Academy Wrap Round 5: Mixed Results for Pups

It was another big win for the Lisa Fiaola Cup Bulldogs, who bulldozed their way to a 44-8 win over Manly Warringah in an eight tries to two performance.

Moving from the centres to fullback, Asha Taumoepeau-Williams had a day to remember with a hat-trick, while Shanthie Lui, who reverted to the centres in her place, enjoyed a 16-point haul with a try and six goals. 

Head Coach Vanessa Foliaki was pleased with the victory, but maintained that there is still plenty of growth in the fledgling side despite the side's strong start to the season.

"Manly showed us why they shouldn't be underestimated as they scored early in the first half which put us on the backfoot," she explained.

Incomplete sets and errors hindered us in the first half but once we held the ball and completed our sets, we were able to score some great tries.

"There were some valuable lessons learnt after this round, but we'll take the win and keep looking at ways to improve."

Tarsha Gale Cup: Bulldogs 24 def Sea Eagles 14

The Tarsha Gale Cup Bulldogs also enjoyed a victory, but errors and discipline saw the side only claim victory in the dying stages of the match.

Despite scoring six tries to three, the Bulldogs took home a ten-point victory. Head Coach Nik Wolfgramm was frank in his assessment of the match.

"Uncharacteristic errors and a lack of patience riddled the team," he explained.

Manly showed why you can't take any game lightly. Again, for the girls it illustrates that we need to respect the ball. 

"We take the two points but a lot has to be said about Manly's valiant effort."

Harold Matthews Cup: Bulldogs 16 def by Dragons 20

It was another close defeat for the Harold Matthews Cup side, downed by four points against the St George Dragons.

While it marked another loss for the young side, the valiant effort was a pleasing aspect for Head Coach Mark O'Meley. 

"Saturday's game was one of two halves," he explained.

"St George came for an ambush, and a reshuffle to our backline saw the team needing to overcome adversity early on. In the hot conditions, the Dragons moved our middles around and knocked down the front door through the ruck.

It took the boys a while to fix up our marker defence, and late in the first half we started to complete and win momentum back.

"They carried that attitude into the second half, but were unable to run down their opponents in another close loss.

"I'll give credit where credit is due, the boys really fought to the last minute trying to chase the win." 

SG Ball Cup: Bulldogs 28 drew with Dragons 28

Coming up against the 2024 Premiers who were hunting their first win of the season proved to be an almighty task for the SG Ball Cup side, who drew with St George 28-all.

Down 16-10 at the break, the Dogs' deficit extended to twelve with just eight minutes remaining - but late tries to Bronson Reuben and Captain Alex Conti saw the competition points split. 

While it was disappointing missing out on a fourth consecutive victory, Head Coach Steve Turner was quick to highlight his side's tenacity.

"We made it hard for ourselves and we were on the back foot for most of the game. Credit to St George, they came with a plan and executed it well," he explained. 

We were behind all game but I was really happy with how the boys hung in until the end to score two late tries in five minutes and come away with the draw.

"You learn a lot from these games and we will be better for it."