Junior Reps Report: Round 1

A fast start was not enough to propel Darren Nicholls' Dragons to victory as they fell to Canberra 32-24 in the nation's capital.

Skipper Lorima Saukuru sent William Pappas over in the opening exchanges before Rauna Ryder-Kingi crashed his way over to make it a double-digit lead.

Saukuru found a try of his own moments later as the Red V notched their third try in the opening quarter of the match before a 25th-minute Lachlan Gardiner made it 20-0.

Canberra however owned the period leading into the break nabbing tries through Zildjian Tafili and Kye Anderson to cut the half-time deficit back to 10.

The first points of the second stanza belonged to the hosts with Tiger Campbell crossing as their fightback picked up more steam.

They hit the front 10 minutes later with Denzel Veikune finding a four-pointer before a late Cooper Johnston double gave them an insurmountable edge heading into the home stretch.

Samuel Mardini went over off a nice Gardiner cut-out but it proved not enough as the Raiders held on for a Round 1 win.

Illawarra's SG Ball unit went down in a heartbreaker of their own falling to South Sydney 28-22 at Redfern Oval on Saturday.

Mason Andrews, fresh off spending part of the pre-season training with the club's NRL squad, powered his way over early before South Sydney answered with back-to-back tries via William Leha and Phillip Lavakeiaho.

Mason Phillips burrowed his way over out prior to half-time to lock things up at 12-apiece.

The back-and-forth nature of the affair persisted into the second half with Archie Wheeler finding points for Illawarra before Dean Tauaa responded for the Rabbitohs moments later.

Andrews' strong season opener continued with the big man finding a second try with 18 minutes on the clock to put the Steelers up 22-18.

Late tries to Cody Hill and Taj Aufai-Farani however saw the hosts storm home to seal a six-point win.

TARSHA GALE CUP

The Dragons fell to the Raiders 32-10 in their opening Tarsha Gale Cup clash of 2026 in Canberra on Saturday.

Canberra got off to a strong start with Frankie Cappello, Eliza Taylor, and Uta Uatisone Poka all crossing for early tries.

The Dragons crafted responses through Josephine Zapantis and Morgan Simon to surge back into the contest.

Four-pointers to Sara Small, Kymiah Stewart, and Summer Luamanu however quashed any hopes of a Red V fightback as the home side cruised to a 22-point victory.

The Steelers secured a win in their Tarsha Gale Cup season opener downing South Sydney 22-4 at Redfern Oval in warm conditions on Saturday.

Illawarra got off to a sizzling start with Australian Schoolgirls representative Skye Spencer pouncing on a South Sydney knock-on to dive over before Elli Young found herself on the end of a nice Ella Greatz break to make it 8-0 just seven minutes in.

Spencer linked with halves partner Greatz to find a second 21 minutes in and give her Steelers a 14-0 advantage which they took into the break.

Spencer threw a perfect cut-out to skipper Kiara Kostovski as the Steelers took advantage of their first chance of the second stanza.

Shylah Mitchell went over for the visitors 53 minutes in to put the icing on the cake and seal a strong Steelers win despite a late South Sydney four-pointer.

HAROLD MATTHEWS CUP

The Dragons were unable to overcome a slow start going down to the Raiders 24-10 in their Harold Matthews Cup showdown on Saturday.

Canberra found themselves up 18-0 just 20 minutes in with Thompson Hurford, Campbell Lloyd, and Jezaiah Charles all managing tries.

Jack Lambert found a needed try for St George off a Seluki Halangahu offload prior to the break.

Halangahu muscled his way over for the opening points of the second half as the Dragons found themselves back in the fight.

Canberra managed to hold their nerve however and earn a handy buffer as Karney Kelly crossed entering the final quarter of the match for what proved the clash's final say.

The Steelers held off South Sydney in a finals replay at Redfern Oval notching an 18-16 win to open their campaign.

Preston Sager opened the visitors' account just six minutes in off a well-run, right-side shift before the rangy winger set up his centre Hunter Berghuis for another try 22 minutes in.

Mehmet Varol got the Rabbitohs on the board prior to cut the deficit back to 8-6.

Payton Tarau charged his way over for South Sydney on the other side of the half to put them ahead for the first time before Kruz Efaraimo scored for Illawarra to put them back on top 14-12.

With Zavier Suluvale-Liumaunu in the sin-bin for South Sydney, Preston Ruiz went over to make it 18-12 for the Steelers.

A Devida Hopoate try with eight minutes remaining brought the Rabbitohs back within two to set up a grandstand finish.

The Rabbitohs had a penalty goal waved away after the siren as the Steelers held on for a strong win away from home.

LISA FIAOLA CUP

St George went down to Canberra 48-12 in their opening Lisa Fiaola Cup hit-out of the season.

The Raiders jumped out to a 22-0 lead with Chelsea Tyrrell, Meah Beecham, Sarah Price and Evie Perry finding first-half tries.

The Dragons showed some nice fight with Ashlee Biernat and Maude Moon Havea snagging four-pointers to cut the difference back to 10 heading into the sheds.

The second half belonged to the home side however with Perry nabbing two more to go along with tries to Janarah Walford, Sarah Price, and Jordyn McFadden.

A strong second stanza propelled the Rabbitohs to a 24-6 win over the Steelers at Redfern Oval on Saturday.

The hosts leapt out to a double-digit lead behind tries to Zsa Zsa Millward and Cobi Ryan-Last.

Mia Davis got the Steelers on the board prior to the half to bring it back to 10-6.

A second-half flurry spurred South Sydney to victory however with Ryan-Last finishing with a hat-trick as Emmaline Falepapalangi also got her name on the scoresheet.