Kings held off a fast finishing Joeys outfit to continue their unbeaten start to the 2023 GPS season. 

The North Parramatta side are now four points clear at the top of the GPS ladder, after Riverview were upset by Shore. In Thursday’s other match, Scots struck late to claim a 29-13 over Newington.

Kings 17-10 Joeys

A dominant performance at the breakdown, led by gun No.7 Austin Durbridge helped Kings claim a 17-10 victory over Joeys at Hunters Hill on Thursday afternoon. 

Kings opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a try from a driving maul before dominating possession and territory for the majority of the first half. 

When Joeys did get the ball, unforced errors and a lack of urgency at the breakdown halted their attacking raids. 

Eventually, the home side added a penalty goal and went to the break trailing 5-3. 

Kings quickly extended their lead just minutes into the second half. Attacking from a scrum deep in Joeys’ territory, centre Tom Watts and fullback Boston Fakafanua combined nicely to create space and give winger Hadley Jackson a clear run to the tryline. 

But momentum seemed to swing behind Joeys following Kings’ second try and while Joeys dominated possession and territory for most of the second half, Kings and flanker Austin Durbridge repeatedly won turnovers at the breakdown. 

Every time Joeys looked like scoring, Durbridge struck again in a standout individual performance. 

That pressure eventually led to a loose pass from Joeys, allowing Kings fullback Boston Fakafanua to scoop up the ball and run 50 metres to score and give the visitors a 17-3 lead. 

Joeys scored through prop Gordon Durie inside the final 5 minutes to reduce the deficit to just 7 points and attacked deep in Kings’ territory with the final play of the match. 

But Durbridge was too quick to the breakdown once again and earned a penalty, sealing the 17-10 victory and a four competition point lead at the top of the GPS first XV ladder. 

Shore 26-20 Riverview

Shore somehow held on to claim an impressive 26-20 victory over Riverview at Northbridge. 

In a seesawing match, Riverview looked to have scored twice in the closing stages, but both times the Shore defence held strong, stopping the Riverview attack millimetres from the Shore try line to seal the win. 

Shore led 14-0 early following two similar tries to scrumhalf Hugo Orpin. After Riverview disrupted the Shore maul twice, Orpin darted nicely from the back of the maul to score and give his side an early lead. 

Riverview hit back with a try from a maul, catching the Shore forwards off guard by launching their drive without lifting at the lineout.  

The visitors then took the lead when centre Liam Grover broke a tackle and raced away to score and trailed just 14-10 at the break. 

Grover crossed again early in the second half to give Riverview the lead for the first time in the match, but that lead would change three more times before the end of the afternoon. 

Trailing 15-14, Shore turned down an easy three points from close to the sticks and chose to attack instead and were rewarded when their inside centre scored after a lovely flat pass from flanker Marshall Le Maitre. 

Riverview responded and claimed a 20-19 lead when Grover attracted two defenders and passed to winger Tom Hartmann to score. 

But Iggies spilled the ensuing restart, gifting Shore the ball deep in Riverview territory. 

After controlling the ball nicely and working their way up to the Riverview try line, Le Maitre eventually barged over after many phases of attack. 

Riverview had a chance to take back the lead and steal victory with the final play. After opting for a scrum from a penalty awarded five metres out from Shore’s line, Riverview’s flyhalf looked to have stepped his way through the Shore defence but was held up just short of the line. 

Shore continued to repel the Riverview attack and eventually the visitors spilt the ball, sealing Shore’s first win of the season.  

Scots 29-13 Newington

Scots scored 17 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes to claim a 29-13 victory over Newington at Bellevue Hill in a match that was far closer than the scoreline suggests. 

Newington led 10-0 early following a try from No.8 Josh Va’alotu and a penalty goal but were then forced to defend deep in their own territory for the remainder of the first half. 

After repelling Scots for close to 15 minutes, the Newington defence eventually cracked late in the first half and Scots ran in two quick tries to take a 12-10 lead. 

But Newington hit back with a second penalty goal and led 13-10 at half time. 

Momentum ebbed and flowed for large parts of the second half until fatigue from all of Newington’s first half defence kicked in. 

The Scots’ backs laid on two tries in the final 10 minutes, then added a penalty goal to seal the 29-13 win and leapfrog Newington into third spot on the GPS ladder.