There may still be four rounds to play, but it looks like Moss Vale Dragons, Narellan Jets and reigning premiers Campbelltown City Kangaroos won’t make the cut in 2018.
After 14 rounds Picton Magpies lead the premiership race with 24 points, followed by The Oaks Tigers on 21, Camden Rams and last year’s grand finalists Thirlmere Roosters on 19.
Fifth placed Mittagong Lions with 18 points have a four point buffer between them and the teams outside the top five – and should be safe.
The Oaks and Mittagong square off in a vital match this Sunday, while Camden get the chance to consolidate their finals spot with a win over the Kangaroos on the same day.
On the weekend, Thirlmere and The Oaks played out a thrilling 32-32 draw, reports MIKE SHEAN, of Macarthur Sport Radio.
The Roosters and Tigers couldn’t be separated after 80 minutes, as they played out the second draw of the first grade season, with the fans at Thirlmere Sportsground witnessing a thriller.
Scoring opened quickly with Thirlmere centre Justin Smith crossing after just four minutes.
The match quickly turned on its head when it became the Mitchell Brasington show, as the Tigers’ captain scored a rapid fire double, giving the visitors a 10-4 lead after just 15 minutes.
The rate of scoring continued to be fast, as Blake Sutton crossed for the Roosters on 21 minutes, with Adam Campbell scoring minutes later as Thirlmere struck back, leading 14-10 on 25 minutes.
As was the nature of the game, the Tigers struck back shortly after, with Sean Finnerty crossing on the half hour, before Dayne Craig restored the lead to the Roosters.
Thirlmere took a six-point lead to the rooms, when Dayne Craig appeared to die with the ball on the siren, before popping it out behind him, and eventually leading to returning captain coach Jake Mullaney scoring in the right-hand corner.
The second half didn’t take long to fire up again, with Thirlmere winger Allan Shipley opening a 26-16 lead for the home side, but, as was the case, this didn’t last for long.
Tigers centre Cody Ral replied in kind minutes later, and the scoreline actually held still for a period of time, with the Roosters holding a 26-20 lead.
The fast-tempo scoring nature returned in the final 15 minutes, when Sean Finnerty scored a brilliant solo try to make the final stages very interesting, with the scores tied at 26-26.
Sutton scored his second with 11 minutes left, and suddenly the Roosters held the lead again, but nobody was certain this would be the final score, and they would be right.
Ben Scambary played his typical role for The Oaks, scoring the final try of the match with four minutes left. Brasington added his fourth conversion of the day, levelling the scores at 32-32.
Both sides tried to seal the win in the final minutes, but neither could do so, and walked away with a point each, after an entertaining 80 minutes of rugby league.
Picking best players from both sides was difficult, with Jake Mullaney, Dayne Craig and Jordan Tongahai all impressing for the Roosters, while for the Tigers, Mitchell and Matthew Brasington, along with their front row of James Kovac, Ryan Russell, and Lopini Paea were all standouts.
RESULTS Group 6 Rugby League premiership Round 14
FIRST GRADE
Campbelltown City 18 Picton Magpies 38;
Camden Rams 54 Moss Vale Dragons 16;
Thirlmere Roosters 32 The Oaks Tigers 32.
Mittagong and Narellan – Bye.
RESERVE GRADE
Campbelltown City 14 Picton 36;
Camden 14 Appin 28;
Thirlmere 32 The Oaks 18;
Narellan 8 Oran Park 42;
Oakdale 6 Mittagong 64.
UNDER 18
Campbelltown City 29 Picton 26;
Camden 54 Moss Vale 12;
Narellan 42 Warragamba 10;
Mt Annan Oakdale 16 Mittagong 36.
LEAGUE TAG
City Blue 56 Picton 0;
Camden 36 Moss Vale 0;
Narellan 16 Oran Park 0;
Thirlmere 36 The Oaks 0;
Oakdale 0 Mittagong 36.
City Gold – Bye.
SECOND DIVISION
Campbelltown City 12 Picton 10;
Bundanoon Highlanders 28 Oran Park Chargers 16;
Narellan Jets 12 Warragamba Wombats 26.
NEXT WEEK – ROUND 15 – SUNDAY 2.30pm
Moss Vale v Narellan;
The Oaks v Mittagong;
Camden v Campbelltown City
