26th Aug 2026
Reality Check
It was big reality check for the team as we came up against our first Top 4 opponent for some time. They dominanted opening half as the opposition rattle up 32 points by soon after half time, to almost warp up the game. We then fought our way back into the game to be with 6 points, before they sealed the game in the final 10 minutes. There is a lot to improve on as we enter the final stages of the season, and we cannot give teams that sort of start. We still need 1 more win to make the finals. Now for our annual trip to the Gold Coast.
Johnston double
Alex Johnston continues to lead in the try scoring. Scoring another double, his 64th for the career. We will need planty more of these as we head into the finals.
Graham-Taufa steady improvement
After a rocky start, Moala Graham-Taufa has found a place at right centre and is now finding his way to the try line regularly. This week he scored two tries, to take his season tally to 8 in reserve grade.
Cresswell double
Mr versitile Caleb Cresswell had a nother good game out in the centers, scoring two more tries. He has played almost every position in the team throughout the season, all with distiction. And he is a goalkicker to boot.
Gray power upfront
On the weekend a number of Warriors NRLW players played for South Sydney, Sekene, Matapo and Matekino Gray. Gray is a powerful forward who has stood up with some strong performances and scored a try through her power up the middle. South Sydney secured their place in finals after a strong win over the Dragons.
20th Team by Xmas
The NRL continues its growth path, with the push to return to 20 teams now on the cards after the recent TV deal. There is talk that the next club will be announced by Xmas with a most likely start for 2029. There are two main contenders, Brisbane 3 based in Ipswich and from New Zealand with a team based in Christchurch. We are seeing rugby league now moving forward once agan, with exciting changes not felt just before Round 1 1995.
Round 25 - Stat Attack
Statistically it was poor game. Completions dropped to 77% from 87% last week. Errors dropped to 10 from 7 last week week. We gave away 4 penalties and 3 6-again calls from 6 last week. Souths Effective 1st tackle dropped to a poor level of 36.2m from 25.5m last week. Our missed tackles dropped to a average level of 32 from 26 last week. Opposition offloads improved to 9 from 12 last week.
Looking at our left side defence - Johnston-Duncan-Walker-Aitken/BSmith (0-1-4-4) dropped to 9 from 5 last week. On the right side Graham-Wighton-Sullivan-Fifita (0-0-3-3) improved to 6 from 12 last week. Ruck defence Tatola/Keppie-BSmith/Mamouzelos-Koloamatangi/Hubner-Murray (7-6-4-2) dropped to 19 from 9 missed tackles last week.
Our go forward dropped to 1438m from 2009m last week. With our props go forward dropped to a very poor level of 306m compared to 365m last week. Koloamatangi, Mamouzelos and Johnston made 10+m per run. Fifita, Koloamatangi, Murray, Dufty, Graham, Johnston, Duncan and Wighton made 100+m in the match. Defensively Murray was our best in the tackling raking up 45 tackles. Wighton, Graham, Johnston and Dufty didn't miss a tackle.
Rd23 Parramatta SFS2 W 28-24 Rd24 Canterbury StAu W 22-6 Rd25 Warriors StAu L 26-45
Rd23 Nth Qld Robi L 8-30 Rd24 Newcastle NISC L 26-36 Rd25 Cronulla Robi L 22-30
2023 Rd14 Robi W 46-28 18,736 L.Kennedy 2024 Rd14 Robi W 46-12 14,434 C.Sutton 2025 Rd23 Robi W 20-18 14,957 T.Smith
First Grade Pe 6A SB OR SO
2025 Rd09 Newcastle LngS L 4-30 50,638 Referee 3-3 5-3 - 1 - :
2026 Rd06 Canberra PrSt L 34-36 33,404 Referee 3-3 2-1 - - - :
2026 Rd09 Newcastle NISC L 38-42 23,413 Referee 6-6 2-2 - - - :
M W D L : PeW PeD PeL PeF PeA : 6AW 6AD 6AL 6AF 6AA : SB OR SO
v Gold Coast 2 2 - - 100% : 1 - 1 12 5 71% : 1 - - 2 - 100% : - - -
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