A-Grade V’s De-la Salle – Round 3

Won – 32-22

Before we get into today’s game the A-Grade squad would like to wish all the Mums of the players and within the Club a very happy Mother’s Day. Also best wishes to Paul Smith who celebrated his Birthday today and Larry Warner for his Birthday on Monday. Many happy returns from all your mates.

Today’s game was an absolute cracker played on opposition ground in front of a good crowd on a perfect Autumn afternoon, with no one going home disappointed except for De-La Salle and their supporters. We went into this game without the services of Scott Nancarrow and Aaron Palmer, two of our big guys that bring a lot of muscle up front. This loss did provide the opportunity for Steve Ring to come up from our A-reserves side and also provide Michael Morris the chance to have his first run in the A-Grade competition. With regards to Michael, he played in the Clubs U17’s side last season and only turned 18 a fortnight ago. Both Steven and Mick played off the bench and when given the chance to get on the paddock neither guy disappointed. Well done guys.

The first 10 minutes of the game resemble a side that could have easily played first grade seeing our side constantly driving forward, finishing off our sets and absolutely hammering De-La in defence. Actually with the way we started off I thought we were going to be in for a massive score blow out but it is amazing how the call of a whistle or a freakish pass can change the whole momentum of the game and this is exactly what happen when De-La put on a length of the field try in questionable circumstances but resulting in a try and more importantly for them, lifting their heads and going onto scoring a further two tries. This change in momentum coupled with some interesting calls from the man with the whistle, definitely had De-La looking like a completely different side from how they started. We eventually went into the half time break 14-8 down but certainly not out of this game.

Dave Stubbs got the second half off to a great start with a well read intercept followed by a length of the field try. With a good start and some great leadership from Chris Woods and Jack Fairhall throwing themselves at just about anything that moved, it wasn’t long before we had played our way out of the slump we found ourselves in the first half and momentum was slowly gathering back in our processions. Both teams forward packs deserve mention as at times I think it would have been easier going out onto Captain Cook Drive and tackling cars compared to the hits that were going on out on the paddock. Eventually though and in true Engadine style, we just kept in the face of the opposition, never gave an inch, bashed our way back into the game and when the opportunity appeared to put points on the board our guys made no mistake in doing so in wonderful fashion resulting in us winning 32-22 and what a great victory it was.

As said above, everyone put in a great effort today but I feel I should mention the following guys who all got points from the “player’s Player” awards. The first is Chris Wood, you can see the excitement on this guys face when he is out doing what he loves and boy is he good at it. Our five-eight Jack Fairhall who was instrumental in our win today with his strong defence and lighting speed in attack. Regan Hyde for the way he went about executing the demise of the oppositions 6’6” prop forward, leaving him sitting on his backside wondering what hit him and in the process lifting out guys to just never give up. Pat Carr our speedy centre who would have been at the top of the tackle count I’m sure, if we kept one. Pat was involved all over the park and was eventually rewarded with a very nice try for his efforts. Lastly our big guy Nathan “Ritto” Bullock, this guy just loves running at blokes and whenever he lines up to receive the ball not only the opposition go up in anticipation but also the crowd as he never ceases to disappoint with the metres he makes and the carnage he leaves in his wake.

Special thanks to the best ball boy in the competition “Bailey Ferguson” for his assistance on the side line. Bailey was kept busy today seeing Mitch Neylan converting 4 from 5 and Chad Richmond converting 2 from 2. Like a good caddy, I’m sure Bailey must be offering advice to these guys when he takes the kicking tee out as we have been very successful with our kicking this season seeing us only miss 2 from 19 attempts.

Tries:

X1  Pat Carr sponsored by Aquinas Colts

X1  Jack Fairhall sponsored by Aquinas Colts

X1  David Stubbs sponsored by Southside landscapes

X1  Pat Carr sponsored by Aquinas Colts

X1  Regan Hyde sponsored by Micks Quality Family Meat

X1  Dane Snelson sponsored by Adams Smash Repairs

Goals:

X4 Mitch Neylan sponsored by Exeter Welding Services

X2  Chad Richmond sponsored Tippers Cup Cakes

Awards in no particular order went as follows: Chris Wood, Jack Fairhall, Regan Hyde, Matt and David Stubbs, Pat Carr and Mitch Neylan.

A-Grade Reserves V’s St John Bosco Round 3

Lost – 18-12

Mothers Day saw Boys Town bathed in sunshine for the much anticipated clash against arch enemies St John Bosco. We started off slowly making unforced errors and turning the ball over which saw Bosco score two early tries. The Dragons then settled down and played some enterprising football with big Viliam Napa'a leading the way in the forwards and Kain Ebb in the backs turning the game on its head and putting us in a leading position before half time with Mitchell Hatch and Dom both scoring tries and Logan chipping in with two goals. There was some big efforts in the first half by Michael Warren, Steve Dabbin and Steve Coughlan in attack and defence with Raymor and Dom putting in the good consistent effort that we have seen from these players in the games already played this year. Half time saw the coach talk about the importance of getting to the kick and playing the game in the oppositions half.
We were right in this game but after resuming play in the second half we just made too many mistakes with the ball and, as was the case early in the first half, Bosco took advantage and scored two more tries and a goal ending our chances of victory. Our defence in the second half was magnificent with Viliam smashing anyone that came near him and Ebby pulling off some great try saving tackles. We just made it too hard for ourselves and if you give the opposition enough ball sooner or later they will hurt you and that just about summed it up. If we can cut down on our mistakes and tackle like we did on Sunday we can give the comp a real shake. Our Players voted Ebby as the players player and the best and fairest points were shared by Ramor, Viliam and Ebby.

The 'Package'