Shore 24 – 41 Riverview

Riverview strengthened their premiership credentials with an impressive 41-24 victory over Shore, using their speed at the breakdown and attacking width to pull away from the home side.

The opening stages were a tense arm wrestle as Riverview worked tirelessly to escape their own half before finally earning field position deep inside Shore territory. Front rower Sebastian Conna broke the deadlock, tapping from a penalty five metres out and burrowing over beside the posts.

Shore responded immediately through winger Joel Hamilford, who finished in the corner after a well-executed cut-out pass created space out wide.

Riverview regained control shortly after when prop James Hannaford crashed over from close range following a clever tip-on ball at the line.

The visitors then blew the game open. Winger Ned Attrill showcased his blistering pace to score down the left edge before second rower Hunter Reich powered over soon after, extending Riverview’s lead to 24-7.

Shore refused to go away, producing a backline move straight from the training paddock that sent fullback Charlie Burey over untouched.

However, Reich continued to cause havoc on the left edge. The towering second rower burst through the defensive line before offloading to Jack Plamondon, who crossed to give Riverview a 29-12 halftime advantage.

The second half started in spectacular fashion when Attrill grabbed his second try after winning a fortunate bounce from an exiting kick before racing away to score.

Momentum started to swing towards the home side as hooker Henry Baxter, who barged his way over then winger Jeremy Bremner made it two in a row finishing in the left corner, reducing the margin to ten points with plenty of time remaining.

Shore then dominated possession for an extended period and looked poised to launch a genuine comeback. Instead, heartbreak arrived when winger Archer Mason intercepted a pass and sprinted away to score a decisive try against the run of play, with Riverview closing out a 41-24 victory to remain firmly in the premiership hunt.

St Joseph’s 24 – 46 Kings

Kings produced one of their best performances of the season, overpowering St Joseph’s 46-24 to claim a convincing away victory.

The visitors made an immediate statement when No.8 Toby Davies exploded through the defensive line to score the opening try.

Joeys responded through winger Riley Bourne, who was given space out wide and made it look easy as he raced into the corner.

Inside centre Talen Risati stamped his authority on the game, spotting a gap in the defensive line before accelerating around the final defender to score a brilliant individual try.

Kings continued to pile on the pressure when second rower Duke Millward produced a superb flick pass to put flanker Jett Watkin over. 

Bourne struck again for Joeys after a well-worked counterattack, but Kings always seemed to have another answer.

A powerful pick-and-go try shortly before halftime handed the visitors a commanding 26-12 lead at the break.

Kings wasted little time after halftime, with Millward charging through a gap in the Joeys defensive line to extend the advantage.

Kings Hooker Hasani Bloomfield was immense through strong carries and clinical lineout throwing, providing Kings with clean attacking ball.

Bourne continued to be Joeys’ brightest spark and completed a deserved hat-trick after finding half a gap and racing away from defenders.

Kings quickly shut down any hopes of a comeback through the boot of Will Taylor, who punished an ill-disciplined Joeys defence with a penalty goal to stretch the margin beyond two converted tries.

Flanker Connor Durbridge then put the finishing touches on an outstanding team performance, crashing over from close range to seal a comprehensive 46-24 victory.

Scots 38 – 39 Newington

Newington survived a remarkable second-half comeback from Scots to claim a thrilling 39-38 victory and remain firmly in the premiership race.

The ladder leaders wasted no time asserting themselves, with their dominant forward pack laying the platform before the ball was shifted wide for winger Jayden Best to score untouched.

Scots hit back immediately when fullback Asher Chapman slipped through a tackle and delivered an offload for centre Oscar Tremlett to score.

Newington then unleashed a devastating ten-minute burst that appeared to put the contest beyond doubt. Front rower Ilyaz Viliamu powered over from close range before a clean line break created an easy try for flyhalf Cooper Moore. Moments later captain Isaiah Sheck brushed through defenders to crash over and give Newington a commanding 26-5 lead.

Scots desperately needed a response and found one through winger Ben Wright. Receiving the ball on a short-side play, Wright stepped inside one defender before leaving two more grasping at air as he produced a dazzling solo effort try.

A crucial pilfer from flanker Riley Buda eventually allowed Newington to add points through Moore’s penalty goal, extending the lead to 29-10 at halftime.

Scots emerged after the break with renewed energy and nearly struck immediately, only for Moore to produce a try-saving tackle that forced Chapman into touch inches from the line.

The home side maintained the pressure trapping Newington down in their own half and eventually broke through with second rower Hamish Bull scoring. 

Scots’ entertaining edge-to-edge attack continued to flourish, with hooker Harry Jenkins producing an acrobatic finish to narrow the deficit to five points. Moore steadied Newington with a penalty goal, but Scots refused to disappear.

Another touchline-to-touchline movement ended with a try in the corner for the home side, reducing the margin to just a single point with six minutes remaining.

With momentum completely against them, Newington somehow found the knockout blow.

Winger Timoci Nagusa produced a stunning solo effort from nowhere, slicing through the defence to score what proved to be the match-winning try.

Scots crossed one final time after the siren, but Newington held on for a pulsating 39-38 victory in one of the games of the GPS season.