New league leaders and end of two year winless streak: Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup Round 14 wrap

With two rounds to go we have new league leaders after a dramatic top of the table clash.

At the other end of the table, a two year winless streak finally came to an end in what was an emotional moment for all.

We now also have our confirmed top four for the upcoming finals series which will kick off after next week.

Check out who’s in it in the full round wrap.

777 days of suffering come to an end as Corrimal win

It finally happened.

777 days after their last win, the Corrimal Cougars finally broke their losing streak with a 36-18 win over the Dapto Canaries, in turn ending any hope of a finals berth for the Dapto side.

Check out the full story and reaction from the coach.

Dapto were expected to come out firing and take this game as a practice match for a big clash next week against Thirroul.

This looked to be the case when they opened the scoring early on with a lovely left to right sweeping move finished in the corner by Justin Crutchley.

From here though, Corrimal dug deep and started putting together some of the best footy they’ve played all year.

Young half Leroy Murray got the scoring underway with a big dummy and run through the Dapto line.

Hooker Zachary Riley would follow this up with a scurry from dummy half close to the line to score and get the Cougars in front for the first time.

The tries would keep coming for the Cougars when big second rower Kristian Williams stumbled out of an attempted tackle and over the line.

Williams would be in the thick of it again shortly after when he regained an attacking chip kick and found his fullback Kieran Wyld on the inside to race away and score, taking the Cougars into the sheds 18 points up.

Crucially, the Cougars didn’t switch off as they have for much of this season, with Zachary Riley once again penetrating a hole in the Dapto line in the second half to extend the Corrimal lead.

Dapto finally woke up and started playing some good footy, piling on three tries unanswered through Aaron Gray and a double to Blake Wellington.

This reduced the margin to 12, with the Canaries holding all the momentum.

The Cougars dug deep though, channelling the frustration of the past 777 days and managed to get the footy down to the other end of the park, where Welsh second rower Gethin Thomas was able to charge through a hole and score in front of the raucous home fans to seal the deal for the Cougars.

A magical moment in the 2023 Illawarra Cup season that seals Dapto’s exit from the competition and gives Corrimal reason to believe for 2024.

New league leaders as De La Salle trump Collegians

De La Salle have gone top of the Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup ladder with just one round remaining after defeating former leaders Collegians 24-6.

It was a clash of this year’s titans as the two competition heavyweights collided in the rain and mud of Captain Cook Oval.

A deadlock opening half was broken only once by Jack Williams, getting on the end of a bomb through the posts by his halves partner Eli Levido to score.

With Collegians holding out De La for the rest of the half, it took only a few minutes of the second for them to crash in again, with Jack Williams dummying and scurrying through the line before finding Talanoa Penitani on his outside to score.

As the rain came down, De La continued to mount the pressure and eventually scored again through Isaac Longmuir, reaping the rewards of a loose ball that Collegians were unable to clean up.

The Collie Dogs looked to mount a late comeback when Sam McCann claimed a cross field kick from Max Devlin to score try number 17 for the season.

It was De La Salle’s day though, with Kai Parker finishing the job late on as he stepped and wove his way through a tired Collegians defence to seal the deal and take the home side to the peak of the Illawarra Cup ladder.

Wests back to winning ways against Thirroul

Western Suburbs Devils have picked up an important confidence victory over the Thirroul Butchers 18-10 at Sid Parrish Park.

It’s the first top four side the Devils have beaten since their purple patch of form, hopefully signalling good things to come on the finals run for Peter McLeod’s troops.

Debuting in the place of Mitch Porter in five-eighth was young gun Kade Reed who the Devils will hope will be a big part of their future, while Zac Blay was celebrating his 100th game for the club.

The Devils got the scoring underway through Lachlan Hurst in the right corner after a beautiful ‘Harbour Bridge’ pass from halfback Justin Rodrigues.

Thirroul were out to fight though, knowing the Dapto Canaries were breathing down their neck for a place in finals.

The Butchers would get on the board through Steven Marsters, chasing down a Tarje Whitford kick that wrong-footed Lachlan Hurst in defence and scoring.

Wests wouldn’t deter from the task at hand though, again attacking the right flank where Colby Pellow was able to play in Brock Sepulveda to score and retake the lead.

The Devils would strike again when Levi Pascoe fended his way away from the Thirroul defence to break the line and throw an inside ball to Hurst who was able to race away and score his second.

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Refusing to let the game get away from them though, the Butchers hit back on the brink of halftime through Masters again, charging on to a flat pass from Michael Mouawad to close the gap.

The sole try of the second half would come from another beautiful lofted pass from Justin Rodrigues to the right flank again where Sepulveda was able to convert his second try.

That would be enough for the Devils to take a strong win at home and stay in the race for the minor premiership.

Originally published as New league leaders and end of two year winless streak: Mojo Homes Illawarra Cup Round 14 wrap