Western Suburbs Magpies travelled to Belmore for their top of the table NSW KOE Cup clash against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, while our Junior Representative teams hosted the Bulldogs at Kirkham Oval in Camden. It was a tough weekend in tough conditions for your Victa Magpies this weekend, with the Sydney heat wave setting the scene for our three matches. Browse our photo gallery from the weekend courtesy of Warren Gannon Photography, and be sure to sign up as a Magpies Member to show your support for our great rugby league club!
Round 3 - NSW Knock-on Effect Cup @ Belmore Sports Ground
The curtain-raiser to the NRL's multicultural round at Belmore, the Magpies faced a difficult task with star halfback Brendan Wakeham and speedy winger Junior Pauga both promoted to the Wests Tigers, resulting in a new-look 17. While both sides were undefeated in this round, it was the Bulldogs who hit the ground running with six unanswered tries by the half-time break. The Magpies scored via new halfback Kade Hill and second-rower Brandon Tumeth (returning from his NRL debut,) but it was to no avail, with the Magpies going down 44-12 in the scorching afternoon heat.
Next week, the KOE Victa Magpies return home for our first Lidcombe Oval home game of the season on Saturday 25th March. Be there to see us bounce back against our foundation club rivals the North Sydney Bears, as we battle it out for the Jason Taylor Cup.
Round 6 - Junior Representatives (SG Ball and Harold-Matthews Cup) @ Kirkham Oval, Camden
Our junior representatives played hard and strong, but didn't manage to come away with the win in the end. Our Harold-Matthews side went down by just two points, taking the lead after tries to Byronn Laupepa and Luke Laulilii before being run down in the 57th minute to lose 14-12 to the Bulldogs. Our SG Ball side kept the game close with a Tallyn Da Silva double following Zakauri Clarke's opening try, however the Bulldogs were too strong in the heat, winning 30-16 in Camden.
Our junior reps will need strong wins this weekend as they host the North Sydney Bears at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday morning. Harold-Matthews kicks off at 10am with SG Ball at 11:30, giving you plenty of time to head out and support our juniors before hopping the train to Lidcombe for the Jason Taylor Cup.
