Another weekend in the bank, another huge weekend of sport in the Gong. Here our Mercury sport team run you through all the biggest results and stories.
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Illawarra Rugby League
Collegians 26 def. Thirroul 16
Collegians trailed 16-6 at the break after reduced to 12 men following the sin-binning of fullback Callum Gromek. The Butchers posted two tries with Gromek on the sideline but couldn't strike another blow once Collies returned to their full complement.
The reigning premiers were ruthless in the second half, not conceding a point and producing four tries, including a double to Toby Rumble. The Butchers pressed hard for a go-ahead late, but the Dogs repelled them in a thriller capped by a late four-pointer to Gromek.
In other results, De La Salle defeated Dapto 38-20, while Wests were too good for Corrimal, getting home 38-8 at Parrish Park.
Group Seven
The Gerringong Lions are the outright leaders of the Group Seven competition after 12 rounds following their impressive 28-22 win over highflyers Stingrays of Shellharbour on Saturday.
The Shellharbour Sharks also won on Saturday, their sixth victory on the trot coming at the expense of cellar-dwellers Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies.
On Sunday, Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles broke a nine-year hoodoo with their 30-10 victory over Warilla-Lake South Gorillas at Centenary Field.
Elsewhere Kiama Knights held on to beat Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs 28-26, while Jamberoo Superoos upset Nowra-Bomaderry Jets 24-14.
Illawarra Premier League
Bulli reach seventh heaven with huge IPL win against OlympicIt was a game akin to that of Brazil versus Germany at the World Cupsemi-finals in 2014, at least on the scoreline alone.
Nobody, not even the Bulli squad would have predicted a 7-1 win pre-game against defending grand final champions Wollongong Olympic.But that was what happened on Saturday at PCYC.
Bulli's talismanic skipper Ben McDonald drew level on the golden boot standings in the process by scoring four, seeing him hit 19 goals, level with Cringila's Peter Simonoski.
"Olympic are a very good team. It's not one of those games that you expect to be so dominant. We turned up today and I think throughout the year we've been putting in good performances, but the results just haven't gone our way," Bulli midfielder Sam Davis said.In other IPL games on Saturday, Coniston thrashed Bellambi 8-0, Corrimal beat Wollongong United 2-1 and Helensburgh got the better of SCU 2-1.
On Sunday, Port Kembla and Albion Park played out a belting 4-4 draw which sees Port draw level with Bulli and Coniston on 23 points.
Cringila continued their winning ways by defeating Tarrawanna 3-0.
NPL NSW
It was meant to be a day where Rockdale continued the pressure on APIA at the top of the NPL NSW ladder but nobody told the Wolves that after David Carney's side put on a stunning display to win 4-0 on Sunday at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Rockdale needed to win desperately to keep pace with the leaders at the top of the NPL NSW table. And with three new signings mid-week and a win against the Wolves in the first half of the season, they would have been confident of all three points.
But a first half masterclass from the Wolves completely flipped the script and left the home side reeling.
The win against Rockdale was the Wolves' first away from home since their 3-0 win against Manly on April 22.
Goals from former Rockdale man Chris McStay, as well as Lachlan Scott and Takumi Ofuka saw the visitors take a 3-0 lead going into the sheds.
Jake Trew wrapped up the scoring for the visitors in the second half to see the score finish 4-0.
Illawarra Rugby
The big question at the halfway mark of the Illawarra District Rugby Union competition is can Shoalhaven go through the season undefeated. The reigning premiers brought up their eighth straight win on Saturday, downing Campbelltown 46-19.
In other results Shamrocks downed a gritty University 22-20, while Tech Waratahs held tough to beat Kiama 27-22. Avondale were handed a 27-0 over Bowral, who forfeited their game.
South Coast AFL
The 'big three' in the South Coast AFL competition all had big wins on Saturday.
Most of the attention was on the round 10 fixture between reigning premiers Figtree Kangaroos and the 'most-improved' side in the competition Shellharbour City Suns.
The Suns tried hard but the premiers proved too strong at Myimbarr Community Park.
The Wollongong Bulldogs and the Northern District Tigers also won, downing Kiama Power and Wollongong Lions respectively.
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