Sydney, New South Wales, April 23, 1995 – Teenager Stacey Jones, hailed as one of rugby league’s hottest prospects, scored within moments of making his debut as the Auckland Warriors swamped Parramatta 40-4 to claim their first away Winfield Cup victory in Sydney today.
The 18-year-old Jones had just come onto the field off the bench when he pounced on a grubber fullback Phil Blake had rolled into the Eels’ in-goal area.
The Warriors were well in control by the time Jones came into the game for Gene Ngamu. It was real cameo appearance. He was on the field little more than five minutes, scoring his try, kicking a goal and getting a cut which forced into the blood bin.
Match details:
At Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Parramatta Eels 4 (Justin Morgan try).
Auckland Warriors 40 (Phil Blake, Sean Hoppe, Tea Ropati, Gene Ngamu, Duane Mann, Tony Tatupu, Stacey Jones tries; Gene Ngamu 4 conversions; Greg Alexander conversion; Stacey Jones conversion).
Halftime: 10-6 Warriors.
Referee: David Jay.
Crowd: 10,426.
Teams:
Parramatta | Phil Howlett; Michael Erickson, Michael Buettner, Robert Muchmore, John Frare; Craig Freer, Chris Lawler; Paul Dunn (c), Tulsen Tollett, Chris King; Justin Morgan, Brett Plowman; Cameron Blair. Interchange: Ray Mercy, Troy Campbell, Nathan Carr, Dallas Weston.
Warriors | Phil Blake; Sean Hoppe, Whetu Taewa, Tea Ropati, John Kirwan; Gene Ngamu, Greg Alexander; Se’e Solomona, Duane Mann, Hitro Okesese; Tony Tuimavave, Logan Edwards; Dean Bell (c). Interchange: Joe Vagana, Tony Tatupu, Andy Platt, Stacey Jones.
