Jets 2nd half stuns Rabbitohs

Both Newtown Jets senior teams won their respective competition games on the weekend with identical scorelines but in remarkably differing circumstances. In the VB Premier League match played in balmy conditions at Telstra Stadium on Sunday, the Jets defeated South Sydney by 40-26 after trailing 16-6 at half-time. Newtown outscored the Rabbitohs by an amazing 30-6 in the last 18 minutes of the game. Following the surprise loss by the Dragons to Cronulla-Sutherland on Saturday evening, the Newtown Jets have now secured second place on the VB Premier League competition table, regardless of the result in the Jets-Dragons clash at Henson Park next Saturday.

In the Jim Beam Cup game played in the freezing wind and rain at Henson Park on Friday night, the Jets defeated Windsor by exactly the same score as their Premier League compadres ? 40 to 26. Both of these sides will now meet in the Jim Beam Cup elimination semi-final next Saturday. Newtown ran up a 24-0 lead in the first half against Windsor but the Wolves hit back in the second half, with the Jets looking decidedly shaky holding on to a 30-26 lead with twelve minutes still on the clock. Two late tries to the Jets wrapped up the result and kept alive their faint hopes of a third place finish, although subsequent results on the weekend put paid to those aspirations.

Hard running Newtown second-rower Khalid Deeb collected three tries and assisted in two others, confirming just what a valuable player he is for Newtown?s Jim Beam Cup team. Coach Greg Matterson will spend a couple of anxious days awaiting a decision from the NSWRL judiciary following Deeb being placed on report in the second half of this match. Jets front-rower Ritchie Parker gave another solid performance along with tough hooker Matt Habojan. Centre Nathan McMahon gave a fine defensive display.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs certainly turned up ready to play in Sunday?s VB Premier League match and were obviously determined to spring an upset on their Foundation Club neighbours. Souths led 10-0 after twenty minutes and were clearly unsettling the Jets with their spoiling, in your face style of play. The Jets incurred a major setback when classy centre Lelea Paea suffered a broken jaw midway through the first half. The Gold Coast-bound Paea?s strength and creative flair will be sorely missed in the upcoming finals series.

The Rabbitohs continued to harass Newtown after half-time and the Jets task seemed even more daunting, following five-eighth Jeremy Gordon?s dismissal with a full twenty-five minutes left to play and the Jets 20-10 in arrears. The match then underwent an extraordinary transformation as the Jets plied on four converted tries in the space of seven minutes, racing from a 20-10 deficit to a 34-20 lead. Both teams scored tries before full-time but the Jets claimed the competition points and guaranteed themselves a top two finish on the premiership table.

Lopini Paea was Newtown?s best forward, a very impressive performance given that it was his first game back in action after a lengthy suspension. His brother Mickey gave a lion-hearted display despite suffering badly from the effects of influenza. Lock Mitch Aubusson scored two fine tries and confirmed that he has a real taste for getting amongst the four-pointers at Telstra Stadium. Michael Burns had one of his best games of the season, including one triumphant fifty-metre effort to virtually seal the match. Fullback Aidan Kirk and half-back Mitch Pearce were Newtown?s best backs.

All roads lead to Henson Park next Saturday (September 2nd) for the ever-popular Newtown Jets players, officials, staff and supporters annual reunion. The Jets take on the St. George-Illawarra Dragons in the VB Premier League match at 3.00pm and will be out to establish ascendancy over a strong opponent that they may encounter again in the finals series. The reunion kicks on back at the Jets Sports Club in Holbeach Avenue, Tempe after the football at Henson Park.

Newtown and Windsor face off again in the Jim Beam Cup elimination semi-final also on Saturday (September 2nd), with this sudden death match at OKI Jubilee Stadium (Kogarah Oval) kicking off at 1.00pm. Those Newtown supporters who go to support the Jets Jim Beam Cup team will still have plenty of time to get to Henson Park for the long-awaited Jets-Dragons showdown at Henson Park on Reunion Day 2006.

Photo:
Newtown Jets classy lock-forward Mitch Aubusson scores against South Sydney at Telstra Stadium on Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Gary Sutherland Photography.