South Sydney’s SG Ball (under 18s) defended their way to victory against the Balmain Tigers at Redfern’s Simply Energy High Performance Centre on Saturday, while the Club’s Harold Matthews side went down to the visitors.
The Matt-King coached under 18s made it three wins from three starts with Saturday’s 24-8 victory – downing the highly fancied Tigers in committed fashion.
“Our defence was outstanding,” said King.
“The boys really worked hard for each other and that showed in the way we kept the Tigers to eight points. I’m really pleased with the effort – it’s a positive position that we can build on now.”
But it wasn’t just the side’s defence that had coach King pleased. Centre, Mawene Hiroti, had a good day in the outside backs, picking a hat-trick of tries and four goals to contribute a total of 20 points.
King was pleased with his centre’s performance, citing his level of commitment to improving his game.
“It’s pleasing to see players achieving goals,” said King.
“He – like all the boys in the team – has been working on a lot of different aspects of his game and some of the rewards are starting to show.
“Two of his tries came off kicks –one off a high-ball – and his ability to leap and bring the ball down is certainly improving.
“I also thought that our halves – Kurtis Preece and Dean Hawkin – kicked and controlled the game really well. All focus now turns to Manly.”
Meanwhile in the under 16s, the Rabbitohs went down fighting against Balmain. Coach Jason Peterson was ultimately proud of his side’s efforts despite the loss.
“I can’t fault the effort from the boys – it was certainly there,” said Peterson
“The systems were working for us, but unfortunately we had a few too many errors and a low completion rate that kept the Tigers in the lead.
“We’ll work on that from here leading into this week’s game against the Sea Eagles. Spirits are high, confidence is high and we believe that we’ve got a lot improvement left in us.”
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