The Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Jersey Flegg side had an impressive win last weekend against the North Sydney Bears, with one of the stories of the night the performance of Peni Teaupa.
Teaupa made his debut for the clubs under 20s side following an impressive season with the SG Ball and his recent selection in the Australian Schoolboys team.
"It was a lot quicker than SG Ball, but I was able to handle the speed of the game. It felt good to make my debut and get a win," said Teaupa.
The 18-year old plays in the front-row and thanked teammate Sam Radovu for helping him out in the lead up to the match.
"Sam was speaking to me all week about the game. What I needed to do and what the team wanted from me. He was a huge help," Teaupa said.
Brandon Wakeham, a Bulldogs local junior, was in a similar situation to Peni last year having made the transition from the SG Ball to the under 20s and applauded the prop forward for his performance.
"Young Peni came up from the SG ball and he went really good. He grew a voice out on the field which was very different to training because he doesn't really talk much. It was great to see him make his debut and make a difference," said Wakeham.
The win secured a spot in the finals for the Bulldogs and also saw returning halfback Wakeham surpass 100 points for the season.
The 19-year old had spent the previous two weeks with the club's Intrust Super Premiership side, before returning to the Jersey Flegg team to help secure their spot in the top eight.
"It feels good to be back with the boys and to get the win, especially leading into the finals. The talk from the team was great. I feel it played a big part in the win and it's an area we need to continue to focus on," Wakeham added.
The Bulldogs Jersey Flegg team will play the Parramatta Eels for the first time this season, at Ringrose Park on Sunday, 1:00pm.
