Saturday June 3rd Match Report: KOE NSW Cup Magpies V Canberra Raiders
The Victa Magpies came home to the great Lidcombe Oval on Saturday to take on sixth placed Canberra Raiders. The Magpies went into the game off the back of a mid-season form slump, losing four in a row before our return to Lidcombe. We had some strong additions to our team list before the match to bolster our playing stocks, with Wests Tigers' Brent Naden returning from injury at left centre, and the NSW Cup debut of Magpies Harold-Matthews and SG Ball hooker Tallyn Da Silva. Needing to pick up a win to stay in touch with the top six, Wests could have been put off by a poor start when Canberra's Danny Levi crashed over from dummy half just four minutes into the game, but we persevered. Hitting back ten minutes later through Brandon Mansfield, both teams began to wrestle through a tight contest. Manaia Cherrington put us in the lead, before we conceded to Xavier Savage. It wasn't until our Masterton Magic Moment that we looked in control of the match, with a flying Daine Laurie finding space behind the ruck to put us into the lead, crossing for his double ten minutes later. Some good defensive pressure and field position from the Magpies held us in good stead to finish, and while we did falter in the final ten minutes (with Savage crossing for his second in the 75th minute), we held onto an eight point lead to finish 26-18 victors at home.
The win over Canberra puts us in 9th on the KOE NSW Cup ladder. With a Top 5 finals system in 2023, the Magpies will need to start on a winnning streak beginning this weekend against Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles. Luckily, we'll have two Lidcombe Oval home games to come, including the inaugural Roy Masters Cup on Sunday June 18th against the Dragons, and a double header against the Bulldogs on Saturday 24th June. Be there to cheer us home!
*
With two Lidcombe Oval home games in June, now's the perfect time to secure yourself a Wests Magpies membership! Sign up now on our website or Magpies Online Shop for no more than $30 a year to get free entry to all our Lidcombe Oval home games. Support the mighty Western Suburbs Magpies, and become a member today!
