Pathways Wrap: 09/03/25

The Sea Eagles Under 17s women’s team struggled in the second half in their 12-10 defeat to the North Sydney Bears at Aubrey Keech Reserve in Round 6 of the Lisa Fiaola Cup.

Manly scored two tries in the opening 20 minutes to shoot out to a 10-0 lead at half-time.

Second-rower Leilani Carpenter scored the opening try in the 14th minute after a few quick passes freed up enough space on the left edge for her to dive over with ease.

Prop Zaira-Mia Tofilau Talau-Brown used heart, determination and strength to push past two defenders with a strong run to score next to the posts in the 19th minute.

In similar fashion to the Sea Eagles, the Bears scored back-to-back tries in quick succession to snatch the lead.

Second-rower Tahira Ameda squeezed her way past five defenders to slam the ball down next to the posts in the 40th minute.

North Sydney took the lead eight minutes later thanks to five-eighth Indianna Carroll. The Sea Eagles weren’t able to close down a chip kick over the defence and after following in support, Carroll caught the ball and raced away to score what turned out to be the match-winning try.

Current Ladder Position: 11th Place, 2 competition points.

Next Up: Round 7 vs Illawarra Steelers @ Collegians Sporting Complex, Wollongong. Saturday March 22, 10.30am.

Tarsha Gale Cup

The Sea Eagles Tarsha Gale Cup team left it late in the match to secure a competition point in their 14-all draw with the North Sydney Bears in the match that followed the Lisa Fiaola Cup.

Manly opened the scoring in the 14th minute when centre Kassidy Kahotea found a gap in the defence with a strong run from ten metres out.

North Sydney hit back five minutes later with a length of the field effort through winger Lilly Wilson to take a 6-4 lead.

Sea Eagles five-eighth Katie O’Mara took on the line herself with a silky dummy pass and crossed over for a try in the 28th minute for a 10-6 lead at the break.

The Bears came out firing in the second half and scored within ten minutes through centre Ava Vaefaga off the back of a looping cut-out pass, levelling the scores at 10 points apiece.

North Sydney scored again in the 42nd minute thanks to a sneaky play out of dummy half from their hooker Bridget Shearer to give her side a 14-10 lead. Manly’s Dena-Leigh Broughton was sent to the sin-bin moments later, setting up a tough challenge for the girls in maroon and white.

After countless sets at the line, the Sea Eagles cracked the Bears’ compact defence with a crafty chip into the back corner of the in-goal from halfback Ruby Jeffries to set up winger Jaydanaye Anguna with three minutes to play. Jeffries failed to convert for a final scoreline of 14-all.

Current Ladder Position: 12th Place, 3 competition points. 0 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses and 1 bye.

Next Opponent: Round 7 vs Illawarra Steelers @ Collegians Sporting Complex, Wollongong. Saturday March 22, 12pm.

Harold Matthews Cup

The Sea Eagles weren’t able to make it four wins in a row following a disappointing 24-10 loss to the Newcastle Knights at Lakeside Sporting Complex on Saturday afternoon in round six of the Harold Matthews Cup.

Knights hooker Zane Hopkins burrowed under the defence in the fourth minute to score the opening try.

Manly captain Sifa Oldfield brought his side back into the match with a well-worked try in the 16th minute. The agile second-rower used some crafty footwork to get past his opposite defender before forcing his way past three other defenders to score for a 6-4 scoreline.

Newcastle five-eighth Cooper Votano fooled the defence with a dummy pass to squeeze through the defence and score to extend the score to 12-4 in the 24th minute.

The Knights scored their third try and pushed the lead to 18-4 in the 35th minute when winger Jett McKay won an aerial contest for the ball before racing away from the defender to score.

Sea Eagles hooker Ashton Large scored a similar try to his Knights counterpart four minutes later after burrowing under the defence to score next to the posts. Lock Beau McKee converted to cut the deficit to eight points with 20 minutes to play.

Despite Manly’s best efforts in defence, Newcastle pushed through off a quick tap to score on the stroke of full-time through prop Ashton Allen for a final score of 24-10.

Current Ladder Position: 6th place, 8 competition points. 3 wins, 2 losses and 1 bye).

Next Opponent: Round 7 vs Cronulla Sharks @ Sharks Stadium, Sunday March 23, 1.30pm.

SG Ball Cup

Manly’s SG Ball Cup side slumped to a 44-6 defeat to the Newcastle Knights in the match that followed the Harold Matthews Cup Clash on Saturday afternoon.

Sea Eagles hooker Tamoko Berryman-Duff kicked a perfectly-placed 40/20 in the seventh minute to propel his side downfield. The side capitalised and scored one minute later through Matthew Crossingham.

The second-rower ran a perfect line off a short ball from five-eighth Tyler Melrose to go over untouched for a 6-0 lead.

Newcastle hit back and scored three tries in a 12-minute period through Haami Loza, Jaylan Bishop and Aidan Gow to take a 16-6 lead into the break.

The home side kept their foot on the pedal and went on to score three minutes into the second half. Forward Ezekiel Leti crashed through the defence to score his sides fourth try of the day to push their lead out to 20-6.

The Knights scored five more unanswered tries in the final 30 minutes for a final scoreline of 44-6.

Current Ladder Position: 13th Place. 2 competition points (1 win, 5 losses)

Next Opponent: Round 7 vs Cronulla Sharks @ Sharks Stadium, Sunday March 23, 3.15pm.