Junior Rep Report: Round 6 (U17's and U19's) & Round 1 (U21's)

Storm’s Harold Matthew’s and SG Ball sides hosted Penrith as they moved into Round 6 of the Junior Representative season as the Jersey Flegg competition kicks-off with a Round 1 trip to Sydney.

Harold Mathews

Melbourne’s U17 outfit returned to Seabrook Reserve on Saturday to host Penrith, looking for their first competition points of the season.

The home side jumped out of the blocks early thanks to Max Tovaka’s try in the second minute of play. Despite the Panthers returning serve just a few moments later, the men in purple were able to keep hold of their early advantage with an impressive four try first half which gave them 22-6 lead at the break.

However a swing in momentum after half time saw Penrith bounce back into the contest. Three consecutive second half tries locked the contest back up at 22-22 with Melbourne unable to hit the scoreboard with both sides sharing the points at the final whistle.

SG Ball

Matt Duffie’s side also hosted the Panthers on Saturday afternoon looking to continue their run of hot form.

Tries to Kyu Fiaui and Waka Hammond in the opening 10 minutes of play did just that, giving the home side a dream start before Amaziah Murgha’s effort not long after had Penrith on the ropes at 0-18 down.

A fightback from the visitors either side of half time however turned the game on its head and suddenly Melbourne’s advantage had evaporated with 20 minutes of play remaining.

Storm were then sparked into action and Murgha responded completing a hat trick which sealed the U19s fourth win on the trot for season 2025.

Both Storm’s Harold Matthews and SG Ball sides will be presented in front of fans pre-match at AAMI Park on Sunday ahead of the NRL Season Opener.

Jersey Flegg

Melbourne kicked-off Round 1 of the Jersey Flegg season with a strong away victory against the Roosters in Sydney.

Despite conceding the opening two tries of the contest, Storm showed plenty of resilience to hang on as the Roosters skipped out to an early lead. Ioane Lui's try in first half try kept Melbourne within touching distance as they headed into the break trailing 6-14.

A stellar second half performance put the visitors right back into the contest. Eli Morris' got Storm off to the start they were after shortly after half time before the Roosters hit back to maintain their advantage. Melbourne were then able to wrestle back momentum and stormed home to flip the script with three unanswered tries in the final 20 minutes of play.

Preston Conn's 77th minute effort put the result beyond doubt, taking Storm's final margin out to beyond a converted try margin.

Originally published on melbournestorm.com.au