Jets, Cougars & Wenty reports

Jets Edge Out Cougars in Qualifying Final Thriller

The Newtown Jets have advanced to the 2006 VB Premier League Preliminary Final following their narrow 20-18 win over the Penrith-St Marys Cougars, in the Qualifying Final match played at Henson Park on Friday night. The Jets have also gone through to the Preliminary Final stage in the Jim Beam Cup next Saturday (September 16th), in the wake of an exciting 22-20 victory against Wentworthville at a rain-lashed Leichhardt Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The Jets did it all the hard way against the Cougars, trailing by 18-4 after thirty minutes of the first half before pulling back to 18-10 in arrears through a morale-boosting converted try right on half-time. Newtown gained the lead for the first time in the match with only 18 minutes left to play, and then had to defend desperately for extended periods to preserve that margin. Outgoing Penrith Panthers coach John Lang praised the Cougars after the match, saying that they had stuck to their game plan and made full use of the strong southerly breeze in the first half. He added that the Cougars had done everything that could be asked of a team playing in what was their own elimination semi-final.

The Newtown team might have lacked cohesion in the first forty minutes but they struck all the right chords when they really needed to in the nerve-racking second half. They now have two clear weeks to fine-tune their combination for whichever team they will face up to in the Preliminary Final. The Jets best forwards were hooker Heath L?Estrange, front-rowers Glenn Hall and Mickey Paea, second-rower Adam Schubert (who made a great return from the injured list) and in-form lock forward Mitch Aubusson. Fullback Aidan Kirk gave another solid performance at full-back, included a much-needed try in the first half. Winger Troy Malcolm had an excellent second half, claiming one try for himself and positioning Mitch Aubusson for the try that gave Newtown the lead. Halves Jamie Soward and Josh Lewis took some time to ?click? back in the Premier League ranks but both showed what they will be capable of in the remaining finals matches.

Newtown?s 22-20 win over Wentworthville in the Jim Beam Cup Elimination Semi-Final at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday was based on a strong, disciplined performance from the entire forward pack. The Jets led 18-6 at the break and extended this to 22-6 early in the second half. As the Jets? mistake rate started to rise, Wentworthville hit back with three quick tries to trail by two points with a full twenty minutes left to play.

To say that Newtown had a mixture of good and bad fortune in this match is somewhat of an understatement. With his team trailing by 22-20, the Wentworthville goal-kicker dispatched what looked like being a successful conversion attempt only for the football to be carried back from the air space between the uprights by a massive wind gust ? what one awe-struck Newtown supporter described in Biblical terms as ?the Breath of the Lord?! The misfortune came right on full-time when plucky little Jets half-back Luke Millwood suffered a broken jaw in an appalling off-the-ball incident only seconds before the final siren, one that the NSWRL Judiciary members are sure to look at very closely this week. Newtown?s best forwards were Ritchie Parker, Zoran Ilijoski, Billy Baleilomaloma and Rimini Reweti, while Anton La Vin and Charlie Herekotukutuku had strong games in the backs.

The Jets Jim Beam Cup team now moves on to a Preliminary Final appointment against Cabramatta, with this match being played at Leichhardt Oval next Saturday (September 16th) at 3.00pm. Newtown?s VB Premier League side will be playing in the Preliminary Final on either the 22nd or 23rd September. Further match details will be on the Newtown Jets website as soon as they become available.