Lower grades: NSW Cup and Flegg teams pile pain and points on Raiders
Following the trend of the Warriors' NRL romp over the Raiders, the club's reserve grade and under-21s outfits racked up a score at Canberra's expense.
The Warriors’ NSW Cup side bounced back from an opening-round blip and their Jersey Flegg team made it two-from-two courtesy of high-scoring victories over their Canberra counterparts.
Humbled 48-14 by Sydney Roosters in Round 1, the defending NSW Cup champs swamped the Raiders 44-12 at Mount Smart Stadium on Friday — scoring four tries in each half.
Star wing recruit Alofiana Khan-Pereira scored two fine tries and laid one on with an infield kick for centre Caelys-Paul Putoko, who also finished with a double. AKP also racked up 159 run metres.
The Warriors’ right winger and fellow new arrival Haizyn Mellars put his aerial ability on full display, setting up a try for British back-rower Morgan Gannon and grabbing a second-half brace for himself.
Jett Cleary, who produced an impressive solo effort in the first half, was the Warriors’ other tryscorer and landed six goals.
Meanwhile, five-eighth Luke Hanson produced three try assists and had a line-break and 120 running metres in a strong attacking display, putting his hand up for — at the very least — a spot in the NRL team’s 19-man squad with Chanel Harris-Tavita ruled out for the road trip to Newcastle.
Marata Niukore, who is strongly rumoured to be on his way to the Knights in 2027, put his hand up for an NRL return in his first outing of the season, making 125 metres on 11 carries at prop.
Central Coast product and Queensland Cup prop Cooper Page-Wilson led the forwards with 14 runs for 148 metres in his club debut, while ex-Bulldog Cassius Tia had a try assist in a 20-minute cameo after also arriving midweek.
The Warriors’ Jersey Flegg side made it cleansweep of 40-point drubbings against the Raiders and backed up their similarly sizeable Round 1 win over the Roosters with a 48-28 victory at Sydney’s Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday.
Hyped 17-year-old Hornby Panthers back-rower Bishop Neal continued his blazing start to 2026 with an outrageous 60-metre solo try to open his side’s account after the Raiders scored first.
Left winger Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi scored the first of his two tries and right winger Brandon Norris started his path to a hat-trick to put the Warriors up 16-12, before halfback Jack Thompson produced a kick-and-chase try right on halftime.
Thompson rainbowed a pass over for Tauafiafi-Iutoi’s second, then mouth-watering five-eighth prospect Harry Inch released a rampaging Neal down the touchline and took the return pass to finish off another 60-metre special.
Another Neal sideline bust led to a try to centre Sio Kali, who already has 15 tries in 21 NSW Cup matches to his name. Norris’ 60-metre sprint to the line after being put into space by Kali was the last of the Warriors’ nine tries, with Inch banging over six conversions.
The Warriors’ Harold Matthews Cup team was edged out 24-22 by previous winless Balmain Tigers in Round 6 at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
The Warriors led a seesawing contest 12-6 and 18-10, but the Tigers took the ascendancy by scoring the next two tries.
Winger Steven Live Luatua scored a try in the dying stages, but Keanu Simpson was unable to convert for a last-gasp draw.
The weekend finished on a positive note for the Warriors, however, as their SG Ball team chalked up their second win of the season — a 24-16 defeat of Balmain.
Enjoying a superb campaign at fullback, Joseph Ratcliffe scored a double inside seven minutes before the Tigers struck back with three unanswered tries to lead 16-8.
But the Warriors came home with a wet sail, tries to Hinckley Ioka, second-rower Lennox Tuiloma and centre Connor Bowden carrying them to victory.
The