Around the Grounds: Round 12

Knock-On Effect NSW Cup

Western Suburbs Magpies produced a strong second half comeback to down the St. George-Illawarra Dragons 26-18 in their Round 12 Knock-On Effect NSW Cup clash today at Lidcombe Oval — extending their winning run to nine in a row.

Trailing 18-6 at the break following a dominant opening half from the visitors, Ben Gardiner's side overcame the loss of fullback Zac Cini to finish the better of the two sides — erasing their half-time deficit quickly after the break before holding their nerve in windy and blustery conditions at Lidcombe Oval for an eight-point win.

Billy Walters and Reece Hoffman starred in the opening stages of the second half, resulting in two tries for winger Allan Fitzgibbon and another for halfback Jock Madden, while Tom Freebairn's runaway effort capped off a stellar comeback.

Western Suburbs Magpies 26 (Fitzgibbon 2, Dias, Madden, Freebairn tries; Madden 3/5 goals) def. St. George-Illawarra Dragons 18 (Sloan, Schiller, Clune tries; Moceidreke 3/4 goals) at Lidcombe Oval

Jersey Flegg

Wests Tigers continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 30-10 win against St George Illawarra at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Wayne Lambkin's men scored five tries to two to extend their lead atop the ladder to three competition points following 12 rounds. 

Brandon Webster-Mansfield opened the scoring for the home side after five minutes, before Rua Ngatikaura bagged a first-half double.

Timanu Alexander and Tyler Field crossed in the final 35 minutes, while Ben Stevanovic booted a perfect five from five goals. 

Wests Tigers 30 (Ngatikaura 2, Webster-Mansfield, Alexander, Field tries; Stevanovic 5/5 goals) def. St George Illawarra Dragons 10 (Lobb 2 tries; Muhleisen 1/2 goals) at Lidcombe Oval. 

Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership

Wests Tigers women overcame a slow start to down the South Sydney Rabbitohs 34-18 in their Round 12 Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership clash at Bankwest Stadium.

Trailing 12-0 inside the opening six minutes, Wests Tigers fought back to score six tries and claim a 14-point win on Friday evening.

Sophie Curtain marked her return to the side with her side's first four-pointer after 28 minutes while Botille Vette-Welsh produced arguably the try of the night as she capped off a clever left edge raid to put the game beyond doubt late in the match.

Wests Tigers 34 (S.Curtain, Lepua, Jean Houia, Pollard, Vette-Welsh, Osborne tries; E.Curtain 5/6 goals) def. South Sydney Rabbitohs 18 (Kelly 2, Johnston tries; Kelly 3/3 goals) at Bankwest Stadium