Schofield King’s Throwback Thursday: Jets Seal Spot in Semis

Seeing as 2021 marks 40 years since our club’s remarkable charge to the 1981 NSWRFL Grand Final, this year Schofield King’s Throwback Thursday will focus exclusively on that season.

Each week we’ll revisit the fixture from the corresponding round in a series of articles that we hope will take our long-time fans on a fun journey down memory lane, while also educating our newer fans on our club’s illustrious history.

ROUND 17

The Newtown Jets qualified for their first finals series since 1973 with a hard 18-8 win over the Panthers at Penrith Park.

Newtown entered the game without key forwards Geoff Bugden and Steve Blyth were injured in a Tooth Cup clash against Cronulla the previous Wednesday, but were boosted by the inclusion of Ray Blacklock who successfully returned from injury. . 

The opening half was a tight affair during which points were at a premium. The Panthers lost prop Darryl Brohman to a broken arm after 15 minutes but grabbed the opening try via winger Rod Wright eleven minutes later. The Jets responded almost immediately when John Ferguson slipped a delicious inside pass to Blacklock who scored in the corner to set up a 3-all scoreline at halftime. 

Newtown took the lead in the 58th minute when Phil Sigsworth barged over, while dynamite forward Mick Pitman complemented his 30 tackles with a clever try seven minutes later. Penrith gave their fans a glimmer of hope when Craig McMahon scampered over to take the scoreline to 13-8 with 14 minutes remaining, but big Steve Bowden put the result beyond doubt when he crossed in the 78th minute.

Newtown was best served by Ferguson and Blacklock who were both electric every time they touched the ball, while Pitman and Col Murphy also attracted praise for their work in the forwards.

Newtown 18 (R.Blocklock, P.Sigsworth, M.Pitman, S.Bowden tries; Wilson 3 goals) def. Penrith 8 (R.Wright, C.McMahon tries; K.Dann goal)

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