An upset for the ages and a moment of madness from one of the league’s star playmakers that could result in a lengthy ban. Check out the biggest stories from round eight of Group 7.
There is a lot of action to unpack from round eight of Group 7 Rugby League.
There are new league leaders after a title-turning victory, but that’s hardly the biggest headline of the week.
A crazy comeback led to one of the biggest upsets in modern Group 7 history.
While across the grounds, a moment of pure madness saw a star player sent off for presumably a large spell on the sidelines.
Check out the full wrap of round eight.
Roberts send off for brain explosion as Gorillas lose back-to-back
A shock Jamberoo Superoos victory over defending champions Warilla-Lake South Gorillas was headlined by a moment of madness that resulted in the sending off of star five-eighth Tyrone Roberts.
24 minutes into the match and down by six points, Roberts swung at the head of Jamberoo lock forward Jayden Morgan three times while going in to make a tackle, before being dragged away by his teammates.
An immediate “He’s got to go” was picked up on the referee microphone as the former-NRL prospect Roberts made the third strike attempt.
As he was sent from the field, an incensed Roberts continued to gesture and mouth off towards the Jamberoo side.
There is no word yet on how long the five-eighth will be out of action for.
Incident aside there was still a game of footy to be played, a game which would be dominated by the Jamberoo side in the absence of Warilla’s star playmaker.
The Superoos put on five tries unanswered to run away with the game, including a spectacular double from second-rower Corey Grigg.
Grigg showed the ability of a halfback in chipping and chasing his own kick to score his first, before breaking the line and stepping the fullback on his second.
Matt Forsyth also picked up a double from centre, while Jayden Morgan got the last laugh by getting one for himself.
Kye Deane, James Hoy and Tobi Rosewarn picked up late tries for the Gorillas to make the scoreline more respectable, but all in all it was an afternoon to forget for the premiers as they were downed 30-14.
New league leaders as Stingrays unbeaten run comes to an end
Captain fullback Adam Quinlan starred as the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets ended the unbeaten reign of the Stingrays of Shellharbour.
The 27-14 victory ended six games unbeaten for the Stingrays and has pushed the Jets to the top of the Group 7 ladder (Stingrays have a game in hand).
It was a tight back-and-forth affair as to be expected, with Zaan Weatherall getting scoring underway in the first half after a nice offload from his brother Ben Weatherall.
The Jets would unlock the Stingrays defence through some raw pace, first a line break from halfback Clyde Parsons to supply his winger Beau Luland, before centre Brayden Omoeboh did it all himself to break down the right flank and charge in to score untouched.
The Stingrays would bounce back after a neat grubber from Jake Horton was planted down by Toby Peters, bringing the scoreline back level.
From here though it was the Adam Quinlan show, putting on three tries to seal the deal for the high-flying Jets.
First off a scrum win Quinlan would charge down the left flank, showing the ball to his winger but flying into score himself.
Next, Quinlan would show his agility close to the line, throwing a big dummy left before stepping the defenders and going in to score a second.
His third would come after some great running down the left flank from Luland, with Quinlan doing a fullback’s job perfectly in supporting the attack and going into complete his hat-trick.
Weatherall grabbed a second for the Stingrays but it would not be enough to mount a comeback, with Parsons adding a field goal late on to complete a potential title-turning victory for the Jets.
Upset of the year as Eagles mount comeback for the ages
Undoubtedly the biggest upset of the season came as the previously winless Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles tackled the juggernaut Gerringong Lions 36-32 in front of a raucous home crowd.
It looked to be business as usual for the Lions on the back of grand final revenge last week against the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas, as they put on the first four tries of the match through Jack Quine, JackWalsh, LiamHolland and Kal Collins.
From here though, the Eagles hustled like we haven’t seen all season, with five-eighth JamesWalsh right at the heart of their comeback.
Walsh opened his account with some excellent footwork and stepping close to the line to plant down the Eagles opener.
From the next kick off, Walsh fielded the kick on the burst, before busting right back through the line and charging down field, before putting on a massive step to put the last defender on his back and go in to score another try.
The Eagles were putting together some great moves down their left flank, with MitchellPotts and RyanJones both profiting from some nice interplay down that side.
Halfback KaneBall picked up his first try as well down the opposite flank, after JiyeEllis broke the line and kicked back in field for his halfback to chase down and score.
It was to be Kane Ball to seal the famous win, down by two points with minutes on the clock, breaking down the right flank and stepping the fullback to score and cue delirium at Centenary Field.
A 20 point comeback and a first win of the season for the Eagles, incredible scenes.
Long range tries galore as Sharks smash Bulldogs
The Shellharbour Sharks ran riot on a sloppy defensive afternoon from the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs, emerging 38-6 winners.
The Bulldogs would open the scoring early on through big PaulThornton, crashing over from close range.
From here it was all the Sharks though, putting on eight tries unanswered, some of which were truly spectacular.
EzeHarper got the scoring underway with a full field intercept try down the left flank, not the first time he’s gone long range this season.
JoshuaStarling was having a day from prop forward, showing great running power and distribution to charge upfield and assist his centre JacobSeabrook.
From the next kick off, Starling would return the first hit up, but catch the Bulldogs defence napping by passing to his winger Eze who again charged down the field, this time releasing Seabrook again for his second try within a matter of minutes.
JyeBrooker picked up a couple to his name as well, being in the right place to finish some nice left to right spreads from the Sharks.
Ryan James picked up try of the match in a move started by BraxtonWallace on the Sharks 10m line, breaking a few tackles on a kick return before feeding his centre on the right flank, who kept the legs pumping and ran 80m while fending off about four attempted tackles to score a beauty.
Hooker BrodyRigg also scored a great solo try to see off the game, breaking a number of tackles and running 60m to cap off a good day out for the home side.
Knights back in the winners circle against Magpies
The Kiama Knights bounced back with a much needed 30-14 win over the Berry Shoalhaven Heads Magpies.
The first half was closely fought with neither team allowing the other to run away with it.
Knights fullback CadeHotham had the try of the half, turning defence into attack at one end and running 90m with his opposing fullback MaxJennings in hot pursuit, but the Knights no. 1 prevailed.
The Knights found a winning formula down their left flank with centre CameronCornell right in the thick of the action all afternoon, scoring two tries down that side and setting up ThomasAngel for a try of his own.
Matt Morris was also running riot down that side, scoring one himself and providing some nice interplay with Cornell.
Berry got on the scoresheet intermittently through some of their big forwards in EvanO’Shea and TrentGriffiths, but were unable to dampen the momentum of the Knights in the second half which carried them to victory.
Originally published as Upset for the ages and star playmaker sent off for brain explosion: Group 7 round eight wrap