By Jamie Parsons

The first round of the Proten Cup had its ups and downs with both the biggest scores in the six years of the competition as well as its closest score. Narrandera put on a great day with one of the best grounds and facilities in the area.

Women’s Games

Barellan started 2024 the same way they played all of 2023 with a 50-6 win over Hillston. The Bluebirds girls were short and some of the Rams and Dragonettes girls filled in in another great display of sportsmanship. New signing Sophia Kelsey led the way with 5 tries and Monique Higgins kicked 7 goals on the way to the half century.

Ivanhoe Hens made sure they would be a force to be reckoned with again, capitalising on several Rankins Springs errors to be up 16-0 at halftime thanks to doubles for Felesiu Chauncy-Moli and Kelly Pauls. The Dragonettes would return for a better showing in the second half, making the scoreline a respectable 20-12.

The home town Lizards girls started off their season strong with a big 32-6 win over Goolgowi. They were the closest to Barellan in the knockout and continued their good form, with talent across the park resulting in six different tryscorers.

Men’s Games

The Barellan Rams started their 2024 in the opposite way to their winless 2023 season, outscoring the women’s team for the first time. The rams ran in 12 tries on their way to 60 points, the first time any team has reached that score since the competition began. The Rams team looks young, fit and motivated and with this and the knockout win look early favourites for the Grand Final. Hillston were without coach Luke Farmer and several others and will be sure to be better next week. The game was finished with eight minutes to go due to the mercy rule.

From the biggest win to the closest ever game in match 2, Rankins Springs and Ivanhoe ended on 16 points each for Proten Cup’s first ever draw in the men’s comp. Ivanhoe scored first and led 6-4 at halftime but the Dragons got out to a lead twice in the second half and were up 16-10 after debutant Salesi Fatafehi dived on a Damian Walker grubber. Ivanhoe weren’t done though and capitalised on Dragons errors with a Jermaine Dixon signature dummy half try to level it. One missed field goal from the Roosters was all there was in the last ten minutes with neither able to break the deadlock.

In the late game Goolgowi started with 11 of their own players with Josh & Sam Richards from Rankins Springs & Rob Sherlock and Lachie Brill from Hillston filling in after full games for their own clubs. The Lizards started as expected on their home turf running in three tries to be up 14-0 at halftime and then 26-0 shortly after, including three tries to fullback Caleb Atkinson. Goolgowi though held on and fought back with two tries on their own to make it more respectable, with a late Kyle Prior try finishing the score at 32-10.

Full Results

Women’s Games

BARELLAN 50 (Sophia Kelsey 5, Brittany Everett, Sharni Winter, Tommi Booth, Madison Morries tries; Monique Higgins 7 goals) HILLSTON 6 (Tilly Heath try; Christine McDonald goal)

IVANHOE 20 (Falesiu Chauncy-Moli 2, Kelly Pauls 2, Sharni Winter tries) RANKINS SPRINGS 12 (Tilly Heath, Cathy Soligo tries; Tash Tuckett, Tiarra Hardwick goals)

NARRANDERA 32 (Juhleeya Bright, Nyoka Prior, Janaya Williams, Olivia Light-Wate, Tiana Rose, Tahlia Gilbert tries; Kiara Crowe 2, Tiana Rose, Zoey Ingram goals) GOOLGOWI 6 (Mackenna Clarke try, Tess Kernaghan goal)

Men’s Games

BARELLAN 60 (Noah Forbutt 3, Stan Herrmann 3, Jyi Romeo 2, Blake Jamieson 2, Teague Studholme, Reece Wilson tries; Noah Forbutt 4, Fred Herrmann 2 goals) HILLSTON 6 (Matt Demamiel try; Jacob Blight goal)

IVANHOE 16 (Ethan Harris, Shaun Aylett, Jermaine Dixon tries; Thomas Lee 2 goals) RANKINS SPRINGS 16 (Jack Glyde, Jason Cronin, Salesi Fatafehi tries; Damian Walker 2 goals)

NARRANDERA 32 (Caleb Atkinson 3, Wade Williams, Luke Borg, Kyle Prior tries; Brayden Ingram 4 goals) GOOLGOWI 10 (Laurie Sandford, Christian Mamafainoa tries; Christian Mamafainoa goal)

Proten Cup Round 2 Preview

Round 2 is back to Rankins Springs, with a better day forecast than the heavy rain that plagued the knockout. The Proten Cup women will also be celebrating Ladies Day, with a womens tent set up and a raffle to raise money for victims of domestic violence.

Women’s Games

Ivanhoe v Narrandera

The Lizards girls have started the season very impressive while Ivanhoe were good but not quite to the heights of 2023 in Round 1, still playing a bit short as well. Narrandera had great attacking footy in Round 1 and will be tough to hold out. They last met in the prelim final last year at Hillston, won by Ivanhoe 18-10. Neither team has won a comp match at Rankins Springs.

Head-to-Head: Narrandera 3, Ivanhoe 2

Record at Rankins Springs:

Narrandera Won 0 Lost 2

Ivanhoe Won 0 Lost 1

Goolgowi v Barellan

Barellan look no less unstoppable so far, and with Goolgowi coming off a big loss at Narrandera they will be up against it. The two teams have only met once before, a big win to Barellan 40-0 last year at Ivanhoe. Neither team has ever lost a match at Rankins Springs.

Head-to-Head: Barellan 1, Goolgowi 0

Record at Rankins Springs:

Barellan Won 1 Lost 0

Goolgowi Won 3 Lost 0

Rankins Springs v Hillston

The Dragonettes were remarkably improved in the second half last week, their best display since 2022. The Hillston girls were hard up facing Barellan in the first week and should get a more even challenge this round. Rankins Springs won their only game last year against the Bluebirds in Round 6, and are looking for their first ever win at home.

Head-to-Head: Rankins Springs 4, Drew 1, Hillston 0

Record at Rankins Springs:

Rankins Springs Won 0 Lost 3

Hillston Won 2 Lost 0

Men’s Games

Ivanhoe v Narrandera

The big Grand Final rematch. Two Grand Finals, a major semi and a couple close round games in the last two seasons. This game has become possibly the biggest rivalry in the comp. Unfortunately for Ivanhoe, their last win against the Lizards came in Round 4 2022, with Narrandera winning the last four games including both Grand Finals. With both teams losing a few stars and coming back to the playing field a bit, this one is sure to be tight.

Head-to-Head: Narrandera 7, Ivanhoe 1

Record at Rankins Springs:

Ivanhoe Won 1 Lost 4

Narrandera Won 4 Lost 2

Barellan v Goolgowi

Starting favourites for maybe the first time in this match, Barellan will look to continue their winning form against a Goolgowi side that will be praying to get some players back this week. The Rams have only beaten the Rabbits once, a 24-4 win on home soil in 2022. Both teams have had mixed success at the ground, though Goolgowi were the first team to knock off the Dragons at home last season.

Head-to-Head: Goolgowi 7, Barellan 1

Record at Rankins Springs:

Barellan Won 2 Lost 4

Goolgowi Won 4 Lost 3

Rankins Springs v Hillston

The Dragons loss to Goolgowi last year hurt, and their biggest goal this year is to get back to winning ways at home. Enjoying a fantastic record here, the Dragons have faced Hillston at home once before, a memorable 22-20 last minute win in 2019. The Bluebirds though have the wood over the Dragons lately, winning their last three clashes including a 38-6 thumping in Round 6 last year.

Head-to-Head: Hillston 4, Rankins Springs 3

Record at Rankins Springs:

Rankins Springs Won 6 Lost 1

Hillston Won 2 Lost 3