The Canberra Royals’ hopes of reaching consecutive Grand Finals were crushed on Saturday, falling 59-19 to the Uni-Norths Owls in a comprehensive Semi-Final defeat at Viking Park in the BentSpoke John I Dent Cup.

The Owls dominated proceedings from the opening whistle, with a penalty try setting the tone before Siave Seti crossed twice in the opening 10 minutes to establish an early stranglehold on the match. Samuel Toa was clinical with the boot, converting six of the Owls’ nine tries throughout the afternoon.

The Royals managed to respond through Samuel Heffernan in the 20th minute, with Chace Oates adding the conversion, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished. Ignacio Bonsembiante extended the Owls’ lead in the 30th minute, though Toa was unable to convert this effort.

A brief glimmer of hope emerged when Rory Scott crossed for the Royals in the 38th minute, but the visitors immediately answered back through an unnamed try-scorer on the stroke of half-time, with Toa’s successful conversion giving the Owls a commanding 31-12 advantage at the break.

The second half continued in similar fashion, with Dylan Challita crossing for the Owls five minutes after the restart before Toa added the extras. The Royals showed some fight when Aiesi Siolo dotted down in the 63rd minute, converted by Oates, but it proved to be too little, too late.

The Owls sealed their comprehensive victory with a late flourish, scoring three tries in the final 15 minutes through Tobias Macpherson and two more from unnamed players. Toa maintained his perfect record with the boot in the second half, converting all three efforts to complete a dominant 59-19 victory.

The defeat marks a disappointing end to the Royals’ 2025 campaign, particularly given their strong regular season form that saw them finish atop the ladder. The 2024 premiers will now turn their attention to next year’s campaign as they look to bounce back from this comprehensive defeat.

The coaching staff acknowledged the team’s shortcomings after the match, recognising that the Owls were the superior side on the day and completely outplayed them across all facets of the game.

Key Moments:

• Early penalty try setting the tone for the Owls’ dominance
• Siave Seti’s double in the opening 10 minutes establishing control
• Samuel Toa’s accurate goal-kicking, converting six of nine attempts
• The Owls’ late surge with three tries in the final 15 minutes sealing the comprehensive victory

Royals now advance to face the Tuggeranong Vikings in next week’s Semi-Final at Viking Park, with the winner earning the right to challenge for the 2025 BentSpoke John I Dent Cup premiership in the Grand Final.