It was an eventful weekend in the NSWRL Junior Representative arena, with the Harold Matthews Cup side claiming a famous win against the Sharks in the Shire.
The SG Ball Bulldogs were unable to overcome the Roosters at Mascot Oval, while both the Lisa Fiaola Cup and Tarsha Gale Cup teams had to settle for a single point with weather unfortunately cancelling their matches.
In the final round of the regular season, the men's teams host the Rabbitohs while the women's teams head to Kellyville to take on Parramatta.
Harold Matthews Cup: Bulldogs 24 def Sharks 22
Match: Sharks v Bulldogs
Round 8 -
home Team
Sharks
away Team
Bulldogs
Venue: Sharks Stadium, Sydney
The Harold Matthews Cup Bulldogs snapped a five-match losing streak with an impressive 24-22 victory over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Sharks Stadium.
A fast-start saw the Bulldogs touch down in the first minute courtesy of Wesley Papalii-Afoa, before Oka Chan Kum Tong, Braith Sloane and Luca Te Awa added their names to the scoresheet for a dominant 18-6 lead.
While their opponents crossed in quick succession to draw level, Captain Chinedu Udeh stood up to score what would be the winning try as the Bulldogs defended for their lives in the dying stages to claim the win after the hosts touched down late.
Harold Matthews Cup Highlights - Round 8
Head Coach Mark O'Meley was proud of the victory, citing the improvement in discipline in his side.
In a very disruptive week due to the weather conditions that challenged the team's approach for Round 8, this allowed us to focus nonbeing the best at the basics," he said.
"In a highly entertaining game, the boys' concentration and focus was a massive improvement on previous games.
From the kick-off they made a statement, forcing errors in defence. The effort and energy they showed was massive, especially defending their try line for the final seven minutes to hang on for a hard-earned win.
"It was great to see the smiles on their faces after a match that rewarded their efforts."
SG Ball Cup: Bulldogs 4 def by Roosters 36
Match: Roosters v Bulldogs
Round 8 -
home Team
Roosters
away Team
Bulldogs
Venue: Mascot Oval, Sydney
It was a tough afternoon for the SG Ball Cup side at Mascot Oval, downed by the Sydney Roosters 36-4.
Despite a strong start that saw centre Marcellus Iakopo touch down just six minutes in, poor discipline from the Bulldogs allowed the Roosters to gain the ascendency.
SG Ball Cup Highlights - Round 8
Head Coach Steve Turner was candid with his assessment of the match.
"After starting well, our discipline through errors and penalties really hurt us," he said.
"We need to learn from this and address it as we look towards a very good South Sydney Rabbitohs side this week.
You learn a lot from losses and we will be working hard to fix these areas during the week.
