Jets well beaten by Raiders in vital NSW Cup match

The Newtown Jets task of qualifying for the 2023 NSW Cup semi-finals became that much harder when they were well beaten 36-12 by the Canberra Raiders at Henson Park on Saturday.

Only two competition points separate Canterbury-Bankstown on 29 (in fourth place) from Newtown on 27 (now in eighth place). Newtown’s finals hopes will depend on the Jets winning their two remaining games (Wests and Newcastle) and other results also going the Jets’ way.

Saturday’s result was clearly a decisive win for the Raiders, but Newtown did fight their way back into the game in both halves.

The National Capital men scored very early in the game, but Newtown responded by way of a perfectly-weighted grubber kick into the left-side in-goal by Jets halfback Niwhai Puru, with second-rower Kyle Pickering winning the race to ground the ball for a try.

With the score tied at 6-all after 15 minutes, Newtown had two possible tries disallowed in quick succession that would have changed the course of the first half. The referee’s decisions certainly aroused the ire of the pro-Newtown reunion day crowd. The Raiders added three tries that put them in a commanding situation with a 20-6 lead at half-time.

Newtown tried hard to take control of the game early in the second half, and were rewarded with a determined crash-play try by front-rower Caleb Uele in the 55th minute. Mawene Hiroti’s conversion had Newtown trailing by 20-12 with 24 minutes left to play.

The Jets had gone desperately close to scoring in the 57th and 61st minutes. One of Newtown’s best forwards on the day, Tuku Hau Tapuha, tore through the Raiders midfield defence and nearly scored, followed closely by Caleb Uele four minutes later who forced his way across the line but was held up.

On the back of a penalty, the Raiders moved downfield but the hard-working Jets forward Brad Fearnley made a tremendous try-saving tackle, only for the Raiders to score later in the same set. Now leading by 26-12, this might have been the try that sealed the result for the Green Machine.

Another try-scoring opportunity for the Jets was thwarted when halfback Niwhai Puru sent centre Mawene Hiroti away up the left-side, only for the Raiders to receive a penalty for one of their defenders being allegedly obstructed.

The Raiders added two more tries late in the second half that blew out the final winning margin. The NSWRL live-stream commentary team described Canberra’s late points surge as being “a green avalanche in the last 15 minutes” which might have been a trifle hyperbolic.

Newtown’s next match is against Western Suburbs at Lidcombe Oval next Sunday, 20th August, kicking off at 2.00pm.

Last Saturday’s match details:
NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 24
Saturday, 12th August 2023
Henson Park
Newtown v Canberra Raiders
Kick-off was at 3.00pm.

Playing surface: Excellent
Weather: Cloudy, 19 degrees, southerly breeze.

Referee: Damian Brady.
Touch Judges: Dillan Wells, Mitch Currie.

Match Result:
Canberra Raiders 36:
Joshua James, Jed Stuart, Trey Mooney, Chevy Stewart,

Hohepa Puru, Harley Smith-Shields, Shaun Packer tries:
Chevy Stewart 4 conversions
defeated
Newtown 12:
Kyle Pickering, Caleb Uele tries;

Mawene Hiroti 2 conversions.

Half-Time: Canberra Raiders led 20-6.

Newtown’s team was:
Fullback: Daniel Atkinson
Wingers: Jensen Taumoepeau, Tom Rodwell

Centres: Manaia Waitere, Kayal Iro
Halves: Johnny-Lee Gabrael, Niwhai Puru
Lock: Blake Hosking
Second-Rowers: Kyle Pickering, Tuku Hau Tapuha
Front-Rowers: Kurt Dillon, Rhys Dakin
Hooker: Jayden Berrell (Captain)
Interchange:
Addison Demetriou, Brad Fearnley, Caleb Uele, Samuel Healey

18th Man: Trentham Petersen
Coach: George Ndaira

Canberra Raiders:
Fullback: Chevy Stewart
Wingers: Jed Stuart, Utuloa Asomua
Centres: Harley Smith-Shields, James Schiller
Halves: Joshua James, Matt Frawley
Lock: Hohepa Puru
Second-Rowers: Clay Webb, Mitchell Spencer
Front-Rowers: Trey Mooney, Peter Hola
Hooker: Tom Starling
Interchange:
Shaun Packer, Jake Clydsdale, Loghan Lewis, Jaxon Lavender
18th Man: Tahrell Feaveai
Coach: Justin Giteau

Highlights from Saturday’s Jets v Raiders match:
https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2023/08/14/nswrl-tv-highlights–jets-v-raiders—round-24/

Match Timeline:
First half:
Canberra Raiders kicked off, running to the northern end of Henson Park

3rd min: Joshua James try
Converted by Chevy Stewart. Raiders 6-0.
11th min: Kyle Pickering try
12th min: Mawene Hiroti conversion. 6-all.

19th min: Jed Stuart try
Not converted. Raiders 10-6
22nd min: Trey Mooney try. Not converted. Raiders 14-6.
34th min: Chevy Stewart try
Converted by Chevy Stewart. Raiders 20-6.
Half-Time: Raiders led 20-6.
Second Half:
54th min: Caleb Uele try
Converted by Mawene Hiroti. Raiders 20-12.
64th min: Hohepa Puru try
Converted by Chevy Stewart. Raiders 26-12.
70th min: Harley Smith-Shields try
Not converted. Raiders 30-12.
78th min: Shaun Packer try.
Converted by Chevy Stewart. Raiders 36-12.
Full-Time: Canberra Raiders 36 defeated Newtown 12.


Newtown’s next game details:
NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
25th Round
Sunday, 20th August 2023
Lidcombe Oval
Western Suburbs v Newtown
Kick-Off: 2.00pm.