Schoolgirls Cup

Hills survive late scare

by
dailytelegraph
31/08/2023

Hills survive late scare to grab inaugural Schoolgirls crown (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Hills survive late scare

Author : Amanda Lulham & Katrina May News Corp Sport

Hills survive late scare to grab inaugural Schoolgirls crown

Struddys Appareal

NRL Schoolgirls Cup grand final live stream: Underdogs Erindale take on undefeated Hills Sports High

Another trademark Erindale College fightback fell agonisingly short as Hills Sports’ dominant first half proved the difference in the first-ever NRL Schoolgirls grand final. Relive all the action.

Watch a full replay of Hills Sports v Erindale College.

Hills Sports High School have claimed the inaugural NRL Schoolgirls Cup after hard fought win over Erindale College at Campbelltown Stadium on Wednesday.

Manua Moleka dives in for a grand final try (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Hills will now go on to face the winner of the Queensland competition in the national final on September 13 at Netstrata Jubilee Oval.

Erindale put the pressure to Hills early on, forcing mistakes to keep hold of the ball, but they couldn’t cross for the first try.

That came for Hills with Esther Tuipulotu regathering a kick and planting the ball amid multiple Erindale defenders in the corner.

It didn’t take them long to add to their advantage, along the other wing this time, as Manua Moleka found some space.

Mya McGlynn sparked an Erindale try late in the half, with Ella Kelly benefiting to score a try right in the corner.

Ella Kelly scores a grand final try (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

Tuipulotu then scored her second try just before the break to give Hills a 14-4 halftime lead.

Hills came out of the sheds firing, and it took just a few minutes for Moleka to score her second try.

Erindale tried to respond quickly, but a strong Hills defence kept them out until Kelly managed to find some space again, dodging past Hills to plant her second.

Uta Uatisone Poka added another try soon after as the travelling Erindale fans got the whiff of an upset.

But despite the late comeback, Erindale just couldn’t match Hills with the final score 20-14.

The Hills SHS Schoolgirl Cup Captains Olivia Vaaleke & Tayleah Pasili with the Schoolgirl Cup (Photo : Steve Montgomery)

PREVIEW

Erindale College will head into the NRL Schoolgirls grand final on Wednesday as the ultimate underdog when they face off against the undefeated Hills Sports High School.

But it is not going to stop the girls from the nation’s capital from believing.

The Canberra-based side barely scraped through to the semifinals, only picking up one win in the pool stage over Matraville Sports High School and narrowly beating out Illawarra Sports on points difference to make the knockout stages.

Erindale College after their NRL Schoolgirls Cup semi final against Bass High.

No one expected Erindale to make it to the grand final, but the team turned it up a notch in the semis, upsetting Bass 12-8 to book their place in Wednesday’s decider.

“I’m so ecstatic for the girls,” Erindale coach Ashley Barnes said of the shock win.

“Obviously we came in as massive underdogs and to turn up and play like that, the girls should be very proud and the school is very proud of them.”

The massive NRL Schoolgirls Cup grand final clash against Hills Sports will be available to stream LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV on Wednesday at 11:30am, ahead of the must-watch Peter Mulholland Cup final between Westfields Sports and Patrician Brothers Blacktown.

WATCH THE PETER MULHOLLAND CUP FINAL LIVE HERE

NRL Schoolboys/Girls Finals Live Stream Schedule

Wednesday August 30

Campbelltown Stadium

Schoolgirls

11:30am: Hills Sports High School v Erindale College

Peter Mulholland Cup

1pm: Westfields Sports High School v Patrician Brothers, Blacktown

Despite Erindale’s underdog status, coach Barnes said he has complete belief in his team to pull off another upset and take out the title.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we … continue to work,” he said.

“A lot of these girls haven’t been playing rugby league for a long time, some only six months to a year, so it’s still all so new to them.

“We’ll be going home and watching the footage (from the semi-finals), watching Hills and working on the areas we think need improving.”

Hills Sports High have been the standouts of the inaugural NRL Schoolgirls Cup competition, coming through the pool stages undefeated.

Hills Sports boast an undefeated NRL Schoolgirls season in 2023 Picture: Tim Hunter.

The semi-final win over Westfields Sports High showcased the side’s never-say-die attitude, coming back from a 6-4 halftime deficit to take out the match 18-12.

“We dug deep when we were 4-6 down after the first half and we came back, it was just crazy,” Hills co-captain Olivia Vaalele said after the match.

While they might enter the grand final as the favourites, Vaalele said the side neded to have an honest appraisal of their semi-final performance with several areas that need to be worked on.

“We’ll really need to work on our penalties, just staying onside and keeping everything together,” she said.

“I’m definitely nervous for the grand final, but I think with the support we have we can put in a good performance.”

Live stream: Get set for NRL Schoolboys grand final blockbuster

TEAMS

Erindale College

14. Mya McGlynn 2. Chloe Smith 3. Abbey Brill 4. Uta Uatisone Poka 5. Ella Kelly 6. Sabrina Marela 7. Lahni Hall 8. Alysha Eti 9. Angelina Costa 10. Stevie Serafin 11. Alyrah Cole 12. Magdalena Velovski 13. Mila Ahkey 15. Angelina Hunter 16. Jaymie Napier 17. Luljeta Marshall-Inman 18. Layla Irving 19. Leilani Rappana 20. Kelly Bateup

The Hills SHS

1. Danielle Seckold 2. Jasmine Dooley 3. Manua Moleka 4. Shirley Lolohea 5. Esther Tuipulotu 6. Olivia Vaalele (c) 7. Aaliyah Soufan 8. Lily-Ann Abboud 9. Naioka Tuipulotu 10. Salamasina Pupuali’i 11. Tayleah Pasili (c) 12. Leila Black 13. Matoisha Kalepo 14. Caliche Toki-Rimene 15. Shire Thocolich 18. Nelina Togia