Round 14 of the Group 7 South Coast Rugby League was a high-scoring affair for local teams, but unfortunately for Jamberoo, it wasn’t quite enough.Sitting five points outside the top five heading into the match, the Superoos were desperate for a win against the last-placed Berry Magpies at home. But it was a horror start for the Superoos, with Berry crossing for three tries in the opening 10 minutes.It wasn’t until the 13th minute that five-eighth James Asquith scored off a scrum to put Jamberoo on the board, making it 16-06. Five minutes later, winger Nathan Gallastegui finished off a backline play in the corner to narrow the margin.In the 30th minute, fullback Jack Talbott produced a moment of magic. Fielding a midfield kick deep in his half, he beat several defenders, found open space, chipped over the fullback, grubbered ahead when the bounce didn’t favour him, and grounded the ball for a stunning solo try.That effort gave Jamberoo the lead, but a late penalty goal from Berry levelled the scores at 18-18 heading into halftime.Early in the second half, both teams scored again, bringing the score to 22–22, where it stayed until the 72nd minute. Talbott put up a bomb that was dropped by the Berry fullback, and the ball bounced back into his hands before he offloaded to Cameron Brabender, who scored under the posts.The Berry Magpies scored a buzzer beater to defeat Jamberoo over the weekend. Photo: @pdavo68Jamberoo looked to have clinched it, leading 28-22 with just minutes remaining. But a break from the Berry lock in the 77th minute led to a try in the corner. The missed conversion meant Jamberoo still led by two points.With less than two minutes on the clock, a clever kick forced Jamberoo to bat the ball over the sideline, gifting Berry one final opportunity. In the dying seconds, a long ball from dummy half down the short side found winger Charlie Jefferies, who crossed in the corner to steal a dramatic 32-28 win.At Kiama Showground, the Knights were in dominant form, piling on nine tries against the Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs in a 46-6 victory.Kiama ran in four tries in the opening 30 minutes, including a strong solo effort from captain Kieran Poole. Milton-Ulladulla managed a try just before the break to bring some hope into the second half, but the Knights ran away with it.Thistlewaite, Jennings, Andrews, Angel, and Killmore all scored in the second half, with Kiama’s defence holding strong to concede just one try for the game.Kiama are in a great position leading into the final weeks of the competition. Photo: @SticksPix_“It was a great win. It was nice to pile on some points,” said Killmore. “With the top five being so tight, it could come down to for-and-against, so I was happy we not only scored well but also kept our defence solid.”Gerringong also impressed at home, defeating Albion Park-Oak Flats 28-4. The Eagles, fresh off a big win over top-of-the-table Shellharbour, opened the scoring and held a 4-0 lead until the 32nd minute. Gerringong captain Nathan Ford crashed over from dummy half to equal the scores, sparking a late first-half surge with two more quick tries, including a chip-and-chase effort just before the buzzer.The Lions led 16-4 at the break and extended their lead in the 54th minute with a breakaway try to Toby Gumley-Quine off a sharp inside ball. Then, just before full-time, Rixon Russell delivered a mesmerising pass to Jack Quine to seal the win.“We really wanted to fix up our mistakes after losing to Albion Park back in round one,” said Ford. “We got off to a bad start, but defended really well in the first 20 minutes, only letting in one try. We worked hard to stay in the arm wrestle and scored three tries late in the first half which gave us a big boost. “After the half, we just wanted to keep working hard for each other, and not conceding any points in the second half was a great effort as we build towards the most important part of the season.”With only four games remaining, Gerringong now move into equal first place with the Stingrays of Shellharbour, while Kiama move to equal third alongside the Shellharbour Sharks.This Saturday, Kiama will play Gerringong at Michael Cronin Oval in one of the biggest matches of the season, while Jamberoo will face the Stingrays at Flinders Field on Sunday.

GERRINGONG BREAKERS - U16 / 17 MIXEDDIVISIOM 2 VS ALBION PARK

GERRINGONG BREAKERS - UNDER 13 MIXED - DIVISION 2VS SOUTH COAST UNITED

GERRINGONG BREAKERS UNDER 14 GIRLSDIVISION 1 - VS ALBION PARK FC

KIAMA JFC - UNDER 13 GIRLS - DIVISION 2VS GERRINGONG BREAKERS

GERRINGONG BREAKERS U13 GIRLS - DIVISION 2

South Coast’s junior representative cricket teams have trailed slightly behind regional benchmarks in recent years, with Illawarra sides often dominating competitions. But South Coast Cricket’s General Development Officer (GDO), Trent Glover, is determined to change that.Glover has been involved with the South Coast District Cricket Association (DCA) for five years and stepped into the GDO role last year. He says there's plenty of potential to build on.“Since I’ve been involved, we’ve generally been a bit behind the benchmark for rep cricket,” Glover said. “That’s something myself and the other coaches are working hard to change. Our results haven’t been terrible, but there's definitely room for improvement.”In 2024, South Coast’s Under 18s won their inter-association competition, the Under 16s reached the final, the Under 14s struggled, and the Under 12s were winless. But Glover says recent signs are promising.“Just this past January, our Under 12s team won three out of five carnival games, so we’re seeing improvement. There’s momentum building, but we know we can do better.”To help raise the level of performance, Glover introduced a new head coach, Jack McDonald, a South Coast junior who also plays second grade for St George in the Sydney Premier Cricket competition - and rugby league for the Kiama Knights.“Jack’s young, enthusiastic, and the kids really relate to him,” said Glover. “He’s leading our winter development program. We’ve selected 20-player squads for the Under 12s, 14s, and 16s, and he’s already run two sessions. We’ve got three more to go before the season starts in mid-September.”South Coast representative teams in action. Source: Trent Glover“The goal is to expose more kids to the standards of rep cricket. We’ve got mixed ability levels - some are first-timers, some have been playing for years - but the idea is that everyone takes something away to improve their game and help lift the standard of both rep and club cricket.”The representative season begins in October, following the school holidays. The Under 12s, 14s, and 16s will compete against the five major cricketing associations across October and November, with the season concluding in January.Glover believes building more competitive rep teams will help retain young players in the sport.“I’ve seen participation numbers drop over the years - not just here, but across the country,” he said. “Exposure to rep cricket can help maintain kids' interest and excitement.”“If they have some success, it fuels their passion. They bring that energy back to their clubs, and that helps strengthen local competitions too. Cricket’s a tough sport - you fail more than you succeed - so if we can give them the tools and opportunities to grow, they’re more likely to stick with it.”In a significant development for 2025, South Coast has also entered Under 12 and Under 17 teams into the Sydney Youth Championships for the first time. Those competitions will run during October and November, offering another high-level platform for junior talent to test themselves.

KIAMA SENIOR NETBALL - DIVISION 2BEACHETTES 2 VS CENTRAL 5

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - CADETSCENTRAL 8 VS BEACHETTES 5

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - CADETSBERRY 1 VS BEACHETTES 5

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - INTERMEDIATE ABEACHETTES 7 VS BERRY 3

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - INTERMEDIATE AGERRINGONG 6 VS GERRINGONG 7

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - INTERMEDIATE AGERRINGONG 9 VS BERRY 4

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - JUNIOR BKIAMA DOWNS 6 VS BERRY 5

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - JUNIOR CBEACHETTES 12 VS BERRY 6

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - JUNIOR CGAINSBOROUGH 6 VS GERRINGONG 10

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL - UNDER 10CENTRAL 17 VS BERRY 7

KIAMA JUNIOR NETBALL UNDER 10GERRINGONG 11 VS BEACHETTES 13

St George Illawarra's NRL finals hopes are in tatters after their 38-32 loss to the Cowboys at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Friday night.The Dragons have been leapfrogged by North Queensland following the high-scoring clash and now sit in 12th place after six losses from their past six outings.They are six points outside the top eight and even if they win their remaining six games they would likely need other results to go their way to have any chance of a playoff berth.In the run home they face five teams who are in the top eight so their tough task is all but impossible.They paid the price for a slow start, trailing 12-0 after conceding two tries in the opening 10 minutes.A couple of tries midway through the first half to winger Tyrell Sloan and centre Mat Feagai brought the Dragons back on level terms.But they went to sleep just before the break, allowing the Cowboys to cross three times in the space of seven minutes as the home side took a 28-12 lead into the sheds.St George Illawarra again rallied with winger Corey Allan, Sloan and back-up hooker Jacob Liddle touching down to make it a two-point ball game heading into the final 15 minutes.But the Cowboys again kicked clear with co-captain Tom Dearden recording his second try and centre Jaxon Purdue speeding away from the cover defence after a restart went wrong for the Dragons.A late try to Liddle gave the Dragons one last chance to force the match into extra time but they fell short to suffer their 12th loss from 18 starts this season.Gerringong Lions forward Hamish Stewart played 38 minutes off the bench for the Dragons, racking up 97 running metres, including 44 post contact, from 11 hit-ups and 29 tackles with just two misses.The Dragons return to Wollongong next Saturday to face first-placed Canberra.