By Peter Rowe

U17 Schoolboys Leave It Late To Score Crucial Opening Win

WA 24 defeat CAS Invitational 22

A magnificent brace of tries from Rockingham Sharks youngster Quintin Coulter earned WA a 24-22 win over the CAS Invitational side at the State championships in NSW on Friday morning.

Coulter grabbed his first in the opening minute of the game and the second as the siren sounded at the end of the game to level the scores as South Perth’s Khan Pokere showed he had ice in his veins as he slotted the winning conversion.

Jordan Tumoana, another great South Perth talent, set up speedster Dermott Arthy top give WA an 8-0 lead before the invitational side hit back. Pokere added a third try on the stroke of halftime before the invitational side moved up a gear early in the second half to lead 22-12 and seemingly put the game away.

Joondalup forward Jesse Inall then helped settle WA with a brilliant solo try from almost halfway where he beat no less than 7 defenders on a dazzling run to the line. And with Pokere’s conversion, they were only 4 points behind with not much time left.

WA kept pushing and a great strip and break from backrower Phil Saunderson set up the late charge that saw Coulter stretch out to score on the last tackle as the siren signalled the end of the game.

Men Stamp Dominance After Big First Up Win Against Returning SA

Defending champions Western Australia opened their 2023 CAS Championship campaign with a dominating 60-0 victory over South Australia in St Mary’s, NSW on Friday afternoon.

Eight try scorers notched up 11 tries in a game WA controlled from start to finish with Fremantle’s Delane Edwards and North Beach duo Jaylen Grey and Kade McDonald scoring doubles.

WA were rarely troubled after Bailey Millar opened the scoring on eight minutes, before McDonald notched his two tries, the first a clever tap and go from a penalty to race 60 metres to score.

Joondalup’s Joel Irvine added another to give the Black and Golds a 22-0 lead just before halftime, barging over from five metres out as WA stepped up the pressure.

The second half was one-way traffic, Payden Porter following his club teammate Irvine across the line a minute after the restart.

Six minutes later Edwards got his first of the day after a big, bruising run from fellow Rooster Ezra Taomia as WA’s forwards continued to build a platform from which to score.

South Australia, for most of the game, were the architects of their own demise, giving away a series of penalties that allowed WA to profit.

And profit they did when Joondalup forward Dominic Fidow-Kele came off the bench to blow a big hole in the South Australian defence to score from 20 metres out.

The tries kept coming as Grey took a McDonald pass on the left edge to score before South Perth’s player of the season Ethan Gourgaud joined in to increase the lead.

Grey added his second with a breathtaking 50 metre run down the left, which he duly converted before Edwards showed no sign of his 38 years, to pop up again a minute from time to run through a gaping hole inn a tired South Australian defence as McDonald converted to wrap up a very satisfying day for coach WA Darren Shaw.