This Saturday 27 April the Grand Finals for the UNE Harold Matthews Cup and Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup will take place at CommBank Stadium in Sydney. A number of young talented Kiwi players will be taking the field for the Under-17s Warriors and the Under-17s Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs women in their respective finals.
Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup Grand Final: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v Wests Tigers 12:30PM
UNE Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final: New Zealand Warriors v Western Suburbs Magpies 2:00PM
Watch the action live on nswrl.tv.
UNE Harold Matthews Cup:
They stunned Parramatta and now the One New Zealand Warriors’ Harold Matthews Cup side has shocked minor premier Canterbury Bankstown in their semi-final to reach the under-17 competition’s grand final, the first time the club has had a team in a premiership decider since 2014.
The TJ Ashford-coached Warriors held on for a gritty 12-10 victory over the Bulldogs at Henson Park today to add yet another chapter to their fairytale debut campaign in the renowned pathways competition. Tries by Kairus Booth and Lennox Tuiloma secured the victory for the Warriors, as well as a successful conversion and penalty from Booth.
South Island Scorpion Booth featured in the 2023 Aotearoa Whaanui boys team while Tuiloma played in the National Secondary Schools boys team after winning the NZRL NZSS Boys Premiership with St. Thomas of Canterbury College.
Click here to see the Warriors Harold Matthews Cup team list.
Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup:
The semi-final game between Canterbury-Bankstown and Newcastle ended with the Bulldogs extending their undefeated streak to nine matches, coming away with a 22-4 win in which Auckland’s Evelyn Roberts and Seriah Palepale crossed for a try each. The duo played alongside each other in the 2023 National Secondary Schools girls team.
The Bulldogs side is further bolstered by several young Kiwi wāhine who made the move over the ditch including Lahnayah Daniel, Mary-Jane Taito, Paige Tauaneai, Trinity Tauaneai, Josinah Filisi Tauiliili, and Giovanna Suani. At the 2023 National Girls Youth Tournament Taito was the 16s Tournament MVP and captain of the champion Counties Manukau team.
Best of luck to all our rangatahi hitting the field this weekend, live stream the Grand Final games on nswrl.tv.
