Souths Lions end Northern Hawks finals hopes

THE Northern Hawks’ first-grade rugby league team has crashed out of finals reckoning in this year’s Newcastle Rugby League Denton Engineering Cup.

In a topsy-turvy 2026 campaign that offered plenty, Steve Simpson’s charges won’t figure in the big end-of-season matches after their disappointing 26-14 loss to second ranked South Newcastle Lions at Lakeside Sporting Complex last weekend.

Leading in to the final round of the regular season, the embattled Hawks are out of finals contention after letting another game slip on their home turf.

Northern jumped to a handy 14-0 lead against the Lions with three unanswered tries in the early exchanges before a monumental defensive collapse proved their undoing.

The unpredictable Hawks raced out of the blocks and produced a stunning try blitz that rocked the well-drilled South Newcastle line-up to the core.

Dashing fullback Shaq Saunders opened the scoring for Northern from an Ethan Campbell offload, before centre Kiah Cooper extended the lead with an intercept try.

Capable winger Manu Alexander then latched on to a Ngangarra Barker grubber kick to make it 14-0 scoreline with an upset victory on the cards.

Souths hit back before the interval with a string of tries, and took control after the break.

They ran in six tries to the Hawks’ two for the match with crafty hooker Mitchell Black proving influential off the bench – scoring a try and landing the visitors’ only successful conversion.

Flying winger Jacob Afflick capped a strong game for the Lions with a hat-trick of four pointers.

The Hawks were dealt a savage blow when five-eighth Barker went off with a suspected wrist or arm injury in the first half, despite having set up the Alexander try.

Defensively, the Hawks conceded seven line breaks for the match – up from two the previous week – with tackle efficiency dropping as Souths built momentum.

Northern club president Andrew Chapman told News Of The Area that the loss was a “bitter pill to swallow” after the team’s encouraging start.

“It has been the story of our season with our failure to nail down victories after building handy leads,” Chapman lamented.

The loss leaves the Hawks out of finals contention, sitting eighth on the ladder with 12 points from 15 games and too far adrift of the top five with one round to be completed.

But it’s a different story for the club’s other grades heading into the final rounds.

The Hawks’ reserve grade team sits in seventh spot – just one point outside the top five – and can move into finals contention with a victory this weekend.

The under-19s are in a similar position, one point off fifth spot, while the women’s side, competing in the Milleen Cup, are placed fifth and on track  to secure a finals berth.

Northern Hawks are determined to end their first-grade campaign on a winning note when they square off with Lakes United Seagulls this Saturday at Cahill Oval.

By Chris KARAS