HAROLD MATTHEWS LADDER

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 11
DATE 26/04/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

Unable to finish in the top eight, we ventured to Erskineville Oval to play our last game against South’s. We were playing to finish with a win and we needed to play well against a strong Souths team. In the first half the boys played well and a try to Steve Cummings and a conversion to Jordan Petera we were into the game. However we allowed South’s two tries after mistakes and at half time the score was 12 – 6 in the Rabbits favour, a close call before half time to not allow a try to Joel Brooks really deflated our confidence. A half time talk about not being out of the game and making no mistakes fresh in our minds, was to no avail as half way threw the first set, a mistake turned over the ball. Within the next four sets South’s scored three times and shot to a 26 – 6 lead, we were unable to get back on track although the boys tried gallantly, but could only post one more try to Suia Mafi.
As the siren sounded the final score was 40 – 10.
At the end of a mixed season of highs and lows, the coaching staff were happy with the boys, their progress and improvement and wished them all well for their future football careers.

Points Scorers
Tries: Steve Cummings and Suia Mafi
Goals: Jordan Petera 1

3 Points: Steve Cummings, 2 Points, Joel Luani and 1 Point Joel Brooks.
Players Player: Steve Cummings.

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 11
DATE 26/04/2008

BALMAIN  v  SOUTH SYDNEY

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 10
DATE 19/04/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

CENTRAL COAST 30 defeated BALMAIN 18 - 19 April 2008 - Round 10
Another week and another close loss. Although the team is really trying hard, the results have been frustrating for coach Brooks and the players. The team has been competitive in every game, however they have lacked the experience at this level to win tight games. Injuries did not help our cause on the day but that is no excuse. Full credit to the Central Coast for their commitment and enthusiasm and special mention to the Wyong Football Club for producing such wonderful facilities.

With one round to go, a big finish to the season is what we are all hoping for against our fellow Foundation Club, Souths Sydney.

Best for the Balmain Tigers were Steve Cummins, Joel Luani, Joel Brooks and Brodie Monroe.

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 10
DATE 19/04/2008

BALMAIN  v  CENTRAL COAST

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 8
DATE 05/04/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

MANLY 24 defeated BALMAIN 20
In a very important clash towards our finals campaign, we were playing Manly at home. The boys struggled to get into top gear early and allowed Manly to post four tries in the first half, two in the final two minutes before half time. In response, we were only able to cross once and convert; at half time we trailed 20 to 6.

Coming out in the second half we posted two quick tries and one conversion closing the gap to 20 – 16. With our confidence growing, we were poised for a come from behind victory in a tough game of Rugby League. However, Manly scored a good try to take the lead 24 – 16 and we scored one more to give us a final score of 24 – 20.

Coach Brooks was disappointed in the slow start by the team but took positives out of the spirited comeback. With the BYE next week, we need to win our last two matches to make the finals.

Points Scorers
Tries: William Skelton, Maroun Estaphan, Brodie Monroe, and Mark Begg.
Goals: Jordan Petera
Players Player and the 3 points Brodie Monroe, 2 points Joel Luani, 1 point Mark Begg.

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 8
DATE 05/04/2008

BALMAIN  v  MANLY SEA-EAGLES

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 7
DATE 29/03/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

BALMAIN 18 defeated CRONULLA 6
Needing to get back on the winning track, we played Cronulla at home.
The team started out well and within the first 10 minutes we had posted two tries, one try out wide to Brodie Monroe, and then to powerhouse forward Joel Luani. Jordan Petera had his radar honed in and added the extras, and we lead 12 – 0. Our game plan went out the window for the next 10 minutes with dropped balls, forward passes and balls going into touch. We kept giving the ball to Cronulla, who also had trouble with ball control as our defence put pressure on them and we did well to keep them from scoring until 4 minutes from half time. Half time score was 12 – 6 in our favour.

With words of discipline and Tiger pride at half time from the coach, the boys came out in the second half and were pumped to win at home. For the first 15 minutes we lacked control whilst in possession, then with some chain passing, the ball went threw the hands and Brodie Monroe soon had his second try for the day.Jordan Petera added the extras and we lead 18 – 6.

The remainder of the game was an arm wrestle and both teams had chances to score but lacked the finishing touches, the hooter sounded and the final score was 18 – 6.
Coach Brooks was happy to get the two points, but pointed out to the team we need more work to gain a spot in the top eight. A knee injury to Sam Williams saw him carried off the field, everyone in the team is hoping that after some scans and tests he will be back as soon as possible.
 
Points Scores:
Tries: Brodie Monroe 2, Joel Luani.
Goals: Jordan Petera 3

3 Points: Brodie Monroe, 2 Joel Luani, 1 Adrian Tatola.
Also played well: Mark Begg, Joel Brooks, Kyle Lovett, and Jordan Petera.

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 7
DATE 29/03/2008

BALMAIN  v  CRONULLA SHARKS

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 6
DATE 20/03/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

Wests 12 defeated Balmain 8
Expectations were high as we were after another win to close in on the top eight. The boys started off defending well and held the ball to mount pressure but half way threw the first half we gave away a penalty allowing a repeat set to Wests, who scored a try and converted to lead 6 – 0. With little time to recover, Wests scored another try and converted to lead 12 – 0. We were shell shocked, and our defence picked up a notch and held the Magpies from adding to the score after they had applied more pressure to our tryline.

With a half time talk from the coach David Brooks, the team was asked to lift and play to the game plan. Our defence held strong and did not allow the Magpies to cross our line again, however our attack faulted from too much one out running, and this made it hard to close the 12 point gap. We had our chances but could not convert them into points. With five minutes to go the boys started throwing the ball around and soon we had 2 tries on the board but were unable to add the extras. The final bell sounded and the score remained 12 - 8 in favour of the visitors.

The coach was unhappy with the result as he felt we are a much better side then we showed and played but gave full credit to Wests for outplaying us. 
    
Points Scores:
Tries: Suia Mafi, Sam Williams.

Players Player: Mark Begg
3 Points: Brodie Monroe, 2: Mark Begg, 1: Joel Brooks

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 6
DATE 20/03/2008

BALMAIN  v  WESTS

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 5
DATE 15/03/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

Balmain 24 defeated Roosters 20
A return to the home turf of Leichhardt Oval and a game against the undefeated Roosters. The boys started off by allowing the visitors to post the first points within the first three minutes and lead 4 nil.

Playing some good football and with repeat sets, we scored three tries in less then 10 minutes. First to score with some good passing was Kyle Lovett who scored out wide, then with some great skills Joel Brooks posted a double in two minutes, Jordan Petera could only put it threw the sticks once, and we lead 14 - 4. The Roosters hit back after some missed tackles in the middle and closed the gap to 14 - 0.  As half time approached and with seconds left a back line move saw Maroun Estaphan score out wide and Jordan Petera converted and the lead at half time was 20 – 10.

In the second half, we started with poor handling but managed to gain back our momentum to turn around and Kyle Lovett scored his second which was not converted to extend our lead to 24 -10.

Our handling skills left us again and we allowed the Rooster’s to fight back with two tries as we clung on to a 24 -20 lead with 15 minutes left on the clock. The last 10 minutes saw the boys defend and scrambled well as the Roosters through everything at us, in the end we held on to win 24 – 20.

Coach Brooks was brimming with pride at the way his team has improved over the first 5 rounds of the competition.

Points Scorers
Tries: Joel Brooks 2, Kyle Lovett 2, Maroun Estaphan.
Goals: Jordan Petera 2

Players Player: Joel Brooks
3 Points Joel Brooks, 2 Joel Luani, 1 Kyle Lovett
Strong Games: Alan Aukafolua, Maroun Estaphan, Brodie Monroe, Adrian Tatola. 

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 5
DATE 15/03/2008

BALMAIN  v  ROOSTERS

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 4
DATE 08/03/2008

RESULTS

MATCH REPORT

Newcastle 32 defeated Balmain 16
Another performance of courage from our young Harold Matthews players without the result we were looking for. Travelling to Newcastle is always a tough road trip but our players gave everything in the 32-16 loss.

Newcastle dominated the first half to lead 16 – 4 going into the break after controlling field position for most of the half. Balmain had some chances but made critical errors at crucial times to miss out on scoring more points.   

The second half followed a similar trend and Newcastle was the better team and deserved the win.

The Coach (David Brooks) was happy with the effort but commented that “we can’t keep making the same mistakes game after game”. “We need to continue playing to our strengths to win games and at the moment we aren’t doing this enough”.

The good thing is it is all on again next week.

Best for us were:
Kyle Lovett, Sam Williams, Joel Luani and Brodie Monroe.

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 4
DATE 08/03/2008

BALMAIN  v  NEWCASTLE

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 3
DATE 01/03/2008

RESULTS

Match Report - Harold Matthews - Round 3

Balmain Tigers Vs North Sydney

Having no wins in the first two rounds and returning home to play the Bears, hopeful that early form could be converted into a win at home.

Injuries and the flu made it hard to train with the run on side, but the boys started out well and got a mistake in the first set of six early, applying pressure got a repeat set of six and were rewarded a try out wide to Sam Williams to lead 4 nil.

After a good start the boys soon lost their grip on the ball and kept turn it back to North’s who capitalised on these mistakes and posted two quick tries and one conversion and lead the game 10 – 4.

Regaining the handling skills and with the pressure applied, we had six repeat sets with the ball and posted another try in the corner to Sam Williams and followed with a good try to Joseph Touma and with a conversion to Lachlan Jenson, at half time we lead 14 – 10.
Early in the second half and a little jinx by Jordan Petera he scored close to the uprights and converted by Lachlan Jenson things looked good with the lead at 20 – 10.

Again with some lack of control and discipline North’s again scored and trailed 20 – 14, the next 15 minutes an arm wrestle, then with some lack of discipline and 10 minutes to go, within minutes North’s had two players sent to the sin bin, lifting themself up the soon overlapped us out wide and scored in the corner and with a great kick from the side line into the wind converted and locked the scores at 20 all.

With only a minute to spare and attacking the line on the last tackle, and a call for a field goal, a little hesitation and the some quick hands out to Maroun Estaphan on the wing he crossed out wide, not converting we got home with a much needed win.
A strong game by all.

Tries - Sam Williams 2, Joseph Touma, Jordan Petera, Maroun Estaphan
Goals - Lachlan Jenson 2

Players Player - Joel Brooks
Points - 3 Joel Luani, 2 William Skelton, 1 Jesse Hewitt.
Playing well - Sam Williams, Joseph Touma, Brodie Monroe, and Adrian Tatola.

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 3
DATE 01/03/2008

BALMAIN  v  NORTH SYDNEY

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 2
DATE 23/02/2008

RESULTS

TEAM FOR HAROLD MATTHEWS ROUND 2
DATE 23/02/2008

BALMAIN  v  PARRAMATTA

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS ROUND 1
DATE 16/02/2008

RESULTS

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS TRIAL
DATE 02/02/2008

RESULTS

Match Reports

Harold Matthews Trial
Balmain Tigers Vs South Sydney

With the season closing in on us fast and with limited chances to cement a place in the side, we ran out against fellow foundation club, South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The first quarter was under way. With poor handling we kept giving the ball to South’s early on but once we had some control we soon had posted three good tries to take a 12 point lead. Late in the quarter we dropped our intensity in defence and allowed a try to South’s.
Score Balmain 12 South’s 4.   

In the Second quarter we settled down and posted 2 tries and only allowed South’s to cross once.
Score Balmain 20 South’s 12.

The third quarter was very even and we completed our sets well but we where unable to cross South’s line. Souths crossed once to make it a tight final quarter.
Score Balmain 20 South’s 16

The final quarter was an arm wrestle, and South’s only troubled the scorers ending the game 5 all which was a fitting result.

The Coach (David Brooks) was happy with the day and the result considering Souths, impressed and sometimes surprised by the squad making selection hard, impressed by some big hitting tackles, and hard and fast running.

Try Scorers
Quinn Filipaina 2, Maroun Estaphan, Palu Mahe, Steve Cummins, William Skelton   

S.G. BALL

The ball put in another solid trial performance against South's in their preparation for the start of competition in two weeks time.

Both Balmain and South's showed attacking skills that pleased their coaches. In the final wash up, both teams scored 5 tries each over the three segment game. Balmain took the first period 3-1, South's the second period 3-0 and Balmain the final segment 2-1.

For Balmain tries were scored through excellent team work by winger Finau Faleula (3), Five eight Sam Refaai (1) and centre Suma Sauvao (1),

Coach Darren Mclean kept a perfect poker face after the game and told his players they need to improve in all aspects of their play to beat Illawarra in Round 1.

Next week on Saturday 9th February, Balmain play their final trial against East's at 11am at St Pats Oval Dundas, prior to meeting Illawarra the following week in the first round of the competition.

Summer Squad

In cold windy conditions down at Albion Park in the states south coast, our Summer squad played themselves to a standstill. We entered into a Country Rugby League Development Gala day and had drawn to play South Coast Academy and Parramatta.

The first game was very tight with our boys winning 16 – 12 against the hosts.

The second game was also very tight and we went down in a close one 16 – 8 to a well drilled Parramatta side who boasted 6 NSW Schoolboy representative players.

Best players for the Summer Squad were:
Max Napa, Ken SIo, Ajay Vaivaka, Tyronne Wymarra, Max Russell.

Next Week

HAROLD MATTHEWS RESULTS TRIAL
DATE 26/01/2008

RESULTS

Match Reports

In very hot conditions, we made our way out to Warragamba for our first trial of the year. All coaches were happy with the performance and look forward to trimming their squads after this weekends trial against South Sydney.

Next Week

2008 Squads Announced

Click here for details

2007 Results

Click here for details

Last updated 7 May, 2008 10:58