Parramatta captain Kennedy Cherrington has been referred straight to the judiciary after being sent off in her side’s 38-4 NRLW loss to Newcastle that prolongs the Eels’ winless start to the season.
Cherrington became the second NRLW player in history to be dismissed after she and Madeline Jones up-ended Knights forward Laishon Albert-Jones in a spear tackle during the second half on Sunday.
The lock forward’s send-off proved an invitation for Newcastle to blow the scoreline out with 25 minutes to play in the 2022 grand final rematch at CommBank Stadium.
Already trailing 18-4 at halftime the Eels immediately fell off the pace once reduced to 12 players.
Knights prop Tayla Predebon barged through the middle, where Cherrington defends, in the set after the spear tackle.
Laishon Albert-Jones is tackled by Kennedy Cherrington. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Cherrington’s send-off came after the referee marched Brisbane winger Ashleigh Werner in the first weekend of the premiership for biting Jayme Fressard.
Werner received a two-match ban and the Eels can expect to lose their captain to suspension as well.
The likely ban would compound a tough start to the season for last year’s runners-up, who sit in last place as the only side winless through three rounds.
Things will not become any easier with perennial heavyweights Brisbane awaiting next week.
The Knights’ victory ensures they will finish the weekend in the top four.
Newcastle kept pace with the clock early and it was State of Origin representative Yasmin Clydesdale at the centre of the action.
The winger-turned-second-rower pounced on a grubber kick from Knights five-eighth Georgia Roche to open the scoring and then caught a short ball from fullback Tamika Upton to jet away down the left.
She passed inside to Upton, who scored the Knights’ second of a seven try haul.
But the reigning premiers needed to wait until after Cherrington had been sent off to reprise their early dominance
Knights captain Hannah Southwell made a successful return from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that had ruled her out since the first game of last season and she finished with 19 tackles.
Meanwhile, Canberra upset the previously unbeaten Wests Tigers 28-22 despite a hat-trick to centre Leianne Tufuga.
The home side got off to a flyer, with Ashleigh Quinlan and Hollie-Mae Dodd crossing in the opening eight minutes.
But the Tigers hit back with Tufuga bagging her first and then Kezie Apps took advantage of a repeat set in the 21st minute with the teams level as 12-12 at halftime.
Wests Tigers lost star fullback and skipper Bo Vette-Welsh to a head knock late in the first half.
The Raiders set up the victory with three tries in the space of nine minutes in the second half.
Apps was sent to the sin-bin for a professional foul in the 56th minute after she raced down-field to stop an intercept try by Shakiah Tungai, but was ruled to have held the Canberra winger down.
In her absence, Canberra crossed through Cheyelle Robins-Reti with the conversion pushing the lead out to 28-12.
Tufuga crossed twice to give her side a sniff but the Tigers couldn’t find another try to level.
Broncos snap losing streak
Brisbane have snapped their NRLW losing streak and surged back to form with a 40-12 defeat of North Queensland that included four tries to centre Mele Hufanga.
Gold Coast have started 2023 unbeaten, and came from two tries down to clinch a last-minute 10-8 win over Cronulla and keep that run alive.
Premiers for the first three NRLW seasons, the Broncos had been battling a four-game losing streak stretching back to last year prior to Saturday’s clash in Townsville.
A fifth loss would have equalled the longest slump in competition history and left Scott Prince’s side at risk of falling further behind, with more teams competing for finals spots than ever before.
But Hufanga, the second NRLW player to score four tries in a game, got the Broncos on the board for 2023 and spoiled the Cowboys’ maiden game at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
Brisbane raced out to a three-try lead within 16 minutes on Saturday as the Cowboys struggled to gain a foothold.
The deficit seemed to shock North Queensland into gear and they dominated the remainder of the half.
Hufanga crossed to complete her first-half double off the back of a penalty but the Cowboys scored on the stroke of halftime through April Ngatunpuna to trail 18-12 at the break.
Within five minutes of the restart, though, Hufanga went bang-bang as Brisbane’s lead ballooned out to 28-12.
Lauren Dam crossed 10 minutes from time before Brigginshaw – who was placed on report for a tip-tackle in the first half – chalked up Brisbane’s eighth of the afternoon.
At Shark Park, Cronulla were 8-6 up and looked home and hosed with less than three minutes to play but winger Kiana Takairangi gave the Titans one last chance on the attack when she knocked on.
At the line, star fullback Evania Pelite spun out of a tackle and offloaded to Titans halfback Sienna Lofipo, who spread the ball left for Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsel’s last-minute try.
“The girls definitely make it stressful for us up there in the coaching box but I’m super proud of their effort,” Titans coach Karyn Murphy said.
The Titans have now pieced together the first three-game winning streak of their short NRLW history and have moved, at least temporarily, to the top of the ladder.
“It was a tough pill to swallow, to be honest,” Sharks coach Tony Herman said of the last-gasp loss.
“In the second half we just couldn’t seem to get to where we wanted to.”
Cronulla’s stand-in fullback Andie Robinson inspired the Sharks to an 8-0 lead, setting Takairangi up for the opener and then bouncing away from two defenders for a try of her own.
Gold Coast had ample chances but rued poor handling at crucial moments, most notably when captain Georgia Hale grounded the ball short of the line and then lost control of it.
In the Titans’ next set, second-rower Shaylee Bent pounced on a loose ball to open Gold Coast’s account but the visitors saved their most brilliant try for last.
Roosters lay down marker with Dragons thrashing
St George Illawarra’s NRLW coach Jamie Soward says referees have to put the whistle away and officiate with common sense after his side’s 30-0 was punctuated by a constant flow of penalties.
The Dragons suffered the biggest loss in their NRLW history on Thursday with Roosters centre Isabelle Kelly scoring two of her side’s six tries at the SCG.
But Soward was left frustrated with referee Wyatt Raymond, who dished out 16 penalties in a stop-start game.
Soward was concerned his side, who he criticised for missing 66 tackles across the 70 minutes, were been refereed as if they were full-time male NRL players.
“The ruck is not the same as the men’s,” Soward said.
“The play-the-ball speed is 3.8 (seconds) and 3.4 (seconds) – that’s quicker than the men’s game.
“They’re going to wrestle and tackle differently. Sixteen penalties and a ruck speed faster than the men, who’ve been full-time professionals for 100 years?
“I just want clarification of what we’re looking to try and get.”
The Roosters started at a blistering pace with Kelly and Tarryn Aiken putting them 12-0 up after just 10 minutes.
The Dragons rallied and would have felt unlucky to have not hit back.
A try to winger Cortez Le Pou was called back for a forward pass and Ella Koster was deemed to have been offside when she pounced on a grubberkick into the in-goal in the run-up to halftime.
The Red V battled valiantly but the halves pairing of Golden Boot winner Raecene McGregor and ex-New Zealand sevens sensation Tyla Nathan-Wong were unable to find a way to unlock the Roosters’ defence.
Kelly was able to quell any hope of a comeback when she finished off a flowing backline move to run in from 30 metres for her second try in the 48th minute.
It was the beginning of an avalanche of tries in the final 20 minutes with Brydie Parker, Otesa Pule and Jayme Fressard putting the game beyond the Dragons’ reach.
The only concern for the Roosters will centre around star prop Millie Boyle who was placed on report for a hip-drop tackle.
“The attitude was there today,” said Roosters coach John Strange.
“We know we can play footy, we know we’ve got some players that can attack from anywhere and that’s the style we’re going to play with.”
© AAP
