Former Canterbury Bulldogs favourite sons Willie Talau and Steve Turner will go head-to-head in the SG Ball Cup Grand Final tomorrow (Saturday 27 April) as part of NSWRL Junior Representatives Grand Final Day at CommBank Stadium.
Premierships will be decided for four competitions including the Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup (Under 17s Girls), UNE Harold Matthews Cup (Under 17s Boys), Westpac Tarsha Gale Cup (Under 19s Women) and UNE SG Ball Cup (Under 19s Men).
The games include Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v Wests Tigers in the Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup, Western Suburbs Magpies v Warriors in the UNE Harold Matthews Cup, Newcastle Knights v Illawarra Steelers in the Westpac Tarsha Gale Cup, and the St George Dragons and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the UNE SG Ball Cup.
Talau, who played 101 games for the Bulldogs from 1998-03, coaches the St George Dragons. They finished the regular season in second position and booked their spot in the decider with a decisive 36-4 win in their Semi-final against the Newcastle Knights.
Turner, who played 54 games for the Bulldogs from 2010-13, is at the helm of the Bulldogs. They finished the regular season in fourth position and clinched their spot in the Grand Final with a 42-10 win over Parramatta Eels in an Elimination Final before toppling Minor Premiers Sydney Roosters 28-22 in their Semi-final.
The Dragons last claimed the SG Ball Cup in 1992 while the Bulldogs' last title was 2009.
Other stories emerging from tomorrow’s Grand Final include:
- The Bulldogs’ Lisa Fiaola Cup team includes Abbey Fuz, the granddaughter of Bulldogs great and 1980 premiership-winner Garry Hughes; Aliahana Fuimaono, the cousin of Westpac NSW Sky Blues Origin player, Taliah Fuimaono; and Paige and Trinity Tauaneai (Pictured above. Photo: Bryden Sharp), the sisters of NRLW Dragons prop and 2023 Tarsha Gale Cup Player of the Year Alexis Tauaneai.
- The Warriors becoming the first team in the history of the Harold Matthews Cup (which started in 1970) to make the Grand Final in their maiden year. The Warriors needed to win the final match of their regular season to make the finals and then won sudden-death finals against Parramatta Eels and Minor Premiers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to clinch their place.
- The Steelers’ Tarsha Gale Cup team boast a host of NRL household names including Rhian and Siena Yeo, the cousins of Penrith premiership-winner Isaah Yeo; Indie Bostock, the sister of Dolphins winger Jack Bostock; Kasey Reh, the niece of Manly premiership-winners Brett and Glenn Stewart; and Hope Millard, the daughter of Shane Millard.
Tickets for the 2024 NSWRL Junior Representatives Grand Final Day are only $10 for adults, $5 for juniors and pensioners, while a family of four is $25.
PLEASE NOTE: All tickets must be pre-purchased; there are no ticket sales at the venue.
Click here for tickets.
All four matches are also available on NSWRL TV. NSWRL TV also now has a dedicated app available on the Apple App store and Google Play store.
