The Kaiviti Silktails will take another step in their short history, while proud clubs Western Suburbs and Balmain continue their strident rivalry, all at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday (9 March).
The Silktails have spent the past four seasons in the Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup but now enter the Jersey Flegg Cup (Under 21s) for the first time. The Silktails are joined by the Warriors in the 2024 competition which expands to 14 teams.
The Silktails’ opponent for Round One will be the Wests Tigers. The match, starting at 2pm, will be live streamed on the dedicated NSWRL TV app available on the Apple App Store (iOS, TVOS) and Google Play Store.
Leading up to the Jersey Flegg Cup clash will be three pathways games between the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers, showcasing the emerging talent in the ranks of the black, white and gold:
9:30am – Development (Under 16s)
11:00am – UNE Harold Matthews Cup (Under 17s)
12:30pm – UNE SG Ball Cup (Under 19s)
Shannon Gallant, Wests Tigers Pathways and Junior Recruitment Manager, said the club had invited some of their NRL and NRLW players to join the occasion on Saturday. (Photo above is Harold Matthews captain Alex Isdale)
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Wests Tigers members and fans to come along and see our pathways players in action all in the one place,” he said.
“It’s quite unique really with these teams coming together at Lidcombe Oval and it’s an added boost to have our NRL and NRLW players watching on.”
For Silktails head coach Wes Naiqama, whose brother Kevin played 90 NRL games for the Wests Tigers (2015-2018), it’s a chance to right some wrongs from last year.
“We won seven of our nine games at home in Fiji but we weren’t great on the road,” he said.
“We missed the Ron Massey Cup finals the last two years by just two points - one win - so that’s how important these away games are to us this year.”
The Silktails other challenge is going from 18 rounds in Ron Massey Cup to 26 in Jersey Flegg.
A squad of 37 players has been assembled for 2024, with 20 travelling to Australia on alternate weekends for games.
“This has been our biggest turnover of players since we moved to the Under 21s. We’ve only kept six of our players from 2023.
“It’s a big changeover but we had a really solid 15-week pre-season back in Lautoka. I’m really happy with where we’re at.
“We’ve had a clear mindset and purpose of what we want to do this season and we’ve got a competitive and strong squad, although there’s a lot of excitement and nerves.”
