All three of our junior representative sides came away with astounding victories in their final regular season games of the year.
The SG Ball, Harold Matthews and Tarsha Gale sides were all victorious over their opponents on the weekend with the SG Ball team solidifying the minor premiership for the first time in their history.
The Tarsha Gale Cup and Harold Matthews sides are also into the first week of the finals, with wins that slot them into sixth and fifth place respectively.
SG Ball
As the Raiders took on the Tigers in the final game of the season, a formidable 28-0 performance led them to take out the minor premiership.
In a defensive masterclass, the Raiders kept the Tigers pointless across the whole game whilst being clinical in attack scoring five tries.
Jacob Iosefa got the Raiders underway early with a try in the 11th minute with Samuel Gash crossing over only a couple of minutes later.
Going into the half at 10-0, the Raiders piled on the pressure scoring three tries in the second half thanks to halfback Keahn Skipps and forwards Owen Pattie and Joseph Roddy.
With the defensive effort being their focus going into the game, the Tigers were no match for the Raiders as they capitalised in key moments of the game.
The win earns them an extra week off where they will play the winners of third-placed Knights and sixth-placed Roosters in the semi-final.
The SG Ball side only lost one home and away game all season, conceding just 130 points across the nine rounds.
Match: Tigers v Raiders
Round 9 -
home Team
Tigers
away Team
Raiders
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Harold Matthews Cup
In a round full of change-ups on the ladder, the Raiders maintained their spot in the top six to cement themselves in the finals.
With a 26-16 win against the Tigers, the Raiders came from 16-12 down at half-time to grab a finals berth with both hands.
Having opened the scoring in the fourth minute thanks to Jonah Anderson, the Tigers pounced back scoring in the 10th minute.
The Raiders remained composed and well-disciplined coming from behind thanks to tries from Harry Hudson in the 43rd minute and Darmody in the 49th minute.
Scoring four tries in the game, Braydon Darmody kicked all four conversions whereas the Tigers only kicked two from their four attempted conversions.
In order to make the finals, the Harold Matthews team needed to win that game to solidify their spot and not leave it up for other matches across the round to decide their fate.
The Raiders will now play the Bulldogs in the first week of the finals with the two teams finishing on the same amount of points, only separated by their home and away records as the points differential was also tied at 32 each.
The two teams will play off for the first time this year having not played each other so far this season.
Match: Tigers v Raiders
Round 9 -
home Team
Tigers
away Team
Raiders
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Tarsha Gale Cup
In a tightly contested match, the Raiders came away with the win in the dying moments thanks to a late try to Lola Fletcher to win 24-22 against the Rabbitohs.
Fletcher tied up the game at 22 a piece in the 56th minute with Lara Cosgrove slotting the conversion to win by two points, converting four from four on the day.
Cosgrove also scored two tries of her own in the 13th and 29th minutes as the team led 12-4 heading into the sheds at half-time.
Having lost to the Steelers in round eight, it was a must-win for the Raiders in which they displayed their class and calmness under pressure to overcome a tough Rabbitohs team.
The win ensures a spot in the finals as they overtake the Panthers in sixth position who lost their game to the Bears 14-6.
It will be the first time in history that the Raiders Tarsha Gale side will make finals in what is a massive achievement.
The Raiders will take on the Knights in the first week of the finals in what will be their first meeting of the year.
Match: Rabbitohs v Raiders
Round 9 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
away Team
Raiders
Venue: Redfern Oval, Sydney
