Bears hit 98 in a round of attacking explosions
Round 15 of the Val Murphy Trophy was dominated by high-scoring performances.
The five matches produced 320 total points and 59 recorded tries. Winning teams accounted for 274 of those points and 51 tries. Only South Perth’s 10-point victory over Fremantle was decided by fewer than 24 points.
Willagee Bears 98 defeated Ellenbrook Rabbitohs 0
Willagee delivered the performance of the round, recording 17 tries and 15 goals in a relentless 98-point display.
Rhys Smith led the try-scoring with four, John Leota collected a hat-trick and Tahupotiki Awhitu-Kerei crossed twice. Eight other Bears also scored, giving Willagee 11 different try scorers.
Te Putuangaanga Huriwai-Brown completed a remarkable individual afternoon with a try and 15 goals for 34 points. His goal-kicking success rate was approximately 88 per cent, ensuring almost every Willagee attacking opportunity was fully rewarded.
The most impressive aspect was not simply the size of the score but the distribution of the damage. The Bears were not reliant on one combination or one area of the field.
Willagee had won the earlier meeting between the clubs 40–26. Round 15 therefore represented an enormous defensive improvement as well as an attacking explosion, with Ellenbrook held scoreless after posting 26 in the first encounter.
North Beach Sea Eagles 62 defeated Kwinana Titans 6
North Beach crossed for 12 tries through nine different scorers, overwhelming Kwinana with both individual brilliance and attacking variety.
Wyatt Rogers scored three tries, while Bailey Hepper added two. Javhan Jones, Rikeem Richards, Rico Pryor, Justin Buckley, Lachie Lewis and Jay Roa completed the scoring.
Rogers and Buckley finished with an identical 14 points each. Rogers combined three tries with one goal, while Buckley scored once and kicked five goals.
Kwinana’s six points came from a Titan try and Jonathan Rofe’s conversion.
The Sea Eagles also defeated Kwinana 84–10 earlier in the season. Across the two meetings, North Beach outscored the Titans 146–16, showing a clear advantage in this matchup.
South Perth Lions 26 defeated Fremantle Roosters 16
The closest contest of the round belonged to South Perth and Fremantle.
The Lions scored five tries through five different players: Marc Fariu, Jordan Tumoana, Kee Davids, Xavier Cavanna and Kieren Lis. Tane Cassidy added three goals.
Fremantle remained within striking distance through tries to Kredenz Hikairo-Seller, Trent Griffin and Owen Gallagher, with Griffin converting twice.
South Perth’s 5–3 advantage in tries was ultimately the difference. Fremantle stayed competitive but could not find the additional score required to turn pressure into a genuine late challenge.
The result also completed a strong pair of performances by the Lions against the Roosters. South Perth won the earlier meeting 38–12, giving them a combined 64–28 advantage across the two games.
Kieren Lis scored four tries across those meetings, including a hat-trick in the first encounter and another try in Round 15.
Joondalup Giants 36 defeated Kalamunda Bulldogs 12
Joondalup’s attack was shared across six scorers as the Giants recorded a convincing away victory at Hartfield Park.
Dylan Davis crossed twice, with Steven Hanson, Hudson Duncan, Philip Saunderson, Nick Farrell and Isaiah Rapana each scoring once. James Smith kicked four goals.
Kalamunda’s entire try-scoring output came from Steven Crosbie, who crossed twice. Daniel Jones converted both tries.
The Bulldogs were still within range through their two converted tries, but Joondalup’s ability to consistently find new scorers eventually created the separation. The Giants won the try count 7–2 and scored 28 points through tries alone.
Joondalup also won the earlier meeting 48–0. Their combined score across the two games was 84–12, although Kalamunda improved significantly by finding two tries in the rematch.
Rockingham Sharks 52 defeated Alkimos Tigers 12
Rockingham’s scoring pattern produced the most unusual statistic of Round 15: all five Sharks try scorers crossed exactly twice.
Byron Tautaiolefua, Cole Eru, Kelston Mudu, Ben Cottam and Haydyn Wade each recorded doubles, giving Rockingham 10 tries without a single one-try scorer.
Wade added six goals to his two tries and finished with 20 individual points.
Alkimos replied through Richard Aiolupotea and Kingston Pene, with Jack Wray converting both tries.
The Sharks’ scoring balance made them particularly difficult to contain. Rather than one player dominating the match, five separate players repeatedly broke through the Alkimos defence.
Rockingham had also defeated the Tigers 34–8 earlier in the season. Across the two meetings, the Sharks scored 86 points to 20, with Round 15 representing an improvement of 18 points in their attacking output.