Jillaroos Show No Mercy Against PNG
Heading into their matchup with PNG in Brisbane the Jillaroos were understandably heavy favourites. As the fifth ranked side in the world, facing off against 55th ranked PNG, a lopsided match was expected.
The Jillaroos did not let these expectations get to their heads as they came out flying looking to put away their opponents early.
The breakthrough for the Jillaroos came in the 8th minute as Julia Robinson broke through the PNG line before dumping the ball for Tamika Upton who ran it in for the game’s opening try.
The 16th minute saw Julia Robinson take one herself this time as she caught the ball on the wing and dove for the try-zone.
Not long after Robinson got loose again for her second of the night – a sign of things to come.
By the time the halftime whistle blew both Julia Robinson and Jakiya Whitfeld had hat-tricks and the Jillaroos were up 36-0 in a lopsided affair.
The scores kept coming for the Jillaroos after halftime with Robinson quickly putting through her fourth try followed not long after by Tamika Upton getting her second.
The rest of the match was more of the same as the Jillaroos consistently broke through the PNG lines to find the try-zone.
Julia Robinson was the star of the show by the day’s end as she scored six tries which is a Jillaroos record, one upping Sammy Bremner’s five. Jakiya Whitfield had a day for the ages in her own right as she tied the previous record with five tries.
The Jillaroos worked their way to an 84-0 win to get off to a flying start in the tournament.
Kangaroos Get Past Tough Tongan Side
The Kangaroos faced a much tougher opening match than their female counterparts. Standing on the other side of the pitch from them was a tough Tongan side who had claimed an upset 16-12 victory the last time the sides met in 2019.
The Tongans, no doubt full of confidence from the aforementioned victory, took it to the home side Kangaroos early.
It wasn’t a one-sided affair by any means, but the Tongans were having the better of the possession and advancing into more dangerous areas, though neither side was able to really threaten a real try attempt.
Despite Tonga having more of the ball and looking as though they were on the front foot, it was the kangaroos who were able to strike first.
Tonga was on the offensive until Tom Trbojevic brilliantly read and intercepted a Tuimoala Lolohea pass and started pacing down the field. He was able to stay out of the reach of the chasing Tongans for the game’s opening try. After a Zac Lomax conversion the score was 6-0.
As the two teams tackled well and didn’t quite execute offensively, this 6-0 score was carried into halftime, a result which the Kangaroos were somewhat lucky to have achieved.
The second half saw the game open up slightly. In the 52nd minute the Kangaroos would double up their lead thanks to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow who beat Paul Alamoti to the edge and moved in for the try.
In the 58th minute Lehi Hopoate of Tonga committed a crucial penalty which led to Lomax putting through the penalty to go up 14-0.
The Kangaroos would tack on one more try as Tom Dearden got through in the 78th minute to put the cherry on top of what was a big result for the Kangaroos, avenging their 2019 loss with the 18-0 victory.
Australia is off to a hot start in the Pacific Championship as both the Kangaroos and Jillaroos pitched shutouts in their opening matchups. The Kangaroos were able to take care of Tonga 18-0 whilst the Jillaroos thumped PNG 84-0 to begin their quests for gold.
