Parramatta down to Newtown’s end.
47th minute: Jake Tago (Parramatta) try.

Not converted. Newtown 24-12.
53rd minute: Parramatta fail to defuse a Newtown high kick.

Try scored by Sam Stonestreet in the south-west corner.
Not converted. The conversion attempt bounced away off the left upright. Newtown 28-12.
69th minute: The Jets fail to defuse a Parramatta high kick, with the football ricocheting away off an upright.
Try scored by Dan Keir (Parramatta).
Converted by Daejarn Asi. Newtown 28-18.

79th minute: Tuku Hau Tapuha try to the right of the southern end goal posts.

Converted by Mawene Hiroti. Newtown 34-18.

Fulltime: Newtown 34 defeated Parramatta 18.

Match Statistics:

Possession: Parramatta 50%, Newtown 50%
Time in possession: Parramatta 24 mins 30 secs, Newtown 24 minutes
Completion Rate: Parramatta 78%, Newtown 80%
All runs: Parramatta 182, Newtown 173
All run metres: Parramatta 16010, Newtown 1706

Post contact: Parramatta 640, Newtown 661

Line breaks: Parramatta 3, Newtown 6
Tackle breaks: Parramatta 49, Newtown 45
Kick return metres: Parramatta 129, Newtown 206
Offloads: Parramatta 16, Newtown 11
Total passes: Parramatta 210, Newtown 195
Dummy passes: Parramatta 14, Newtown 12
Kicks: Parramatta 16, Newtown 17
Kick metres: Parramatta 416, Newtown 436
Forced Drop-Outs: Parramatta 2, Newtown 2
Kick defusals: Parramatta 62%, Newtown 33%
40/20: Parramatta 1, Newtown 0
Bombs: Parramatta 4, Newtown 2
Grubbers: Parramatta 3, Newtown 5
Effective tackles: Parramatta 325, Newtown 290
Missed tackles: Parramatta 45, Newtown 49
Ineffective tackles: Parramatta 16, Newtown 26
Errors: Parramatta 8, Newtown 10
Penalties conceded: Parramatta 6, Newtown 5
Ruck infringements: Parramatta 3, Newtown 1
Inside the 10 metres: Parramatta 0, Newtown 1.

Newtown’s next game details:

NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 14
Henson Park
Saturday, 8th June 2014
Newtown v Sydney Roosters
Kick-Off: 3.00pm.

Please note:
There is a curtain-raiser match at Henson Park on Saturday:
Jersey Flegg Cup, 1.15pm Cronulla Sharks v Sydney Roosters.