NSW Junior Reps

Three Sharks teams qualify for Junior Rep finals

by
sharksmedia
07/04/2025

Three Sharks teams qualify for Junior Rep finals (Photo : Cronulla Sharks)

Three Sharks teams qualify for Junior Rep finals

Author : Zoe Filetti Sharks Reporter

Three Sharks teams qualify for Junior Rep finals

In a great result for the club, three of the four Sharks Junior Representative teams will feature in the NSWRL finals next weekend after a strong finish to the home-and-away season.

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Cronulla’s Lisa Fiaola (beat Tigers 18-14), Tarsha Gale (lost to Tigers 16-14) and SG Ball (beat Storm 40-36) teams punched their tickets to the playoffs with solid Round 9 performances at Sharks Stadium on Saturday.

The Lisa Fiaola side finished fourth, earning a double chance in the finals, while the Tarsha Gale and SG Ball squads came eighth and sixth respectively.

Stay tuned for further information on week one finals match ups and details.

While the Harold Matthews side toppled the Dragons 38-16 at Jubilee Stadium, it wasn’t enough to stay in the top eight with the Eels winning on Sunday to relegate the Sharks to ninth spot, two competition points adrift of the four teams above.

Read on for an SG Ball match report.

Sharks hold out fast-finishing Storm in SG Ball thriller

After leading 36-0, Cronulla withstood a furious Melbourne fightback to clinch a heart-stopping 40-36 win at Sharks Stadium on Saturday.

The Sharks snared an early advantage when centre Nikora Williams slid over in the fourth minute, with five-eighth Callum Grantham unable to convert.

A good set of attack in the 11th minute allowed Grantham to put up a bomb, and after a knock-on from the Storm, winger Bailey Leach scored under the black dot to lengthen Cronulla’s lead.

Grantham kicked the goal to make it 10-0.

Another Melbourne mistake put Cronulla back in dominant field position, and Williams ensured they capitalised as he crossed for his second of the day in the 17th minute.

Continuing the Sharks’ flawless first-half performance, interchange forward Ratu Viliame Koroitamana surged over in the 24th minute.

With Grantham adding the two points, Cronulla had stretched their lead out 20-0.

Leach marched in for his second four-pointer in the 30th minute, underlining Cronulla’s ruthless attacking streak.

A try beneath the crossbar to hooker Aaron Keppie in the 34th minute, followed by a Grantham conversion, allowed the Sharks to head into the sheds with a convincing 30-0 buffer.

Cronulla picked up where they left

Coming out after the break, Cronulla picked up where they left off with winger Elijah Paea adding his name to the scoresheet.

Grantham booted his fourth goal and the Sharks seemingly had an unassailable lead of six converted tries.

Melbourne finally got much-needed points on the board with fullback Amaziah Murgha scoring in the 40th minute and halfback Riley Brannock converting.

They struck again in the 45th minute, keeping their hopes of a comeback alive with a try to centre Alize Clarke. Brannock’s goal took the score to 36-12.

With momentum behind them, the Storm landed another blow as front-rower Cooper Clarke scored to bring the visitors right back into the battle.

Brannock extended his perfect kicking streak to reduce the gap to 18 points.

Melbourne threatened to cross again when they made a clean break, however a desperate tackle from Sharks fullback Oliver Lester saved a certain try.

But the men in purple wouldn’t go away and it was Clarke who went in for a double in the 54th minute to wind the margin back to 36-24.

Unbelievably, a converted try was all that separated the teams when Storm hooker Lockyer-Azile Foliola scored to the left of the posts in the 59th minute, setting up another easy goal for Brannock.

After 63 minutes, Cronulla pushed through the Storm defence with Paea grabbing his second of the half to give his side breathing space at 40-30.

An intense final five minutes saw Melbourne make their way over the line again with Foliola nabbing a double and Brannock converting to put the Storm only four points behind.

Their last-ditch effort was thwarted, however, and the Sharks hung on for a dramatic victory to ensure their place in the finals next week.