Newtown’s dominant second half makes it six wins in a row for the Jets

A commanding second half, in which the Jets scored five unanswered tries, enabled Newtown to run out winners by 38-4 over the Sydney Roosters at Henson Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Roosters provided strong resistance in the first half, trailing 10-4 at halftime. Newtown had more possession than the Roosters, whose handling had let them down when they were in Newtown’s territory.

Jets hooker and captain Jayden Berrell was in top form in the first half, setting up tries for winger Tom Rodwell and five-eighth Khaled Rajab with cleverly-positioned grubber kicks.

The Roosters scored in the 33rd minute by way of a couple of missed one-on-one tackles on Newtown’s right-side defence.

The Jets made the Roosters pay for a lost ball early in the second half with centre Jackson Ferris quickly transferring the ball to the long-striding winger Sam Stonestreet, who beat a Roosters defender and raced sixty metres to score under the posts.

A determined kick-chase by Tom Rodwell forced a knock-on by the Roosters, and he claimed his second try minutes later when he crashed through three Tricolours defenders to score in the south-east corner.

The Jets were victory-bound when quick hands involving Jesse Colquhoun, Billy Magoulias and Khaled Rajab sent Jackson Ferris racing through a gap, from where he positioned Liam Ison to score next to the posts.

Newtown scored two more tries through second-rower Kyle Pickering and centre Chris Vea’ila, extending the Jets lead to 38-4. Niwhai Puru converted five of Newtown’s seven tries.

Jets coach George Ndaira noted that the first hall had been very tight and Newtown had missed a couple of scoring chances, whereas in the second half the Jets had turned similar opportunities into points.

Ndaira added that the Jets are now playing better as a team than in the games that were lost earlier in the season. Players who stood out on Saturday were the front-rowers Colquhoun (in his second game back), Fearnley and Dakin. Liam Ison was sound once again at fullback, and the two hookers Berrell and Healey were very efficient from dummy-half. Rajab and Puru had worked together well in the halves.

This had been a strong team performance by Newtown, especially in the second half. The Jets coach further observed that this had been a formidable Roosters line-up that Newtown had come up against, with several of the Tricolours players having extensive NRL and international rugby league playing experience.

Newtown faces more strong opposition this coming Saturday in our long-time rivals, the North Sydney Bears. Norths have been one of the top-performing teams for all of this NSW Cup season.

The match is at Henson Park on Saturday, 15th June at 3.00pm, and features the second-placed team (North Sydney) versus the third-placed (Newtown).

This game is the first leg of the 2024 Frank Hyde Shield series.

Match Result:

Newtown 38:
Tom Rodwell 2, Khaled Rajab, Sam Stonestreet,
Liam Ison, Kyle Pickering, Chris Vea’ila tries;

Niwhai Puru 5 conversions
defeated
Sydney Roosters 4:
Turoa Williams try.

Half-Time: Newtown led 10-4.

Last Saturday’s match details: –

NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 14
Newtown v Sydney Roosters
Saturday, 8th June 2024
Henson Park
Newtown v Sydney Roosters
Kick-Off: 3.00pm.
This match was live-streamed on NSWRL TV.

Referee: Jake Sutherland.

Touch Judges: Pat Mackey, William Greatbatch.

Weather: 19 degrees, overcast, sunny for most of the second half.
Playing surface: Excellent.

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

Centres: Chris Vea’ila, Jackson Ferris
Halves: Khaled Rajab, Niwhai Puru
Lock: Blake Hosking
Second-Rowers: Kyle Pickering, Jordin Leiu
Front-Rowers: Rhys Dakin, Jesse Colquhoun
Hooker: Jayden Berrell (Captain)
Interchange: Brad Fearnley, Billy Magoulias, Sam Healey, Salesi Ataata
Reserve: Josh Cook

Coach: George Ndaira
Blue Shirt Trainer: Tom Haberecht
Yellow Shirt Trainer: Fletcher Graham

Orange Shirt Trainer: Chris Moubarak.

The Sydney Roosters team was:
Fullback: Ethan King
Wingers: Kyron Feritoa, Ethan Clark-Wood
Centres: Turoa Williams, Michael Jennings
Halves: Hugo Savala, Sandon Smith
Lock: Zach Dockar-Clay (Captain)
Second-Rowers: Sitili Tupouniua, Blake Steep
Front-Rowers: De La Salle Va’a, Joshua Wong
Hooker: Michael Coleman
Interchange: Tyler Moriarty, Taylor Losalu, Xavier Va’a, Phoenix Steinwede

Reserve: Corey Ross
Coach: Brett Morris
Blue Shirt Trainer: Tait Barnes
Yellow Shirt Trainer: Declan Healy
Orange Shirt Trainer: Luke Esposito.

NSWRL TV Highlights – NSW Cup – Round 14 – Newtown v Sydney Roosters, Henson Park, Saturday, 8th June 2024:

https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2024/06/08/nswrl-tv-highlights–nsw-cup-jets-v-roosters—round-14

The NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup competition table after 14 rounds:

https://www.nswrl.com.au/ladder/?competition=113&round=14&season=2024

Newtown Jets coach George Ndaira’s post-match interview, 8th June 2024:
https://www.facebook.com/newtownrlfc/videos/1599643704215446

Match Timeline: –
First half:
Newtown kicked off, running to the northern end.
7th minute: Tom Rodwell try
Converted from wide out by Niwhai Puru.
Newtown led 6-0.
26th minute: Khaled Rajab try

Not converted. Newtown 10-0.

33rd minute: Turoa Williams try.

Not converrted. Newtown 10-4.
Half-Time: Newtown led 10-4.
Second Half:
45th minute: Sam Stonestreet try.

Converted by Niwhai Puru. Newtown 16-4.
50th minute: Jordin Leiu (Newtown) on report.
55th minute: Tom Rodwell try.
Converted by Niwhai Puru. Newtown 22-4.
58th minute: Liam Ison try.

Converted by Niwhai Puru. Newtown 28-4.
66th minute: Kyle Pickering try.
Converted by Niwhai Puru. Newtown 34-4.
71st minute: Chris Vea’ila try.
Not converted. Newtown 38-4.
Full-Time: Newtown 38 defeated Sydney Roosters 4.

Match Statistics: –
Newtown (N), Sydney Roosters (SR).

Possession: N 57%, SR 43%
Time in possession: N 27.45m, SR 19.20m
Completion rates: N 74%, SR 64%
Runs with the ball: N 196, SR 130
All run metres: N 2050, SR 1200
Post contact metres: N 630, SR 470
Line breaks: N 5, SR 3
Tackle breaks: N 33 , SR 29
Average set distance: N 51.25, SR 38.6
Kick return metres: N 213, SR 80
Average play the ball speed: N 3.2s, SR 3.25s
Passing offloads: N 8, SR 7
Passing receipts: N 421, SR 313
Total passes N 236, SR 185
Dummy passes: N 21, SR 3
Kicks: N 18, SR 12
Kicking metres: N 335, SR 368
Forced drop-outs: N 1, SR 0
Kick defusals: N 83%, SR 88%
Bombs: N 7, SR 3

Grubbers: N 7, SR 1
Effective tackles: N 85%, SR 87%
Tackles made: N 238, SR 323
Missed tackles: N 29, SR 33
Ineffective tackles: N 11, SR 12
Errors: N 9, SR 9
Penalties conceded: N 8, SR 8
Inside ten metres: N 0, SR 1
On report: N 1, SR 1.
Next Saturday’s match details:

NSWRL Knock-On Effect NSW Cup
Round 15
Saturday, 15th June 2024
Henson Park
Newtown v North Sydney
Kick-Off: 3.00pm.
This match will be live-streamed on NSWRL TV
It is also the first leg of the 2024 Frank Hyde Shield series.