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WEEKLY PREVIEW<br />
ROUND 8>><br />
By Matt Harris , CEO - Newcastle Rugby League<br />
Last weekend again produced some great football with defending premiers Lakes United grabbing the<br />
competition lead and the Newcastle Rebels storming into the Country Rugby League Championship Final.<br />
In Tooheys Cup Round 7 action the Saturday matches ended in a narrow 22 – 18 win to Cessnock<br />
over Kurri while the Pickers said goodbye to Maitland Sportsground by snatching a nail-bitting draw<br />
with Central Newcastle with a last-minute try. Both games were see-sawing battles and highlighted the<br />
closeness of this year’s competition. On Sunday Macquarie maintained their impressive form with strong<br />
win over the South Newcastle Lions. Playing in front of a big home crowd the Scorpions set-up the win<br />
with a barnstorming 1st half and now find themselves only one point behind the leaders.<br />
The Round 7 Feature Match had Lakes United travelling to Harker Oval to do battle with front-runners and<br />
competition favourites Western Suburbs. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions throughout<br />
the match with the game in the balance until a late try to Lakes United sealed a 24 – 16 victory and<br />
catapulted the Seagulls to the top of the Tooheys Cup leader board.<br />
This weekend sees the Tooheys Cup competition enter into the half-way point of the <strong>2016</strong> season.<br />
On Saturday Lakes United travel to Kurri Kurri minus their representative players for what is always a<br />
challenging road trip. Kurri will be desperate for a win to keep within striking distance of the top five while<br />
Lakes will be hoping to consolidate their position at the top of the competition ladder. Cessnock host a<br />
Central Newcastle side who would be disappointed with their season to date and are desperate for a win.<br />
The Goannas find themselves only two points off the front-runners and could jump into the top three with<br />
a win. The third Saturday game pits Macquarie against Maitland at Peacock Field. The Scorpions are<br />
undefeated since round 3 and look set to again challenge for the title in <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
The lone Sunday game has South Newcastle hosting Western Suburbs in the BarTV Round 8 Feature<br />
Match (www.newcastlerugbyleague.com.au). Both sides are coming off two losses and will be keen to<br />
head into next weekend’s bye round with a confidence bosting win. Both clubs, in particular Western<br />
Suburbs, will be sweating on their representatives players backing up from the CRL Final on the Saturday.<br />
Best of luck to coach Todd Edwards, his support team and the Newcastle Rebels squad who take on<br />
Illawarra in the Country Rugby League Championship Final on Saturday in Wollongong. After another<br />
strong performance in last weekend’s Semi-final we will be hoping to enact some revenge on our steel city<br />
rivals who have pipped us at the post in our last two CRL final appearances. BarTV will be streaming the<br />
game from 2pm and the link can be accessed via the Newcastle Rugby League website.<br />
A reminder to keep up-to-date with everything Newcastle Rugby League including match-day scores by<br />
following us on Facebook (NewcastleRL) and Twitter (@Newcastle_RL).<br />
Matt Harris<br />
Chief Executive Officer - Newcastle Rugby League.<br />
A MESSAGE OF SUPPORT TO DAMIAN JOBSON<br />
The rugby league community came together over the weekend with numerous fundraising efforts<br />
to support Damian. While Damian is in stable condition the costs associated with his injuries are<br />
expected to run into millions of dollars.<br />
A Go Fund Me campaign has been set up to help raise much needed funds to support Damian’s<br />
ongoing rehabilitation fees: https://www.gofundme.com/25kau26s
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