NRL: Decorated Broncos winger Corey Oates has announced his retirement from rugby league.
Your team’s rising stars to watch in 2025... and who can take the leap to the NRL: NSW Cup ReviewIn 2024, the NSW Cup continued to serve an important purpose to the NRL as each club feeds back to their reserve grade team.
Blacktown used 44 players this season, one constant was Brad Parker who managed to play 22 matches this season, showing his leadership capabilities in a side that suffered plenty of moving parts throughout the season. Clayton Faulalo and Watson Haleta were strong and consistent finishers for the outside backs. Through the middle, Aitasi James has been incredibly consistent for the side this season.
The semi-finals saw them blown off the park in the opening week by the Jets while the following week saw the Raiders dust themselves off by beating Penrith with a ruthless first half. In the preliminary final the Raiders started strong and led 12-0, but allowed Newtown back into the game and through poor discipline conceded three penalty goals to lose by two points.
Outside the roster, Canberra have invested significantly in young talent that represented NSW in the U19 State of Origin. Savelio Tamale, Ethan Sanders and Myles Martin have arrived from opposition clubs and are regarded as the best up-and-coming talent in their respective positions and will be looking to make their mark. Tamale is the most likely to experience immediate first grade of the three newcomers.The script for the second successive season wrote itself for the boys from Belmore.
Also to keep an eye on is these young core of outside backs. Jonathan Su’a and Eli Clark made NRL debuts last season in the final round. Given the moves made by the Dogs in the off-season, the club has huge faith in these two to fill the void. Clark in particular found himself at home in his second season of open-age footy, playing in all bar a single fixture. Clark had 136 points on the season and will benefit largely from another NRL pre-season.Newtown had a familiar look about them in 2024.
The Jets finished the season in 2nd position, turning Henson Park into a fortress which saw them play Canberra in the opening week of the finals where they wiped the floor with the Raiders in ruthless fashion. This saw the Jets take on the Bears where the Jets fell just short of making it straight through to the grand final. They had a second battle with Canberra which was tenacious and a tightly fought contest before a penalty goal in the second half saw the Jets fly to the grand final.
Will Pryce was another to build on his first season in Australia being the Knights’ top point scorer in season 2024 also named NSW Cup 5/8 of the Year. Jaxson Rahme had a strong campaign, however, he is departing the club to join Benji Marshall’s Concord rebuild. Hanson in particular enjoyed his first season of open-age football, having 10 try-assists and 11 line-break assists. His running game was his strongest asset this season, crossing for several individual tries. Hanson’s kicking game developed as the season caught on, forcing six drop-outs. Taufa’s performances out of dummy half saw Paul Roache revert into a half/utility role while Ben Farr moved to fullback, covering Tuaupiki’s many NRL call-ups this season.
There is little doubt about the impact on the club in the aftermath of the Pat Weisner betting affair. As the Bears started to become a force at the top of the table, news broke that Weisner was stood down, then suspended and dismissed following allegations he placed bets on NSW Cup matches. Despite that, the Bears finished the regular season as minor premiers and looked to put the sordid affair behind them for the conduct of the semi-finals. A tightly contested major semi-final saw the Bears wrestle over the top of the Jets to qualify straight through to the grand-final. A tightly contested grand final saw the Bears narrowly fall short for a second season running against the Jets.
Brock Parker was a consistent performer for the Eels in what was a trying campaign which saw him given NSW Cup Player of the year averaging just under 100 metres but was constantly searching for work and imposing himself in this Parramatta side. However, the Panthers underwent a horrible mid-season slump where they didn’t win a match for seven long matches. This coincided with the Origin period when the Panthers suffered Origin hits at first grade, but also a horror injury crisis saw squad depth tested and Jersey Flegg talented given chances.
There is plenty of experience in this side that is departing such as captain Dan Russell and the experienced Jesse Marschke, but there were plenty of young kids pushing through in their SG Ball side and Jersey Flegg side. Loko Pasifiki Tonga Jr was one to get a plethora of NSW Cup game-time after his strong performance in the NSW U19 side averaging 15 tackles and 75 metres a game.
Despite what many believe to be a disappointing season. This side can claim some positives. Jye Gray emerged and has looked every bit like a first-grader since his inclusion this season. Dion Teaupa debuted at NRL level and held his own after guiding Souths to NSW Cup glory last season. Ryan Gray showed his consistency and was Souths Player of the Year with a swag of great individual performances guiding Souths around the park.
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