Game Summary
Newtown Jets flew out of the blocks at 4 Pines Park in a dominant display to defeat Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 52-6 in Round 21 of The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.
While the home side came into the contest looking for just their second win for the season, the Jets needed a strong win to stay in touch with the top five and maintain their chances of a potential finals berth.
Newtown had to start fast and did just that six minutes into the match, with hooker Jayden Berrell snatching an offload from the returning Toby Rudolf before grubbering through for Michael Gabrael to score.
Not long after, the Jets’ left edge continued to cause problems for the Sea Eagles as Sam Stonestreet crossed for a quickfire double. The first came from a darting run and offload by fullback Liam Ison into the hands of Gabrael who then laid on a pass for Stonestreet, then the winger ran onto a floating Riley Pollard pass for his second, giving Newtown a 14-0 lead.
Two more Jets got in on the act before half-time with Brad Fearnley producing a remarkable individual try from 40 metres out, before Taj Ford strolled through untouched from another well-placed Berrell grubber. Pollard converted both tries to take a 26-0 lead into the main break.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Jets kept up their intensity in attack. In the 48th minute Berrell linked up with Ison from dummy-half and caught the ball back for a try of his own, then it was Ison who steamed onto Pollard’s inside pass to score minutes later. The follow-up try saw the fullback bust through to set up Pollard for a four-pointer, before winger Chris Vea’ila found the scoresheet with an acrobatic finish in the right corner.
With 10 minutes remaining Stonestreet brought up his hat-trick, this try once again from a Berrell grubber down the short side, as the Jets surpassed the half-century taking a 52-0 lead. Manly finished the match with a consolation effort as bench hooker Zaidas Muagututia powered over at close range from dummy-half, with Tex Hoy’s conversion rounding off the 52-6 final score.
Talking Points
Jayden Berrell’s craftiness from dummy-half came to the fore throughout the match, having his fingerprints on almost every Jets try. His short kicking game was also on show setting up three tries off his boot.
It was good to see Toby Rudolf pull on the Newtown jersey for the first time since 2024. His power through the middle helped the Jets to the fast start they needed, while Rudolf also had a hand in an early try with a late offload.
The Jets' left edge remains a dangerous proposition for opposition teams, with centre Michael Gabrael crossing early and wing partner Sam Stonestreet bagging a hat-trick.
Key Moment
The Jets’ second four-pointer, which came very shortly after the first, showed that Newtown weren’t going to show any complacency in a game they needed to win for their finals aspirations. Jayden Berrell darted out to the left from near halfway and handed off to Liam Ison at speed making a half-break and offloading to Michael Gabrael, who then passed to Sam Stonestreet score his first of three tries for the afternoon.
What’s Next?
The Sea Eagles have the last of their four byes in Round 22, while the Jets host South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday at Henson Park in another important clash for their top-five hopes.
