Junior Representative Report: Round 2

Melbourne Storm’s SG Ball side pulled on the purple jersey for the first time at home this weekend while Storm's Harold Matthews side headed north to face the Western Suburbs Magpies. 

U/17s UNE Harold Matthews 

Melbourne Storm’s Harold Matthews side suffered its first loss of the season on the weekend, going down 44-22 in a high scoring affair against the Western Suburbs Magpies.  

A strong start from the home side saw Storm’s youngsters put on the backfoot early, Magpies running in four tries inside the opening 25 minutes.  

Storm refused to roll over however, piling on some pooints of their own either side of the break to put themselves well and truly back in the contest. 

Latrelle Cordtz benefited from some ad-lib footy, winning the race to the ball after Micah Warena put boot to ball in the 27th minute. 

Storm carried the momentum of that try into the second half, talented fullback Matthew Kereti slicing through and showing too much strength for the Magpies edge defence to score in the 31st minute. 

Alipate Vaka then found the tryline for Storm, carrying several defenders with him as he powered his way over the line four minutes later. 
Unfortunately Storm’s flurry of tries would end there, the Magpies scoring four tries in reply. 

A late try before fulltime saw Cordtz score his double, the winger diving over in the corner to see the fulltime score read 44-22. 

Storm will now rest up with a bye in Round 3 before taking on the Balmain Tigers in Round 4.

U/19s UNE SG Ball Cup

A see-sawing game saw Storm register its first draw of the 2024 season, finishing level with the Western Suburbs Magpies 24-24 at Seabrook Reserve.  

It was a bright start for the hosts, Ioane Lui throwing the dummy and going himself in Storm’s first attacking set on the Magpies line, giving Storm an early 6-0 lead after two minutes.  

Hooker Harrison Hill took a page out of Lui’s book just a few minutes later, throwing the dummy and crashing over from dummy half in the 5th minute.  

The visitors then kicked into gear, scoring three tries to put themselves ahead at the break and adding a further four pointer after the resumption of play. 

Ethan Van Gelderen then broke the run of Magpies tries, proving a handful through the middle of the field, breaking several tackles to score to the left of the uprights in the 41st minute.  

Some nice vision from Lui would play a big part in Storm’s next try, taking the ball all the way into the line before putting Suli Pole through a hole in the 55th minute.  

The Magpies replied with a try of their own a few moments later, meaning Storm needed to find a late try in the final 15 minutes. 

Storm’s youngsters continued to push hard for a winner, applying plenty of pressure on the Magpies goalline defence. 

With the game ticking into the final minute, Storm shifted it right and Rhylis Hohepa benefited from a sublime Hugo Peel cutout pass to score in the corner, ensuring Storm didn’t walk away from the contest empty handed.  

Storm will now gear up to face the Illawarra Steelers in Round 3.