The Illawarra Steelers' Tarsha Gale side recorded a convincing 48-14 win over the Sydney Indigenous Academy in slippery conditions at WIN Stadium, Wollongong over the weekend.
It was the first time this season that they recorded back-to-back victories as they jumped to second on the competition ladder.
The Steelers were fast out of the blocks, scoring two quick tries courtesy of centre Maddison Perceval and halfback Lilly-Rose Bennett.
The girls kept it up in the second quarter, with Bennett again crossing the white stripe.
The Indigenous Side hit back with a try to Sarah Johnson but it didn't prevent the Steelers onslaught as they crossed again through Hannah England to lead 20-4 at half-time.
Captain, Keeley Davis backed up her Woman of the Match performance from last week with another great display, leading from the front and scoring a two tries yet again.
While Kyla Gordon scored again for the Academy, further tries to Perceval, Bennett and Brodie Grogan completed the nine-try rout.
Winger Emily Fletcher was pleased with the performance of the girls.
"We all worked together really well and backed up with this performance. I feel like we have worked on our weaknesses and pushed through," the Woman of the Match said.
"We have really come together as a team and we’re all really close friends now.
Coach Dan Lacey echoed Fletcher’s comments: "Our preparation was a bit hindered so to get as many points as we did is a good effort for us. To be able to score nine tries is a credit to the girls."
Illawarra Steelers 48 (Lilly-Rose Bennett 3, Keeley Davis 2, Maddison Perceval 2, Hannah England, Brodie Grogan tries; Lilly-Rose Bennett 2, Keeley Davis 2, Mikayla Malaki, Maddison Perceval goals) defeated Sydney Indigenous Academy 14 (Sarah Johnson, Kyla Gordon, Robyn Draper tries; Robyn Draper 1 goal) at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
The Illawarra Steelers' Harold Matthews outfit were able to produce an 18-all draw with the Sydney Roosters on Saturday afternoon at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
The Steelers were slow out of the blocks, with the Roosters leading 10-0 at half-time.
Tries to five-eighth Zach Herring and prop Lleyton Roach however gave the Steelers a 12-10 lead.
The Roosters were first to score in the second half through hooker Mitchell Gardiner but the Steelers were able to respond through centre Max Feagai in the 57th minute.
With Feagai barging over from close range, back-rower Aaron Schoupp made no mistake with the conversion to help the Steelers to an 18-16 lead with minutes remaining.
However with the Roosters awarded a penalty in the dying seconds, halfback Bailey Hayward was able to slot a penalty goal to help his side earn an 18-all draw.
Steelers lock Oscar Fitzpatrick shared his thoughts on the game.
"We started off a bit slow but we ended up coming back and showed some courage to get back into the game," Fitzpatrick said.
"(Coach Ben Linde) said at half-time to hold onto the ball and focus on the team.
"We were pretty devastated [with the draw]. We thought we had it. We worked hard to get back into the game. It was an unlucky end."
Linde said it was a good lesson for the young Steelers.
"We looked flat right from the outset. We didn’t have an attacking set at all in the first half which makes it tough to score points," Linde said.
"We completed four of 12 sets in the first half which is just unacceptable. This game will be a good for the boys."
Meanwhile the St George Dragons Harold Matthews outfit continued their winless start to the season after being beaten 44-0 by the Penrith Panthers.
The Panthers were in control from the get-go but only managed a 14-0 lead at half-time thanks to tries from Jake Blackburn, Immanuel Tagaloamatua and Sadee Sub Laban.
Penrith continued where they left off in the first half as they scored three tries in just six minutes early in the second stanza through Bailey Hamlin, Bailey Wyatt and Tagaloamatua.
The Panthers consolidated their huge win with further tries to Ajay Iosefa and Jai Wynbergen in the final 10 minutes of proceedings.
Illawarra Steelers 18 (Zach Herring, Lleyton Roach, Max Feagai tries, Aaron Schoupp 3 goals) drew with the Sydney Roosters 18 (Mason Ward, William Fagan, Mitchell Gardiner tries, Bailey Hayward 3 goals) at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
Penrith Panthers 44 (Immanuel Tagaloamatua 2, Jake Blackburn, Sadee Sub Laban, Bailey Hamlin, Bailey Wyatt, Ajay Iosefa, Jai Wynbergen; Donovan Boney 5, Frederick Carey goal(s)) defeated St George Dragons 0 at St Mary's Leagues Club Stadium.
The St George Dragons SG Ball side went down 24-22 in a narrow loss to the Penrith Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers were on fire to begin with as per Ryan Pritchard and Stephen Crichton's tries in the first eight minutes.
John Trimboli's effort midway through the first half put the Panthers up 18-0 before Shondre Lee-Silva managed to peg one back for the Dragons four minutes prior to half-time.
Tries to Joshua Delailoa and Harris Georgopoulos put the Dragons on a level playing field at 18-all.
A try to Panther Maurice Trindall in the 59th minute proved the match winner as Liam Christensen failed to kick the game-levelling conversion at the death following Lee-Silva's late four-pointer.
The Illawarra Steelers SG Ball side had the bye in Round 6.
Penrith Panthers 24 (Ryan Pritchard, Stephen Crichton, John Trimboli, Maurice Trindall tries; Tobias Westcott 4 goals) defeated St George Dragons 22 (Shondre Lee-Silva 2, Joshua Delailoa, Harris Georgopoulos tries; Liam Christensen 3 goals) at St Mary's Leagues Club Stadium.
