Round 11 - Women’s – Huriwai scores four as Lionesses bring an end to Whites win streak

By Brodie Campbell

The Queanbeyan Whites incredible six game win streak in the BentSpoke Premier 15s has unfortunately come to an end as the women’s side went down in a disappointing 43-10 against the ladder leading Western District Lionesses at Jamison Oval on Saturday.

The Whites have produced some excellent performances over the last month and a half and were extremely motivated to keep their hot streak going by knocking off one of the heavyweight teams of the season so far when they travelled down to Jamison Oval.

The prospect of knocking off a Wests team who have only lost one game all season was an extremely attractive opportunity so there was plenty of eyes on this fixture and plenty of optimism about a possible win.

From the outset though, the Lionesses quickly showed why they were the ladder leaders as they opened the scoring within the first five minutes through a try to Aaliyah Lomas before Jasmin Huriwai crossed over for another five-pointer just three minutes later to give Wests a 10-0 lead. 

The Whites woes did not end there, as Emily Hudson became the next Wests player to score in quick succession, as she weaved her way through Queanbeyan’s defence to extend the lead to 17 points. The Whites had opportunities to hit back throughout the first half, but some sloppy attack and an ugly error rate didn’t make things easier for the visitors, as they struggled to leave their mark on the contest.

Despite that, some resilient defence prevented Wests from extending their lead any further in the first half, with the score remaining 17-0 at half time. Not the ideal result but plenty of opportunity to get themselves back in the game.

Unfortunately, the Whites were unable to mount a comeback in the second half as the Lionesses were quick to pounce within the first minute through Jane Morrison to extend the lead to 24 points. The Whites finally cracked the Wests defence in the 40th minute as Charli Campbell barged her way through to give Queanbeyan their first points of the game.

At this point the game became what can only be described as the “Jasmin Huriwai Show”, as she ran in three tries in seven minutes whilst converting two of them to give the Lionesses an unassailable 43-5 lead. Lara Cosgrove gave fans some consolation by scoring another try in the 62nd minute but the game belonged to Wests, as they would finish the game with a dominating 43-10 scoreline.

Despite the heavy loss, the Whites just hang on to 3rd spot on the ladder after 11 rounds, just a point above Uni-Norths Owls. The race to 2nd and 1st place does become more difficult as the Whites now sit ten points behind Tuggeranong in 2nd.  

The Whites will be prepared to create some separation between themselves and the Owls as the two sides go face-to-face this Saturday at Campese Oval, with the women’s side hoping to walk away with a victory so they can breathe a small sigh of relief.

 Women’s: Tries: Lara Cosgrove (1), Charli Campbell (1). Conv: nil.