One-Eyed’s Game Reports
Northern Suburbs 28th August The lonely figure of Benny Schreiber hobbling across the ground before the stat of the game, on crutches, to the 4th Grade Family Hill was not a pretty site to start the day. It looks like Benny’s season may now be in mothballs. It seemed a tame start to the game with both teams going through the motion of the basics, without any degree of urgency to show superior defence or attack. Perhaps with the late inclusion of two new first graders – Dewett Roos and Rohan Saifolio; both only 19 – there was a settling in period to allow them the aura of the top grade and as such work into the game. Anyhow that’s just an opinion and both boys did play well throughout the game. Within 5 minutes of the commencement, Kurt was lining up his first kick of the day to send Sutho to a 3 – 0 lead. Back in to attack within a short space, it sounded as though One_Beer was going to have a seizure as a second kick was lined up. One_Beer was loudly espousing the merits of a scrum to remain on the attack to start the try scoring section of the scoreboard moving. For those who regularly read One_Eyed, you would be well aware of the weekly countdown that One_Beer does to the 4th try and the extra bonus point, which comes with it – lost opportunity he mutters whilst slurping into his amber refreshment. See I told ya was the next cry forthcoming from One_Beer, as Kurt’s kick went astray leaving the score at Sutho 3 – 0. Soon into the Sutho half North’s take the penalty on offer with a bit of wind behind them. The ball travels the distance without any problem to draw the scores level 3 – 3. With the play worked back into the Sutho half from the restart the Shoremen are awarded another penalty and a bit of déjà vu as the ball sails over the crossbar again; North’s 6 – 3. With what seems to be a procession of penalties the Harbour Boys are soon kicking again to extend the lead to North’s 9 – 3. Oddly however, one blatant penalty that went astray from a North’s chip occurred when Dewett took the ball in the air, was taken out along with a scalping at the same time! One_Eyed believes Stevie Wonder would have seen that one! Anyhow working the ball back to the North’s end Kurt is lining up a penalty in front ... no word from One_Beer this time ... as the ball goes between the sticks; North’s 9 – 6. To date there had been no particular plays to become excited over, in fact it was looking a little like the previous weeks’ game against Warringah – very staid. The only events of note that came to One_Eyed’s attention were the play of Nick Seymour and Kane Douglas. Firstly, Nick was putting in a very energetic performance being one of the first to just about every breakdown, whether in defence or attack. Then Kane stepped up with some particularly aggressive and punishing defence, primarily, with some smatterings of hard running. The groove of giving away kickable penalties continued in favour of North’s as each 3 pointer was accepted with gratitude, as their fourth for the afternoon went over the black dot; North’s 12 – 6. Though one of the famous Rebel ‘Burgers had already been devoured, prior to the game, another trip was under consideration to the BBQ as there appeared to be more excitement in that area than on the field.... Did One_Eyed speak too soon? Some very free flowing passing and running by the Rebels has the ball work smoothly, into the danger zone for North’s. With some basic rugby Hamish ends up strolling over under the post virtually untouched. Kurt converts to skip the Rebels to the lead 13-12, nigh on the break. From the restart North’s end up in attack somehow and seem to make ground without too much problem. With a little chip Dame Margot Fonteyn (aka Radeki Samo) took the ball, pirouetted and in the same motion kicked for the line to hopefully gain ground. The outcome; he landed flat on his back and just about took out the scoreboard – back to ballet school Radeki. Apparently the judges gave him more points for his pirouette than his kick. Anyhow, for what had been a fairly bland half this was probably one of the highlights, which is not unusual when one considers the player involved who is more than apt at providing some type of excitement with his style of play With the hooter going, One_Eyed, One_Beer, One_Opinion, One_Hacker, One_BigIF, One_Rum and One_Baritone – now collectively known as the geriatrics in Alickadoo Alley (ably assisting the 4th Grade Family Hill Members on the other side of the field) - agreed that though not an exciting half, Sutho were well positioned with a strong wind behind their back in the second half. The resumption of play was all so like the movie Groundhog Day as North’s, though running into the wind, were enjoying a string of penalties, just as they did in the first half, and moving towards the Rebels’ white line. Whatever was said to the North’s players at the break soon paid dividends as they crossed for their first 5 pointer of the afternoon, which was converted; North’s 19 – 12. So simple was the try it appeared the Rebels had caught hat dreaded disease ‘nowanntacklitis’ – harsh comment, yes; true comment also yes. Had the wheel started to fall off as the same outcome occurs not that long after with the Shoremen kicking clear 26 – 13 and looking very well in command. Then without any real surge a simple steal in the middle of the field, by Nick S, turned what appeared to be a lethargic Rebels side into a totally different outfit. From the steal the Rebels creep towards the North’s line with the final pass to Nicky P who certainly had some work to do. His choice of angles and steps left the defence grasping at mid air as he weaved his way through the defence to go over and plant the ball under the posts; some classy finishing work. Kurt converts and the differential is lessened North’s 26 – 20. The Rebels look to be heading over the line again but a knock on, after a great break by Dewett, sees the Harbour Boys hang on to the lead. This small setback did not deter the efforts of the Rebels as they were soon back on their bike attacking. The forwards started to exert some intense pressure as the extension arm – Radeki – clawed the ball over the line. Sutho grab the lead 27 – 26 as Kurt steers the ball over. One_Beer now has a grin broader than the Luna Park entry; “...see I told ya they should have taken that scrum, way back, cos I could see how well they were gunna play...” And only one to go for the bonus point, he also proclaims. The grin gets broader as Dewett goes over after a being on the long end of a passing chain and with the touchie’s raiding their flags Sutho now lead 32 – 26. Looking good with some semblance of early season form that had them top of the ladder. This form could be ominous heading towards the semis; going to be interesting to see if the form, firstly holds for the remainder of this game and then the next couple of weeks to close the normal rounds of the comp. The pressure continues as the Rebels have the Shoremen going backwards at a great rate of knots. An in goal kick is just touched down by the North’s defender before a Rebels’ hand can lay claim to another 5 pointer. A short drop out is opted to the open side of the field but unfortunately, for North’s, they find Rome who gladly accepts the ball somewhere in the lower atmosphere. Setting out for the line he draws the defence and then presents Nicky with his second try of the afternoon; Sutho now lead 39 – 26. Momentum is growing with each play that occurs as the Rebels appear relentless in their hunger to keep the scoreboard ticking over. With North’s trying to run the ball out of their danger zone Josh was astute to the play and intercepts to send Ita over and allow Kurt an easy conversion; Sutho 46 – 26 Just to prove their skills and attitude were on the up, and did not rely upon close camping on the opposition line, the Rebels final try was a beauty. Running the ball off the line there was a sniff of a small gap on the far side of the field and it was well and truly taken. Working the ball the entire length of the field, the fleet footed Brackin finished the movement and with Kurt’s conversion closing the game out at Sutho 53 – 26 all residents of Alickadoo Alley breathed a sigh of relief with the impressive finishing to the game with the resurgence of early season form. Highlights Though the game was played in a very dour manner for the majority of time, the Rebels managed to break out to play a much improved style of play towards the back end of the day
One_Eyed’s Points For the first time in awhile there were a number of players who could put their hands up for pints today; a good position to be in for the team 3 points Nick S; probably played his most energetic and active game being particularly noticeable at the breakdowns. 2 points Kane; his best game to date in both defence and attack in terms of consistency. The ‘mongrel’ came out today and the North’s forwards knew it. 1 point Nicky P; had two opportunities to score and did. One try in particular had a degree of work to be done but he appeared to do it with consummate ease. Scores Southern Districts 56 (Tries Nicky Price 2, Radeki Samo, Ita Vaea, Hamish Paterson, , Brackin Karauria-Henry, Dewett Roos Conversions Kurt Morath 6 Penalties 2) v Northern Suburbs 26 Final away game for the season at Concord against the Pirates; support is essential for every game to boost the Rebels into the semis on a high. Be there!
Warringah 21st August A suggested at the close of the One_Eyed Report last week, the Warringah game was going to be a tough one, as it always is. Additionally, it looked like One_Eyed and One_Beer had stepped into the land of the Brobdingnag, as both sides took to the field. With about 6 players tipping the 6’8’’ scale – that’s 200cm for you young ‘uns – there may be some balls contested in the lower troposphere. With the game underway Warringah go in with great pace turning the ball wide making effective use of the big frame of Sam Harris to skirt wide looking for gaps. As usual The Rats seem to do everything at super pace and set an early pattern of continually using Brett Sheehan to set Harris on his way with Beau Robinson used as a decoy, and undetected obstruction on occasions repeatedly, as the Rebels were hot footing it in defence. The hustle and bustle told quickly – 2 minutes into the game – as Sheehan lined up his penalty kick but thankfully the ball drifted wide of the sticks. Before being able to devour any more of the snag ‘sanga’ – it wasn’t too bad either – Harris is now taking the next penalty for the Rats. Looks like the Warringah boys have left their kicking boots in the locker as the ball goes wide again. Several early realisations soon hit home
After the horrific decisions of last weeks’ games, courtesy of the Mazda Man, the same problem has now been transferred to Rat Park! With the Warringah forwards on a rampage they pop the ball up as a knock on but Sutho reciprocate to also knock on. The decision, by the highly credentialed Mazda Man – play on. With the ball whipped wide, the Rebels maybe in shock with the play on call, their outside centre busts the line and strolls in under the posts. Though Josh politely questioning Mr Dickinson – you’ve got more diplomacy than One_Eyed Josh - the call stood. A few brief little chortles were heard to come from the Warringah supporters’ area. The famed Kamahl catch cry came to mind ...”why are these Mazda Men so unkind...” (apologies to Kamahl changing people to Mazda Men) but after the costly errors of last week (more occurred than those previously reported) would this also become a very costly mistake. So the wash up after the kick is Warringah lead 7 – 0. The quality of the game is not overly attractive as both sides are executing too many errors. When Warringah revert to their two man back line, they do look dangerous. On one rare occasion that Sutho had possession AND was within try scoring distance the Mazda Man was about to award a long arm to the Rebels until one of his assistants suggested that a scrum feed was due as the Rebels had ostensibly knocked on. Ho hum, just another one to mark down. The Rebels are definitely doing it tough without the ball, without field position and with all calls seemingly going against them. To their credit though the efforts did not reflect such dire position, after all if it did then 7 – 0 would have been more like 20 – 0; the Rebels were hanging in. A sudden run of penalties then came the way of the Shire boys as the worm had turned, then with good ball work and basic play Sutho was edging their way to the Rats’ line. With a high degree of patience the forwards slowly but surely recycled the ball inch by inch until the extension arm of Radeki plants it over wide out. No matter says Kurt, as he raises the touchie flags to maintain his perfect record; Sutho 7 Warringah 7. Half time approaching and the Rebels’ game is on the rise; amazing what a bit of possession and position can do to a team. Good selective kicking and running now has the Rats on the back foot, for a change. Finally, being a little over exuberant in the tackle Mr Dickinson gives Kurt the opportunity for the Rebels to take the lead. The half finishes with Kurt shaking his head as he has his first miss with goal kicking duties to take the sides to the break at 7 – 7. Resumption of play has both sides really feeling each other out ... the old phrase of two boxers feeling each other out in round one came to mind. No real chances for either; the defence was very steady. The only excitement at this stage was the low flying sea plane passing overhead heading back to Sydney Harbour; looks as though it could have done with a good paint job. This was the point at which One_Beer took the opportunity to refuel as there was more action at the bar than on the field. The pattern of the first half seemed to be evolving again where the Rebels defended and the Rats had the ball and the territory advantage. Then a costly error as a clearing kick, from the Rebels, just about went at a right angle, to gain about 1 metre. The pressure is back on the defence as the Rats step it up. Feeding on this error the Peninsula team immediately rev up a few gears in attack as they spread the ball wide and quick for their fullback to chime in and score in the corner; the kick goes astray so Warringah leads 12 – 7. This adrenalin lead has the Rats on a high as they continually press for every inch of ground advantage, to keep the Rebels away from any scoring possibility; whether by a penalty kick or any sniff of a move to score a 5 pointer. Warringah seems to be happy to hold the ball and stay away from their line – had they decided to shut up shop with 4 points under their belt. Scoring another 3 tries for the bonus point just did not seem to be on the cards – for either side. One_Eyed has to congratulate the Warringah ploy of the tackler falling on the Rebels side of the ruck to impede the quick and effective recycling of the ball; not once were they pinged for this. Effectively the tackler would lay across the backdoor exit of where the ball would come out and laid there – arms extended to say “...sir I’m not in the way...” This was slowing the Rebels attack whilst the Rats were reorganising their defence. One_Eyed and One_Beer almost felt like moving to the other end of the stand to see the play better as the Rebels could not escape their half ...until, young Rohan Saifolio, now playing fullback made an unbelievable incisive run to take the play up field from about the Rebels 30 metre line. At one stage the two One’s thought Rohan may have gone all the way but the Rats defence scrambled...bugga! Nevertheless the momentum carried on as the ball was worked closer and closer to the Warringah line. With under 5 minutes to go the Rebels looked menacing and it only seemed a formality that the gap would be found. Rallying under this onslaught the Rats tackled and tackled to keep the Shire boys at bay. Some real nail biting stuff as the Rats continued to repel each wave of attack. Two minutes to go and the Rebels became ensconced on the Rats line with foray after foray. The Rats line held with quick and effective stifling of the Sutho attack. And then ... a gap was found but Mr Dickinson declared the ball was held up over the line. Down goes the scrum, but unhappy with the structure Mr Dickinson resets the scrum; under a minute to go. The scrum goes down and the ball clears to the back. As usual Radeki faces the open side to seek out the most appropriate path to take. With the Warringah defence moving to cover the open side, Radeki suddenly backhand flicks the ball to Josh who wrapped around behind the scrum to dart over on the blind side. As Kurt steps up to the mark the hooter goes to end the game. Is this pressure or what to convert from the sideline and win the game? The ball left the boot well but just shaved the wrong side of the post to finish the game at 12 – 12. Highlights A game which proved to be a bit ugly and difficult for the Rebels – very little ball and field position – the draw was definitely an unlucky result.
One_Eyed’s Points 3 points Radeki; instrumental in both tries scored, scoring one and setting up the other. Defensively played a solid game to welcome any ball carrier who opted to come his way. 2 points Gareth; bit of an unheralded player who made his presence felt with punishing runs in the n-middle of the field and solid defence where the attack seemed to try and avoid him. 1 point Rome; probably payed his best game since coming back from injury – always in amongst the tall timber hard work Scores Southern Districts 12 (Tries Radeki Samo, Josh Gamgee Conversion Kurt Morath) v Warringah 12 Home next week to the Shoremen looking for a big effort working into the semis; if last week was a must win this is a double must win! A big turnout is required to support the Rebels in the march to the semis.
Eastern Suburbs 14th August Winding his way out of the Waters, after the game, One_Eyed wondered if he would run into Wayne Gretsky, Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby. You may ask what have these names got to do with Rugby; easy – nothing – they all play a sport, which has three periods to the game, called ice hockey. But Rugby has two halves, you say, but let One_Eyed assure you that today he and his cohorts were witness to a three period game. Though the ice hockey game has 20 minutes periods (therefore a 60 minute game) today’s game against the Beastie’s was played in a 20 minute – 40 minute – 20 minute pattern. So how did it go.... Period 1 Right from the outset the intentions to play this game in a very competitive arm wrestle manner were displayed by both sides. There was nothing particularly flash about either side except the fact that both were really feeling each other out; in close and out wide, just to see where the opportunities may or may not be. This touchie feelie episode lasted for at least the first 10 minutes until East’s erred and gave Kurt his first attempt of the afternoon from just inside their half. Picking up from where he left off last week, there was no mistake with the direction or length of the kick as both touchie’s raised their flags to commence the scoreboard attendant’s duties for the afternoon; Sutho 3 – 0. From the restart of play nothing really changed with the hits going in as per the first phase of the game. It all seemed to be like a game of chess just waiting for the chink to appear in one of the two sides’ defence. Kurt, running the angle, to take off like a “scalded rabbit”, seized a small opening and with the cover closing he found Ita a willing partner in the bust to take the ball the rest of the way to cross for the Rebels first try of the afternoon. With Kurt’s conversion Sutho skipped out to a 10 – 0 lead. It was an impressive lead as East’s were a formidable opponent but the Rebels had played a patient game, to date, and taken the points once the opportunity had presented. One_Opinion offered the comment that there is real purpose and direction to the Rebels’ effort so far, this afternoon. Reminding him about the fat lady and what goes with her, all the troops begged him not to jump to conclusions even though all were in agreement about the performance so far, at this early stage... little did the wise men know... With Marshal off the field in the blood bin, young Rohan came on for what was a cameo appearance and impressed in his short stay. There will be more heard about him – One_Eyed feels confident in making that prediction; hope that ain’t the kiss of death. With a sudden burst from him Sutho found themselves 40 metres up field in the blink of an eye and with East’s’ being a little too eager in defence they were caught off side. Kurt lines up the ball as the touchie’s line up under the posts and then the touchie’s line up their flags as the ball sails over the dot; Sutho 13 – 0. Without too much of a rest Kurt is kicking again with the touchie’s patiently waiting in the shadows of the sticks; Sutho 16 – 0. Though 16 – 0 sounds like a commanding lead it really wasn’t – only one try to date and silly errors by East’s were broadening the gap. No doubt the word had been run on to the field by the East’s Waterboy – didn’t look like Adam Sandler – which was the start of the end of the Period 1 part of the game. Period 2 Whatever the reason East’s suddenly seemed to sprout a few wings here and there and some varied play came into operation, as their backs started to make ground. Though a deftly placed and regathered chip by Ryan Cross was executed the Rebels defence held that well the ball was turned over. With what was thought to be a great clearance downfield by the Rebels, finding touch, East’s decide to turn it on as they quickly throw in and shot off down field to eventually score to reduce the lead; Sutho 16 – 7. This try really came out of the blue as the Rebels had seemed to be still in control even though it was a tussle of a game. Buoyed on by this try East’s went straight back into attack looking to capitalise on the adrenalin they were pumping from the ‘out of the blue’ try. Then when the Rugby Gods smile on you, they surely smile with all teeth glistening. East’s went into attack just on the half way mark. Off loading a pass, which was knocked on, play was allowed to continue despite the efforts of the sideline troops suggesting there was a problem. As East’s crossed for the try the Mazda Man called time off to check with his touchie to obviously check the knock on. Then all the faces dropped with amazement as the ref signalled a try which in one way was rather odd as the faces that were dropping were not only the Sutho faces but also the Beastie supporters faces as they shook their heads that a knock on had occurred. Would this prove to be a costly error ... time would tell ...but as the great Tim Shaw was famed to say– but wait there’s more; read on. With the conversion taken Sutho now held a slender lead 16 – 14, with East’s definitely on the ascendancy. With half time punctuating this period of play East’s soon picked up where they left off before the break. The all too frequent runs of Huia Edmonds from the breakdown, as he often does in Super 14, had him dragged down only about 5 metres out. Immediate pressure was applied from this advantage created by Huia, as the East’s eight ate away at the small distance to be covered. Bit by bit the white line became closer until the Mazda Man raised his arm in confirmation that the 5 pointer had been scored; East’s 21 – 16 after the conversion. With heads up, the Rebels went back into attack and soon lessened the gap as East’s gave up a penalty. Kurt steered it through over the dot; East’s 21 – 19. The woes of this period continued as the Rebels lost possession from the restart, which immediately put East’s on a very strong front foot. Each runner was making valuable ground for the Beasts. One_Eyed could not determine whether it was super strong running or half hearted defence – but the proof of the pudding came into being as the East’s fullback stepped his way through a number of would be tackles from about 30 metres out – more like touch footie than tackle; East’s 26 – 19. The game was starting to slip away, as the dominance of the Woollahra boys seemed to be rising, unless some type of pattern change occurred. When will this period end; not yet unfortunately. East’s were taking no respite or prisoners from their current style of play, as they continued to attack at every opportunity, probing in any way possible, whether by kicking, running or any other means possible. Realising the Rebels were bare at the back a well placed kick was sent to the in goal area. The chase was on and yep the East’s winger just manage to touch out Benny in a race for the ball; East’s 31 – 19. Potentially losing at least one bonus point with this East’s try (greater than a 7 spread), Sutho got stuck into the attack for a change. There was a new attitude over the Rebels as the punishing style of the first period seemed to be resurrected; in particular Ita was running his normal style of play – straight into the defence on a stop me if you can basis. Venturing deep into the Beasts territory the Rebels all but score and how they were held out, one can only wonder. With East’s stealing the ball a middle of the field break is made by Ryan Cross. With two players in support, against the Rebels’ fullback, it only seemed to be a formality that the score board attendant would have more work to do. Out of the corner of One_Eyed’s eye Ben Connelly was flying across the field in cover to help. When Cross off loaded the ball Ben’s resolve seemed to increase to stop the try. Then 10 metres out ... with Ben hot on his heels ... the ball carrier tripped; good chase Ben, you worried him out of the try. As a result, East’s knocked on but though Sutho feed and win the scrum they coughed up the pill for East’s to cross wide out. And now this is the bit that was earlier referred to as ... wait there’s more... the ball drifts about three feet wide of the right hand upright and both touchie’s raise their flags! Even the East’s kicker turned and ran back with the biggest grin one might ever see. So all One_Eyed can figure out is that there are 3 people or an entire ground that needs to visit the local optometrist! East’s have now jumped out to a 38 - 19 lead. Period 3 Still remaining positive the Rebels went back into the restart trying to assert some superiority when in possession. Defensively, the Rebels started to knock the Beasts down, like nine pins; perhaps all too late. Nevertheless the positive finish to the game was essential to show that Sutho would play for the full 80 minutes no matter what. Some free running attacking rugby was on display with Radeki’s skills coming to the fore in his own inimitable style of running and off loading. Thumping away at the Beast’s defensive line Radeki eventually found a gap and with Benny hot on his heels he accepts the ball and crosses to allow Kurt to continue his kicking spree; East’s 38 – 26. Well that’s the story of the three period game – maybe if the Rebels had Wayne Gretsky and his mates, with their hockey sticks, things may have been different. It’s all about being consistent for the whole game. Unfortunately, the second of the three periods lasted a lot longer than the other two combined, which is where all the damage was done. The poorest issues out of this game relate to the “knock on try” and the ”wide as the Sydney Heads goal,” which cost the Rebels a bonus point (38 less 9 is 29 – Sutho would have lost by less than 7). Let’s hope the lone point doesn’t haunt the Rebels coming into the semis. Highlights In a game which opened with what appeared to be a lot in the making there were very few highlights in favour of the Rebels
One_Eyed’s Points Outdone on the scoreboard in a very tough encounter the Rebels were really outdone with some small instances of individual brilliance, of Wallabies/Super 14 players, or the lucky bounce of the ball. 3 points Kurt; well in control of all of his responsibilities of kicking (positional and goal) as well as setting the backline in motion; really showing his class. 2 points Ita; showed glimpses of his early season form making it uncomfortable for the defence and attack with some no nonsense play. Good support provided him with the opening 5 pointer for the afternoon. 1 point Nic H; a typical upfront effort by Hendo Scores Southern Districts 26 (Tries Ita Vaea, Ben Schreiber Conversions Kurt Morath 2 Penalties 4) v East’s 38 Off on the longest trek of the season next week to Pittwater - this will be a real test of strength with some elusive and big players to confront. This is a must win game. .
Parramatta 7th August After last weeks’ Houdini win over Randwick the sojourn to Granville was highly anticipated to be a restamping of the early season Rebels authority with some open and free running rugby. The return of some players and influx of new talent suggested this may be the case but we would all have to wait and see. Three minutes into the game and Kurt steered the first penalty of the game, between the posts, to the Rebels advantage; Sutho 3 – 0. Then for about the next 6 minutes the Rebels learned what defence was all about as, during that time, they probably had the ball for about 30 seconds. The Parramatta forwards, it appeared, had come to both dominate and spoil the forwards play to probably counter what has been one of the Rebels’ strengths this season. Time and time again the spoil went in, all of which lead to the small amount of possession that the Rebels happened to enjoy. Trying to turn the lack of possession into advantage, as odd as it sounds, the Rebels started to use what ball they had well. With the inside backs, Gareth in particular being a bit of a handful, making the ground up field the ball was then worked back into amongst the forwards, who were only parked metres out from the Parra line. Recycling and slowly working the way forward the pressure eventually told as Nick went over to score his maiden Rebels’ 5 pointer and also the first 5 pointer for the day. Kurt converted from the side to send the Rebels to a lead of 10 – 0. Not long after the restart, play becomes camped at the Rebels end and with the supposed non-release of the ball Parra get their opportunity to open their account for the afternoon, which they duly do; Sutho 10 – 3. Taking offence to breaking the virgin score against the Two Blues for this season Sutho are soon back into attack with some good ball work and support play. As Gareth makes a bust he finishes his stanza of play with a well judged grubber. Ita, on the follow through, displayed his dribbling skills, as he has done all season at the back of the pack, and lets the ball roll over the line before planting himself on top for Kurt to convert and take Sutho to a lead of 17 – 3. The Rebels then seemed to show their pattern of play of the afternoon by going back into a cocoon by not securing the ball whilst in possession – a hot and cold performance. At each repeat of these hot and colds, the Two Blues lifted in spirit to forge forward with the ball. The Rebels then went back into hot mode as they mounted an attack all to come undone with an ever so slight obstruction ... bit of a hard call, sir! Parra worked down field to the Rebels line, but lost possession and then one of the familiar events of the Rebels play of late ... a charge down... but with Parra knocking on a sigh of relief came over the Sutho supporters. Not to be outdone, the Parra boys stuck to their guns to spoil and dominate where and when it was possible. Regaining possession Parra were slowly ebbing forward, as the Rebels line became closer and closer with each phase. The Parra pack was in complete control as their forward progress had been structured and executed well to eventually go over; Sutho 17 - 8. Before a deep breath could be taken after the restart Kurt was lining up another penalty, which after sailing over the crossbar, had Sutho leading 20 – 8. The Rebels were looking almost comfortable; but still somewhat hot and cold to a degree. It’s time for the cold part of the Rebels’ game as Parra line up a penalty, of their own, to hit back and reduce the lead; Sutho 20 – 11. Trying to apply pressure with quick throw ins, the Shire Boys manage to lose ground with this type of play. Metre after metre is lost even though the ball is in the Rebels’ hands. No doubt Dasha and his two offsiders (Blades and Harks) are champing at the bit for the half time hooter to sound to get into the 30 Rebel ears, with some well chosen words. As the Mazda Man calls a break Parra are pressing the line but thankfully knock on to allow the Two Blues canteen to make some money. The restart showed some very aggressive Rugby by the Rebels, for about 1 minute and then back into the hot and cold modes. Then like a metronome, clicking back and forth between hot and cold, the Rebels step up to the mark with Marshall making an incisive run and off loads to Brackin who juggles his way over the line. Once again Kurt raises the touchie’s flags with Sutho moving to a lead of 27 – 11; looking better but let’s wait and see. Definitely looking good the Rebels are soon back in attack and go perilously close to touching down again, but a Parra paw beats them to the punch. Pressing the line from the scrum, and still looking good ... oops spoke to soon as Parra manage to steal the ball and make a 60 metre break up field. Persistence and the sniff of a possible 5 pointer from this broken play gives the Granville Lads some extra adrenalin. Yep, Parra grabbed the opportunity and go over to reduce the Rebels lead to 27 – 18 after the kick. The Parra Fly Half is proving to be a very problematic player for the Rebels as he is running the field well, kicking well and proving a handful to tackle – even by the Rebels’ forwards; a very stocky and strong player. Parra are soon back in attack after the restart, but a great call from the Mazda Man to rule a forward pass thwarts and scoring danger... it was gunna be awfully close if play had not been recalled. Regaining possession Parra continue pounding away, as though they had found a new lease of life, to grind their way to the Rebels’ line. With simple recycling and controlled possession the Parra Fly gets the ball and proves his value to his side by bullocking his way over through the Rebels forwards. Converting his own try from wide out, Parra are well and truly back in the game; Sutho 27 – 23. Though on the ascendancy Parra make an error in their own half to give Kurt the opportunity to open the lead slightly, which he does; Sutho 30 - 23 ... at least a converted try will now be needed to surrender the lead. One_Eyed and One_Opinion just realise that Kurt has a 100% kicking effort for the arvo to date – just as well when one figures out the score to what could have been if the perfect record was not occurring. Not being phased by this slight hiccup Parra go straight back into attack and start to look ominous the way they are spreading the ball and stretching the defence. Then a bit of class told as Sisa read the play extraordinarily well to chime in and steal an intercept and give the Parra defence no chance as he ran some 40 metres to present Kurt with one of his easier kicks of the afternoon; Sutho 37 – 23. Transgressing from the restart the Rebels are soon in defence, but still in hot mode, as they soon dispossess the Two Blues of the ball. Making the ball do the work Sutho stretch the Parra defence to the nth degree and a length of the filed try has Sisa crossing for his second of the day – but this time in the corner; no matter says Kurt as he pots it to keep up his perfect record; Sutho 44 – 23. This sudden scoring spurt has obviously lifted the Rebels to go on with the job and with the final hooter not that far out the Shire Boys are muscling their way towards the line, seeking a half century for the day. The forwards are back into the rolling maul mode and the backs are lined out deep for the run on play, if the ball is sent wide. Seemingly wanting to show the Parra forwards how really was the boss for the day the forwards retain the ball in close and persist with their strategy, which has worked so well this season, to grind the opposition. Bringing the maul down Mr Pearce awards a penalty and appears to have a few select words with the Parra forwards and One_Eyed does not think he was telling them how cold it was back in his home town of Bathurst. The
hooter goes and the Rebels are pounding away at the line again, after
winning the scrum, from the previous penalty. Patiently the Rebels
recycle and recycle but then Parra obviously disobey Mr Pearce’s
warning as he takes off the for the sticks to award a penalty try to
finish the game. Kurt converts the try and finishes with 9 from 9 for
the day and Sutho run out winner 51 -23. A convincing win – yes and
no – depending on what part of the game one may have been watching. Highlights
One_Eyed’s Points A very H & C performance – Rebels look great when their mind is on the job but when their mind goes wandering ... well that’s another story. 3 points Kurt; providing a good link to the backs, who are playing well with the ball in hand. Has put all opposition sides on notice with his general kicking and goal kicking prowess. 2 points Sisa; played great to keep the opposition in two minds whether with the ball but especially without as his sense of reading the play put them in two minds about their own attack 1 point Gareth; played a very bruising game in the middle of the field creating a number of opportunities and stifling a lot of mid field early attack form Parra Scores Southern Districts 51 (Tries Sisa Waqa 2, Nick Seymour, Ita Vaea, Brackin Karauria-Henry, Penalty Try Conversions Kurt Morath 6 Penalties 3) v Parramatta 23 Home next week against the Beasties who are on the rise and just parked behind Rebels in fourth spot. A win over East’s would certainly dent their position on the table and conversely a win, for the Rebels, would probably start the mind games for the semi showdowns.
Randwick 31st July The groans and grimaces soon started, along with some other strange reactions as Randwick hit the lead 7 – 0, after about 15 seconds. What were these other strange reactions? One_Opinion almost dropped his false teeth, One_Beer almost dropped his beer (the unthinkable), One_Hacker almost dropped his “dog’s eye” and One_Eyed almost dropped a few clangers. No doubt the quickest try in recent history, than any of the oldies could remember ... but to the wrong side! Why such a problem ... at the start of play at least three Randwick players were off-side none of whom were pinged by the Mazda Man. Yes, there was charge down but the play was easy to upset when the defence had never been onside from the outset. The most interesting point of the off side was the fact that the try scorer was the main culprit, being off side by at least a couple of feet! As a side issue, One_Hacker decided to sidle up and offer a thought in relation to charge downs; a lot of kickers now a days seem to let the ball fall fairly close to the ground before kicking it. This would enhance the ability of the defence to charge down. Another good example was seen several hours later when the Wallabies had a similar event occur – and the ball was very close to the ground before being kicked. Us oldies however, commented that would never have happened with Graydon Staniforth as the ball was met much higher from the ground. The other issue of course is if any opposition was game enough to charge down one of Stanna’s kicks, then their head would have probably gone the same distance as the ball – a rather prodigious kicker of the ball! Enough of this philosophy and get on with the report ... need to get a move on before next weeks’ game is played. No sooner had the game restarted, after the try, than the Mazda Man awarded Sutho a long arm. Geez, 7 minutes into the game and we’ve seen about 10 seconds of play; hope the game doesn’t finish in the dark! A given that Nathan would kick this to diminish the shock Randwick lead ... but the kick slides of the side of his new yellow boots – Nath, bring back the black boots, they were deadly. Things just don’t seem to be going the way of the Rebels; losing lineouts and even when Randwick lose possession a penalty goes the way of the Coogee boys. Randwick are spreading the ball this way and that and continually stretch the Sutho defence, but thankfully it holds. With a sudden forward rush the ball is whipped out wide and Randwick seem to be heading over for their next 5 pointer but Benny cuts the grass from under Fairbanks’ feet, with the ensuing play eventually having the Rebels taking the ball off their line. Holding the Myrtles out well, after a turnover, some ill discipline has Randwick skip ahead 10 – 0 after converting a penalty. The plight of the Rebels defending continues as most of the play is in the southern end of the field; possession must be something like Pareto’s Principle – but then again the field position is probably worse than that. Once again, Randwick start attacking the Rebels line only to be well bundled into touch about 5 metres out. Randwick is having very little effect in the backs as the line of 4; Brackin, Gareth, Benny and Sisa are proving to be an absolute menace to every effort tried by their counterparts. The defence is again put to the test as the Rebels touch finder skews off the side of the boot to have the Randwick side back on the attack. Aggressive and solid brick wall defence once again denies Randwick any points for their latest foray, as the Rebels create a turnover. Slowly but surely the ball is worked out towards unfamiliar territory, to date – the half way line. Starting to look ominous and stringing some phases and passes together; Sisa sniffs a very small gap. With a chain of passes the Rebels are heading towards the Randwick line starting with Radeki off loading to Ita who bruises his way up the line. With an inside pass to Matt it looks that Randwick have positioned their defence well to halt the attack but Matt deftly lobs an overhead pass, over two defenders, to send Radeki under the sticks. Nathan converts and the score moves to Randwick 10 – 7. It doesn’t take too long for the Rebels to work their way back to Randwick territory and the flow of the game has changed with the Rebels appearing to be taking control. The Rebels defence is moving up well and putting the Randwick boys under pressure. From a Randwick scrum feed Nathan snipes the ball from Valentine with the recycle going to Kane who busts the midfield wide open and only the fullback to beat but with Sean following Kane, he off loads to send Sean under the sticks; Sutho 14 – 10. Undaunted by this sudden fluster of points Randwick then swung back into attack with the Rebels line of defence muscling up. From some scrappy play at the breakdown the ‘Wicks discarded Wallaby, Mark Chisholm, steps his way through several would be tackles to end up touching down under the posts; Randwick 17 – 14. This try pumped the adrenalin of Randwick as they were very quick to gain the ascendancy from the restart. Moving into the Rebels half – again - the Rebels were caught off side with Randwick extending their lead 20 -14. Then, what was turning into some sloppy attacking Rebels play eventually had the Mazda Man award a long arm for Nathan to decrease the difference; Randwick 20 – 17. With the clock about to sound the break Hawkeye murmured that the Rebels would win this game with all the signs that he saw beginning to open in favour of the Rebels attacking play. Let’s see how observant he is. With the resumption of play both sides went into a very cautionary mode, just like two boxers feeling each other out at the start of a bout. The Rebels were in ultra defensive mode and seemed hell bent ensuring the ‘Wicks had already scored their final try for the day. Time after time the Randwick wave was repelled by both the back and the forwards. Then oddly with the awarding of a very kickable penalty Randwick opted for the line kick to remain on the attack; very brave given the Rebel’s defence had really started to escalate their efforts. Dare One_Eyed say the wall has really been put up all over the park, better than the Berlin Wall? No matter which way Randwick went, in close the forwards blocked their progress and out wide the backs soon stifled their attack. In particular Brackin was really giving his opposite very little room and opportunity to do too much with the ball. Similarly in the forwards, Kane was probably having his best game of the season for the Rebels, both in attack and defence. It looks as though Randwick has decided to make camp on in the Rebels quarter as the weight of possession continued in their favour but such was the resolve of the Rebels the line held. For what seemed like an eternity – well about 15 minutes – the Rebels held their line to eventually cough up 3 points from a long arm; Randwick 23 – 17. Yes, the ‘Wicks had skipped an extra 3 points clear but the fact of being camped so long on the line to only come away with a meagre 3 points must have had a mind game affect As the pendulum swung to the other end of the field it was Randwick’s turn to defend. Edging closer to the line the Rebels were awarded a penalty, but very un-Nathan like the ball went wide for the second or third time for the day; a let off for the ‘Wicks to retain their six point lead. Randwick opts for the long restart from the 22. Uncharacteristically, the Rebels knock on from what is normally a safe take position, to be back on the defence within thin their own half. Proving superior in defence the ball is eventually turned over and the Rebels take off up field with what is shaping to be the Rebels’ third try of the arvo coming up. But no, the Randwick defence musters up in time to stop the attack and see the Rebels lose possession. With a scrum being set the Randwick boys earn the ire of the Mazda Man and give the Rebels an easy pot at 3 to reduce the score to Randwick 23 – 20. Twenty minutes to go and the tussle really steps up as neither team wants to leave the field in second place for the day. Back in possession from the restart, the Rebels start going backwards with the ball – all too reminiscent of the back end of the Penrith game. Gulp! Thankfully this rear gear movement is halted with the tide turning as the Rebels get aggressive. With some fresh legs on the field - Hamish Patterson and Kurt Morath – the work rate steps up and the contest is then on. From the middle of the field, with a standard maul occurring, Hamish thieves the ball from Randwick and peels off down the field with several Myrtle’s in pursuit. With Sisa looming up in support, Hamish draws several defenders and then off loads to Sisa who shows a very clean pair of heels to have the Rebels in front with 15 minutes to go. Nathan extends the lead; Sutho 27 – 23. Assuming the lead for the first time in the game the Rebels then start to push some questionable passes, probably seeking that bonus point for the fourth try to deny Randwick any points for the day. Possession is the name of the game as Sutho want the fourth try and Randwick wants a try to avert their second loss for the season against the Rebels. Moving the ball well, Randwick are again dispossessed of the ball by Hamish – there could be a Police wanted poster out on him this week for continual thieving - but the play breaks down with Sutho losing the ball over the touch line. As Randwick move their way back up field the folly of the not rolling away rule is well highlighted. After making a great tackle Hendo is buried under the tackled player, with several more players on top, and is pinged for not rolling away; with a couple hundred of kilos of meat on top how do you roll away. If anyone can explain this ruling to One_Eyed it would be most appreciated and enlighten this poor supporter of Sutho. Randwick takes the line kick and goes back into attack mode. Sutho show their mettle and clearly do not intend to surrender their hard earned lead. More importantly, a better discipline is shown to ensure no freebies are given to Randwick to gain ground through touch finders. Plundering of the 22 metre zone continues but the Berlin Wall defence comes to the fore again. As the hooter goes Sutho supporters, players AND the coaching staff have a big sigh of relief as the return to winners circle is accepted even though there is a lot of improvement still needed to take out the 2010 title – but it is not beyond them! The score probably flattered Randwick a little as a truer indication could have been around 36 – 23 if some of the kicks were converted. Highlights
One_Eyed’s Points A win’s a win – especially after the number of seconds’ lately. 3 points Brackin; proved to be the thorn in the side of the Randwick attack where he constantly shut down any danger movements; also showed as a good link to the outside men. 2 points Kane; probably his best game for some time; he was very mobile around the field both attack and defence 1 point Sisa and Benny; both had games that showed their value in defence and attack in a back line that is working well. Scores Southern
Districts 27 (Tries
Radeki Samo, Sean Doyle, Sisa Waqa Conversions
Nathan Sievert 3 Penalties
2) v Randwick 23 Back on the road next week to take on the much improved Two Blues who drew with Penrith two starts back. Looking to consolidate and move back to the top of the tree the Rebels will be out to maintain the virgin score against them, by the Two Blues, this weekend.
Penrith 24th July On the trek to the mountain One_Eyed and One_Beer had deep discussions about the team selections this week. It seemed the strategy, based on a comparatively smaller set of forwards, knowing the size of the Emu up front 8, was indicative of the Rebels playing the game in a very toey and skilful set of backs. How this would pan was to be seen. ... appeared beaten but refused to lie down ... ... played to strength... So, which of these statements best describe each of the two combatants for their afternoon’s performance? Let’s look at it at the end of the game or maybe the answer is in the report. Or maybe.... The first item of note was the difference in the pack size – One_Eyed and One_Beer figured there had to be about a 70kg – 90kg difference. The first scrum would tell. Wrong the first scrum really told very little. Unfortunately, the first taste of the Penrith 8’s strength came with some medicine that the Rebels had been handing out most of the season – a well constructed rolling maul which had the Emus go over, from about 20 metres out after eight minutes; Penrith 7 - 0. Even after such a short time the Rebels had been on the back foot some 80% of the time, as Penrith had enjoyed so much possession. The Penrith pack had come to use their weight and dominate the proceedings; this they were doing to great effect. With this wakeup call Matt, flying high, regained the ball from the restart and the Rebels started to move the ball around the field to bring the backs into the game. As the ball smoothly flowed wide Brackin showed his class of stepping the defence and probing the small gaps as they appeared. Finally brought to ground the ball goes back to the other side of the field, keeping the big Penrith forwards on the move. Then, as quick as the ball had come to this side of the field it went back to the other again, finding Brackin on the prowl. Almost a previous repeat performance of his stepping, not 2 minutes earlier, but with more this time as he steps about 6 defenders to calmly plant the ball under the sticks for Nathan to convert; 7 – 7. From the restart Sutho take the ball but immediately go into a mode that has the Emus pursuing advantage of every small hiccup and error, which the Rebels seem to continuously provide. These losses of possession give the Emus heart as they cautiously and patiently use their larger forwards to edge the ball towards the Rebels’ line. Once again they used their forwards effectively to roll towards the line and really asserted their dominance in front of the field; very sparse use of their backs is employed. With this strategy well underway the Penrith forwards start to get up a head of steam and make a bee line for the Rebels line. It was just like a double take of the Penrith first try, as their forwards asserted their weight and extra strength over the lighter Rebels forwards to go over for their second of the afternoon; Emus 14 – 7 after the successful conversion. Looking super hungry with the ball and probably twice as hungry for the ball at the breakdown, when in defence, it was as though the Penrith forwards had grown in stature, strength and desire with each phase that passed. The only time that this dominance disappeared was when the Rebels moved the ball wide with the likes of Brackin, Sisa, Benny and Bernie all causing havoc amongst the Penrith backline with the magic and skills they produced. Unfortunately not often enough though! With play reverting to the forwards Penrith made their way to the line and their strength in off loading continued. Eager runners and support players looked for the quick recycle and eventually another try is scored as their forwards continued to give the Rebels a taste of what the Rebels had inflicted upon most teams in the comp to date; Penrith 21 – 7. At the 30 minute mark the Rebels had managed to work their way up field, via the backs, to set up the forwards for a concerted push near the line. The increased pressure and danger could be sensed by the Emus so they play the defence very close to the line. Stretching the patience of the Mazda Man the Emu’s fullback is ordered to take a 10 minute rest. From the ensuing scrum Ita does his Maradona impersonation and after collecting the ball off loads to Nathan trailing on Ita’s hip to go over under the posts; Penrith 21 – 14. Form the restart the spark in the Rebels appeared to have been lit. Ball movement is good using the entire expanse of the field with backs and forwards combining well to quickly have the Emus in reverse. Moving the ball under simple and basic play, back and forth across the field, an overlap is created – seems all but a formality for the ball to be sent wide for the next 5 pointer. Wait! Tetra decides to halt the play and steps, just a like a back, and takes off for the line after selling the dummy. Clapping on the speed, he’s going to be in trouble with front rowers union looking to score his 7th try for the season. Will someone tell him he’s a front rower, please? Sanity prevails as he is caught short of the line, but once again Nathan following like a drovers dog collects the pass and does some fancy footwork to trip his way over; Penrith 21 – 19. The Rebels are definitely back in it, showing the sense to work the ball to the strength and away from the Penrith’s strength. Looking at a 2 point deficit at half time One_Eyed and One_Beer agree that the coaches could only be satisfied that the gap had been decreased, but not happy that it had occurred in the first place. Hold the phone! The Rebels just on the break play some careless rugby and present a gift 3 pointer, which the Emus accept to take the score to Penrith 24 -19 at the break. One has to assume that the coaches must have got up the boys like a rat up a drain pipe at the break. Why? The commitment and playing style was back to what had seen the Rebels lead the comp for so long. Working into the familiar 10 metre out position, from the opposition’s line, the Rebels apply the pressure from the scrum – impressed with the lighter weight scrum of the Rebels forcing the point to cause Penrith to continuously give away penalties to stop a potential 5 pointer. Where’s’ the penalty try after about the umpteenth penalty – well it seemed a lot of penalties; may have been about 3 or 4. After the last penalty the Rebels changed tack and took the tap – may be this caught the Emus out – suspecting another scrum - as Tetera gets the ball and tip toes ... would have done Tiny Tim’s song proud... his way over for the Rebels try and take the lead; Sutho 26 – 24 after Nathans’ conversion. Some comfort was now being experienced by the two Ones’, claiming the action was back to normal. The Rebels then start to march on as the backs really take control of the destiny of the game. With a very small gap in front of him, Sisa, thunders past the two One’s leaving a number of Emus in his wake to not only go over but work his way around to the sticks to allow Nathan an easy conversion; Sutho 33 – 24. The geeing up in the Penrith huddles was quite audible, as their captain continued to drive the team and motivate them to let his players know they were not out of the contest yet. So effective was “the speech making” that the Emu’s forward got rolling smartly after the spray. In hand with their increased effort Josh felt the ire of the Mazda Man and had a 10 minute break. So the spray, the Rebels one man down and possession close to the line had the Penrith forwards and supporters jumping for joy as they inched they way back to the Rebels with a converted try; Sutho 33 – 31. Not
to be out daunted the Rebels, with XIV, charged their way up field
making some go use of the ball; the backs instrumental in the
progress from broken play. With the ball going back into the forwards
Sean, yes Sean puts through a deft grubber, which turns out to be a
bottler. The Penrith fullback gathers the ball, only with the Rebels
chasers’ ... no
not the ABC clan
... hot on his heels and instantaneously isolating him. All the
fullback could do was go into touch with the gentle persuasion
applied. The speed of the game had increased and maybe this told on
the Penrith pack as they attempted to hold out the push but the
smiling assassin - Nic Henderson - ,managed to barge his way over
from a well controlled maul in the corner; Sutho 38 – 31. However, once again, the Penrith orator went into overtime mode advising the same type of information as he did earlier. His players responded and with a series of missed tackles, by Sutho, the Emus level the score at 38 – 38. With the clock running down Penrith give up a long arm and Nathan steers the ball across the dot; Sutho 41 – 38. A bit of a nail biter on hand! There goes that orator again! Again his players respond and left the Rebels defence sprawling, by ensuring the ball stays live; one missed tackle then becomes very costly as the defence is split wide open and Penrith cross to take the lead; Penrith 45 – 41. Back into attack and things then really begin to collapse, with the Rebels in possession and losing ground at the rate of knots with a series of errors ... whilst with the ball. In a matter of 2 minutes 40 metres had been lost, when the Sutho boys had only been about 5 metres out from the Penrith line and looking very threatening. With the final loss of possession Penrith sent the ball into touch to seal their victory for the day. Highlights
One_Eyed’s Points This was very much a topsy turvy game that changed dramatically on three occasion; Penrith went to a big lead, the Rebels came back to kick out to what appeared to be a winning lead and finally Penrith came home with a wet sail 3 points Brackin; showed what he can really do when given the space and on occasions when needing to make the space to create the attacking havoc he did. 2 points Sisa; constantly went on the prowl looking for work and came up wit he goods. Also residing the play to stay on his wing he scored a great try where the room never existed to get by the defence 1 point Tetera; never stopped trying up front setting up a try, with some footwork, generally reserved for backs, and scored a try himself through good support. Scores Southern Districts 41 (Tries Nathan Sievert 2,Tetera Faulkner, Sisa Waqa, Brackin Karuaria-Henry, Nic Henderson; Conversions Nathan Sievert 4 Penalties 1) v Penrith 45
Next week’s game at home as against the Myrtles from Coogee who will no doubt be after revenge from the first round match when Sutho put on one of their displays of the season. Be there for what should be a great game. So have you figured to whom the two phrases at the start of this report belong; ... appeared beaten but refused to lie down ... ... played to strength... In fact they belong to both teams but with a different twist to both. Penrith played to their ability for the whole game; never gave up and used their forward strength very well. Sutho played to their ability on and off during the game. One_Eyed and One_Beer have no doubt if the Rebels’ played the whole game, as they did the period when turning a large deficit to a good lead, then they would have won the game by a handsome margin. But we all live and learn and can only hope this is remembered next week when stepping out against Randwick.
Sydney University 17th July Forshaw Park It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon as the referee from Queensland ran on to the field to take charge of the game against Uni. There was a healthy attendance and the Sutho supporters were wondering if the strength of the Uni 2nd Grade team (Uni 51 – Sutho 21) was an indication as to the possible strength in the 1st Grade side. Uni kicked off and it wasn’t long before they were awarded a short arm. This was followed shortly afterwards with a penalty. Only 2 ½ minutes into the game and the Uni fullback, Julian Huxley, was taking his first shot at goal. As he lined up his ball the ghetto blaster on the 4th Grade hill provided some background music as a lead up to the kick. A sigh of relief and a few chuckles was heard from the crowd as the ball hit the upright and bounced back into the field of play. Josh produced a good clearing kick with Benny showing that he was willing to get into the thick of things by mixing it with the forwards as the ball was moved up the field. Sisa showed some fleet of foot up the far wing and, when he was confronted by the Uni defence, kicked through, but Uni managed to pick up. For the next few minutes there was a good mix of forward and back play and the game was proving to be a lot more entertaining than the previous home game against Gordon. However, most of the play was in Sutho’s half – is this signifying danger? 10 minutes into the game Uni made a burst up the field but a great ankle tap by Sean Doyle brought the attack to a halt. However, not too long afterwards Uni were awarded a penalty. ‘I Believe in Miracles’ was the background music emanating from the 4th Grade hill as Huxley had another shot at goal. This time the kick was successful – better throw that track away Brendan - and Uni were in the lead by 3-0. One_Opinion stated that Uni were showing respect to Sutho by picking up any 3 points opportunities on offer. Sutho finally received some recognition from the ref and got awarded a short arm. The advantage proved to be short lived and Shuto were back defending on the 15 metre line. Soon afterwards Uni get another penalty further backfield, 10 metres into Sutho’s half. A good long kick from Huxley had Sutho behind by 6 points, 16minutes into the game. Sutho continues to be under pressure from Uni but the ref finally awarded Sutho with a penalty. Nicky produced a good run, from the Sutho 22, and the ball ended up with Benny heading towards Uni’s 25. A short kick into the centre did not reach the arms of the Sutho backs as intended and instead was cleared by Uni. Uni were on the attack again and the pressure resulted in a lot of dropped balls from Sutho leading to another penalty to Uni 18 minutes into the game, which was kicked by Huxley and Sutho were now 9 nil behind. Will this degree of ill discipline be a factor in the result? There were a number of areas of the game that were proving to present problems for Sutho; the high ball and the kick ahead into the hands of a chasing Uni back. One such kick up into Uni’s half resulted in a sprint up the wing to end up with the Uni hooker scoring. For the second time the kick hits the upright and the score with 10minutes to go in the first half; Uni 14 – 0. A bit of a push by Sutho up the field, including a good run by Sean, ends up with a penalty for Sutho on the Uni 25. Nathan Sievert is provided with some background music before he successfully lands the ball between the posts – keep the music out Brendan - to give Sutho their first points of the game; Uni 14 – 3. Uni’s feathers seemed to have been ruffled as there was a fast and furious counter attack immediately after, with the ball flowing from one side to another and Romes’ valiant efforts to defend are thwarted when he is confronted by 3 Uni players in the near corner. Another try but the conversion was missed; Uni 19 -3 With 3 minutes to go, Uni had the ball in hand and produced a slick run up along the near touch line. One_Opinion was quick to draw the touchie’s attention to the fact that the Uni player’s foot had glanced the touch line and he responded accordingly. Sighs of relief all around, however Huxley had the ball in hand a few metres inside the Sutho half and took a long range attempt at a drop kick. Over the bar it sailed leaving the score; Uni 21 – 3 at the break. The second half started with good pressure from Sutho with Ita in the thick of things delivering a resounding tackle to one of the Uni players. However, once more the penalties quickly turn things around. A big kick by Uni up the field retrieves the lost ground and, with a bit more pressure from Uni, the half back is in for a try, a successful conversion follows; Uni 28 - 3. Rome has to leave the field with an injury and he is replaced by Callum Reilly. For the next 7 or 8 minutes the contest is tight with Sutho gaining ground with penalties, but losing ground again after the lineout wins by Uni. Matt Trouville seems to have a serious hand injury but a quick pull and a push by the Doc has the finger back in place. On the 30 minute mark, a kick up field by Sutho lands in the arms of a waiting Uni back and, with some quick movement up the field, Uni are over again with a bonus point converted try; Uni 35 - 3. All are doing it tough on the sideline – both inside and outside the fence! Sutho are back on the attack again with Gosh making a good run up the far wing before offloading to Benny. However, this attack was repelled by Uni. Sutho kept up the pressure and this was rewarded, when a kick through by Bernie Orbell was smartly picked up by Nicky, to see Sutho over for a try. Following a successful conversion by Nathan the score looked a little more respectable; Uni 36 - 10. Another penalty to Sutho is wasted by allowing Uni to win the lineout but pressure is relieved by Uni dropping the ball. This was followed by a number of dropped balls by both sides. With 20 minutes to go Uni bring on Wallaby No. 10, Berrick Barnes, will he make a difference to the Uni attack? For the period of the game there are attacks and counter attacks sprinkled with mistakes from both sides. With 15 minutes to go Sutho seem to step up a notch with good attacking moves with Mick Kauter coming on for Sean Doyle with 8 minutes remaining. The pressure on Uni continues with Brackin producing a sizzling run up the wing but the attack is thwarted by Uni. With less than a minute to go Uni win the ball from a scrum. Sutho are taken by surprise and Uni score their final try of the day on the stroke of full time. The final score 43 to 10 for Uni. Overall the Uni side seem to have stepped up a notch with the return of their Super 14 and Wallaby players. However, it was great to see that Sutho didn’t get disheartened by the scoreline and if the team had been able to produce the form displayed over the past 15 to 20 minutes, of the game, the score could have been considerably different. The Sutho scrum proved to be a match for their Uni counterparts throughout the game. Dasha may some issues to address around some basics related to lineouts, lost ball and really scrounging of the loose ball.
Click the link to view photos from the leader Highlights
One_Eyed’s Points In a physical game, which had the Rebels on the defence for the greater part of the time 3 points Sean Doyle; continues his enthusiastic maiden year in grade and the defensive efforts he puts in belies his first year in Grade. 2 points Matt Trouville; back in the top side, through injuries, he displayed a very energetic performance 1 point Ben Schreiber; though little in stature Ben never seems to worry about this fact and for his willingness to get into the thick of things impresses each week Scores Southern
Districts 10 (Try
Nicky Price; Conversions
Nathan Sievert 1 Penalties
1) v Eastwood 43 Pack
the cut lunch for next week as all roads lead to Nepean Rugby Park to
take on the Emus. Manly 10th July Manly Oval This was no doubt the return game that the Marlins had been waiting for, after their last minute loss to the Rebels in the first encounter at Forshaw. Conversely, the Rebels were looking to inflict their superiority over the Marlins for the second time this season to drive home the fact that they a true 80 minute team. As both teams took the field two aspects of the pack struck One_Eyed; Sutho had the taller timber overall and Manly certainly had the weight – an interesting contrast which should augur well for a great game. There was no disappointment right from the start as the pace was quick and the contact was definitely solid. The selection of play from both sides was testing the defence of the other; sometimes up the middle and then out wide. Kicking was used sparingly. The whole complexion of the game suddenly changed at the 6 minute mark as Radike went in for an enthusiastic tackle, which unfortunately because of the force impaled on the ball carrier, turned his (the ball carrier) world upside down. After a very short conference with assistant referee, from the far side, Radike was shown the red card. An unfortunate turn of events but it appeared that Nathan Pearce did not have an option. Because of this event Manly take the lead 3 – 0 from the penalty. No doubt the reorganisation of the strategy for the game was well discussed as the Rebels waited for the above penalty to be taken. The work for the pack to take on the large Manly forwards would now be intensified with one less on the field. Were the Magnificent 7 able to take on a Marauding 8; time would tell. Not flinching the task to play 14 on 15 Sutho aggressively moved to the Manly end of the field with a penalty award to the Rebels, which Nathan kicked to get the scoreboard back on an even keel at 3 – 3. As play quickly reverted to the opposite end of the field from the restart, Sutho were caught off side but let off occurred as the usually reliable Adam D’Arcy missed the kick. Sending the ball back into play, after the Manly miss, Sutho man up in defence and put some big hits on the attack. With e Marlins swelling in attack an off load is made...BUT... Sisa reading the play comes off his wing to scoot through and take in intercept and say see ‘youse’ later as he sprints some 60 metres to go over untouched. Nathan converts to send the Rebels to the lead 10 – 3. The pattern was evident that when one team scored the play switched back to the other end of the field for the previous scorers to go into ultra defensive mode. The next stanza was no different as Manly attacked with the Rebels in possession near their own line. An uncustomary fumble and the Marlins have a scrum feed. Making use of the extra forward the Marlins edge closer and closer ... and closer to the Rebels line. Eventually, the very sizable Manly hooker outweighs the defence by barging over for Manly to close the gap; Sutho 10 - 8. At the same time this was occurring John had to leave the field injured; not good One_Eyed thinks with enforcer now off the field. Though only about 20 minutes into the game Sutho seemed to be on the long end of an adverse penalty county count as if they weren’t doing it tough enough! One_Eyed does need to dwell on this but today Ita made a mistake – it’s only taken him 13 games to make one – he knocked on from a high kick through so he has now proven he is human. From the ensuing scrum the Manly backline break n to action as D’Arcy unfortunately chimes in at the right place and right time to go over and with his own conversion the Marlins now lead 15 – 10. With half time approaching the Rebels were back in attack and cleverly created an overlap with Ron steaming to the line. No doubt the Manly backs had been well advised to ensure that Rob was given as little latitude as possible. So as the defence swarmed in, Rob off loaded a là a Ken ‘Muscles’ Rosewall backhand to seemingly complete a formality. Somehow, the Marlins rallied in defence and thwarted the attack and stopped the try. Back in possession Manly worked their way back towards the Rebels line, with some ease to have the Rebels defending stoutly with the hooter all but sounding. One minute from the break and Nicky left the field injured. No doubt the Rebels’ players and coaches were glad to hear the Mazda Man call a halt to the half. A regroup and chance to catch their breath – particularly the forwards who had put in a monster effort to have the Rebels still in contention for a win, even with 14 on 15. The resumption of play had the Rebels looking to probably reduce the rucks and mauls to a minimum, with one short, so off loading was the name of the game. This caused some errors and lost possession one of which was near the Rebels own line. Manly took advantage of this to retain the ball within the forwards and edge their way towards the line, with total patience. Eventually the weight of possession told and the Marlins crossed to increase their lead; 20 -10. Soon back in attack, the Marlins were pressing the Rebels line again. The forwards continued to defend stoutly, and there was no shirking of responsibilities, as the Marlins knocked to relive the pressure Sutho. Just an observation but Sutho still believed in themselves – great – but some last second errors caused turnovers, which turned the pressure back on immediately. By now Manly had turned their attention, with the extra forward, to batter the smaller Rebels in the backline; some very big running especially the Manly 8 who was starting to cause some havoc. Though the resolve of the Rebels’ was impressive the numbers finally told as Manly scored their fourth try of the day, to earn the bonus point; Manly 27 -10. The Rebels had no intention laying down as they stuck to their guns and broke back into attack mode. There seemed to be a real spring in their step as though the challenge of coming from so far behind was something they strove to take on. From about the Manly quarter Josh broke the line with one of his incisive runs and appeared destined to go over but the defence was swarming all so quickly. Not done yet though as Rob is coming through at the rate of knots, to run off the outside of Josh’s’ hip and finishes the move off under the sticks. Nathan converts; Manly 27 - 17 This try certainly sparked some extra enthusiasm in the Rebels as their attack began to stretch the Manly XV. A typical Ita break is of loaded to Callum who makes almost 40 metres up field. Manly sensed that the Rebels had found a second breath as their defence, stretched as it was, really answered the challenge that Sutho was mounting. A cavalier style was being played by the Rebels, but they played it in a controlled style. Many a defence repel was executed by the Marlins who must have been wondering what the heck was going on. The intensity of the Rebels at the back end of a 'long' game was even drawing positive comments from the surrounding Manly supporters. With time running out the Rebels appeared confident to take line kicks rather than goal kicks to at least score one point. However, with time just about up Nathan kicked, to take the Rebels within 7 of Manly, but unfortunately the kick went wide to have the final score Manly 27 – 17. Yes, the Rebels lost but there were some enormous efforts put in by all the forwards to take on the Manly 8 with only 7 Rebels. One_Eyed is confident in saying that the efforts today suggested that if a XV on XV contest had occurred then the result wo9ud have definitely been different ... but the result is as it is, bugga! Highlights Even though the Rebels suffered their second loss of the season it was a good performance.
One-Eyed’s
Points
3 points Tetera
Faulkner Outstanding
effort of his continued high level performance of the season against
a very good opposition.
3 points Nic
Henderson In conjunction
with Tetera, Nic provided the pillar of strength and guile to arrest
the opposition 8 for the greater proportion of the game along with
setting the base for the backs to make use of the ball, when won.
2 points Rome
Nifo A ton of work done
in the close and line outs, with a number of steals in the latter. Josh Gamgee Managed to retain good management and leadership around the field when the tough position of one short was faced. Scores Southern
Districts 17 (Tries
Sisa Waqa, Rob Horne; Conversions
Nathan Sievert 2 Penalties
1.) v Manly 27 Another big game next week at home against the Students who will be seeking revenge after their first round loss. On ground support will be essential! Gordon 3rd July Forshaw Park Sadly, to start the day there was a minutes silence for a special lady to Southern Districts – Vickie Greig – who passed away during the week. Wife of long time sponsor and Patron, John Greig, the Club and all in attendance respectfully offered their condolences to John and the family for Vickie who also made many very valuable contributions to Southern Districts for years. Back home for the start of the second half of the comp after tasting defeat for the first time this season, at Millner last week. Hopefully there was some soul searching and realisation that the comp is now on in earnest with the return of some of the higher level players and this round will be nowhere as comfortable as the first half. On to the game and within the blink of an eye the penalty count starts against the Rebels. Settling down to play rugby, Sutho ... almost picking up where they left off in the latter part of the Eastwood game ... played basic no-nonsense rugby. The outcome; continual movement to the Gordon end of the field with the Highlanders steadfastly on the back foot. With one of the first scrums of the game Radike caught everyone (spectators included) out as he peeled off the scrum and scooping the ball to make a bee line to the Gordon in goal. Somehow, the Gordon defence managed to halt his progress and with a series of recycling and the now famed Ita dribble and run, the off load is made to Nathan who opens the scoring for the day. Back on track with their composure the Rebels are right back into it 3 minutes later as Nicky slices through the defence leaving a number of Gordon defenders in his wake. With Brackin acting like the drovers dog, as a shadow, he collects the off load and says see you later to plant the ball under the sticks. Nathan converts and the Rebels now lead 12 – 0. This is more like the Rebels all the One _Eyed group comment. These quick tries must have awoken the Gordon defence as they then buckled down to halt the scoring progress. End to end tussle for possession and field position began with both sides giving their utmost. Though the scoreboard attendant fell asleep, through lack of activity, this was no reflection of the game as the battle continued on the park for one of the two sides to gain supremacy. Yes, there was some promising attacking, by both sides, but scrambling defence halted any would be scoring efforts; a bit of a Battle Royale. Inching towards the Gordon line with the break that not far off the Rebels settled down to work the scrum as they have done so well all season. In goes the ball, about 5 metres out from the Gordon lie, Ita dribbles and a penalty is the result. This scenario is repeated several times along with several scrum collapsing. Where’s the penalty try, which has been offered up several times this season already, as Gordon’s continual infringements leaves all Sutho supporters agog as the Mazda Man does not run to the centre of the sticks to award the try. Oddly enough the two penalty tries to date (North’s and West’s) probably had less combined infringements than what was occurring here! With the half time sounding the Rebels came off to the well deserved applause of the supporters as the lift in their game and efforts from last week was significant. Discipline remains the name of the game as the game restarts. Gordon infringe within kicking distance and Nathan accepts the invitation to send the Rebels to a 15 – 0 lead. One_Eyed should not have mentioned discipline as the Rebels reciprocate, within kicking distance for Gordon; Sutho 15 – 3. Each team decided to flex their muscles to suggest a tussle was the name of the game for the second half. Gordon are the next to infringe within the shadow of the sticks and Nathan opens the lead back to 15; Sutho 18 – 3. Noticeably the efforts of both teams continued to lift with neither side giving any quarter. Gordon, camping close to the Rebels line, played simple rugby of one out picking and driving with the eventual signalling of their first 5 pointer of the afternoon; Sutho 18 -10. Not to be outdone Sutho chose the alternate style of play – open and flowing rugby – a lot more attractive as a spectacle. With e continued recycling and more expansive play, the probing of the Rebels pays off as Josh G finds a gap a mile wide and strolls in under the cross bar. Nathan says thanks for an easy one and duly converts; Sutho 25 – 10. A superb rolling maul has the Rebels on the ascendancy working their way to the Gordon line and the pressure is well and truly on the Highlanders, on a game that is now starting to get out their reach. As the maul comes down close to the line John drops back a gear, after collecting the ball, and steams to the line, in his unstoppable mode, to send the score to Sutho 30 – 10, after Nathan steers the ball wide. The attack continues from the restart and Sutho are making good ground through controlled play. Bernie seems destined to break the line but an almost decapitation halts play whilst Nathan converts the penalty; Sutho 33 -10. Though outdone on the day the Highlanders continued to plunder the Rebels line. Impressively, the Gordon ball carrier duped two Rebels defenders to execute a big step back inside to go over and close the gap; Sutho 33 – 17. Ensuring Gordon get no closer Sutho manipulates the play to the Highlanders half and starts to feed on the Gordon errors. Only about 5 minutes to go and the Rebels are playing to the full 80 minute timeframe ... it ain’t over till the fat lady sings ... or in this case until the Mazda Man says stop. Whether in possession or not the Rebels continued to drive at the Highlanders to show them who was boss. The pressure eventually told as Gordon coughed up possession close to their line and Kane collected the scraps to go over just on hooter time and Nathan converts to see the Rebels victors to the tune of 40 – 17. Highlights There were a number of things to like about to days performance
One-Eyed’s
Points In
contrast to last weeks’ no points there will also be something
different this week. The completion of the first half of the comp and
the commencement of the second half has highlighted several players’
contribution to the performance of Sutho to date. Each of these
players has not missed a game and their individual contributions are
highlighted. All players have received 3 points this week – there
are no minor points for the week.
3 points Tetera
Faulkner Prop; model of
consistency and One_Eyed cannot recall any opposition prop getting
the better of him. Tetera has scored 6 tries in half a season, so is
obviously astute to be on the ball whether in defence or attack.
Nathan
Sievert Halfback; has
picked up this season where he left off last season – not a game
missed in a season and a half. His kicking is outstanding and has
become so used to kicking from closer to the sideline than the middle
of the park he draws many compliments from the real media.
(Apparently one of the ABC commentators suggested, several weeks
back, that Nathan should be made kick blindfolded such is his
accuracy). His general service play to the backs is exemplified by
the status of Sutho in the point scoring position in the comp.
Josh
Gamgee No 10 and
Captain; his job to manoeuvre the Rebels around the field and manage
them on the field must be working as the top of the table Rebels
march on. In unison with Nathans’ service the same of the point
scoring position can be offered.
Ita
Vaea No 8; probably the
find of the season for the Rebels. Firstly his ability to break
tackles and defy would be first tacklers continues to frustrate all
oppositions; success in stopping only seems to occur if about 3
tacklers collude
(will need to check with e ACCC to see if that’s legal). Then, once
the opposition has the ball many times he stops the ball carrier
point blank dead on the spot; the same ball carrier then scans the
field next time before going too far looking for you know who. As
Nathan drew praise from the ABC so does Ita on a very consistent
basis. Scores Southern
Districts 40 (Tries
John Ulugia, Kane Douglas, Nathan Sievert, Josh Gamgee, Brackin,
Brackin Karauria-Henry;
Conversions
Nathan Sievert 3 Penalties
3) v Gordon 17 Next week the Rebels, and supporters, travel across the harbour for a game which is expected to be a rippa. Remember in the first game Manly lead for all but the last minute of the game when Josh T and Nathan combined to score 7 points on the death. No doubt Manly will be “...after blood...” so make sure you’re there. Eastwood 26th June T G Millner T G Millner has never been a happy hunting ground for the Rebels in all the years that One_Eyed, One_Beer and One_Opinion have travelled across country. However, would this year be different with the Rebels making their way there at the top of the table and undefeated? Right from the get go Eastwood declared their hand – they had come to come play and win this game for two purposes, to;
The
Woodies immediate intensity was evident, which perhaps caught the
Rebels on the back foot, and contributed to an early 5 pointer by the
home side after only 2 minutes. Reeling from this early onslaught the
Rebels found themselves lining up behind the white line again about 8
minutes later as the Woodies had jumped to a lead of 14 – 0.
Disarray seemed to be happening within the ranks whilst the Blue and
Whites were running rampant. The
hunger of Eastwood was best exemplified by their continual vigorous
rucking and mauling of the loose (and maybe not so loose on
occasions) ball all of which left the Rebels grabbing at mid air.
Eastwood wanted the ball and got the ball! Stretching the patience of
the Mazda Man the Rebels were presented with several early
opportunities to convert long arm decisions, but chose not to take
them. A number of unforced errors also exacerbated the events, which
nearly had the three “One’s” Googling a toupee maker or two. The
game was heading towards a one sided affair with Eastwood both
outpacing and outplaying the Sutho boys. Finally, with some settling play and a spark of life added – love those magic water bottles -, the Rebels put their noses to the grindstone and their backsides, literally, in the air to manage the task at hand. It was not going to be easy given the confident start the Woodies had achieved and the already noted problems that Lachie Turner seemed intent on causing. Twenty minutes into the game Sutho became competitive as Josh G crossed for Nathan to then do his normal routine; Eastwood 14 – 7. This reply seemed to sting the Woodies back into action as their grit right from the outset was not to come away second best on the day. Some enterprising play by their backs, in particular Lachie Turner again causing havoc, punched holes in the Rebels line out wide and had another two ties prior to the break. A small consolation was a penalty, which Nathan converted to have the half time score; Eastwood 26 – 10. The half time huddle would have been fairly busy in terms of the discussions ... and probably expletives... that were being communicated. The Rebels efforts had been below their standard to date and the result of the first 40 minutes was simple; Eastwood had come to play a good fast game and bustle the Rebels – success to them so far. All to change we hope! With the restart of play Eastwood commenced as they had in the first half; very busy and using the ball well to stretch the Rebels’ defence. Fortunately this half, the Woodies waited until about the 8th minute before causing the scoreboard attendant to restart working. A converted try sent them further ahead 33 -10 with the real prospect that Sutho was to taste defeat for the first time in 2010, unless some real magic was produced. Oops - did One_Eyed speak too soon, as Eastwood kicked further ahead courtesy of a penalty; Eastwood 36 – 10. One _Eyed just spoke about some real magic – extraordinary magic may now be needed. With Josh G working overtime, no doubt trying to get the Rebels into action, success finally arrives as Benny crosses for the Rebels second try of the afternoon. Nathan then steers the ball through to edge the Rebels closer, though the Woodies still have a comfortable lead 36 – 17. With the game probably gone by now there was still time to earn two points with two more tries and edge to within 7 of the Woodies. A little bit of optimism – nah! A great deal of optimism on the execution of play by the Rebels to date; but never say never. Not wanting to surrender their undefeated record the Rebels go into cavalier mode with the ball moving around the field very impressively – the best of the afternoon by the Shire Boys. Unfortunately, there are a number of risks associated with such play and the Woodies captain takes advantage of a long pass to intercept and race some 60 metres to really put the nail in the coffin; Eastwood 43 – 17. Resting on their laurels was not in the script for the Woodies as they went back into attack and reap the benefit of their continuous pressure with a penalty to extend the score to Eastwood 46 – 17. Looking at what could be best described as a total disaster the Rebels again went back to play some attractive rugby, as they had done just before the intercept, with some slick passing and line breaks. Eventually Brackin made a great run up the touch line, after a superb pass from Radike, to find the flying Tetera in support who goes over unopposed. Another try for this front rower in his maiden year with the Rebels – great effort – his 6th for the year; when did a front rower last score that many tries in a season – er half a season? Once again Mr. Sievert steps up to the mark and raises the flags; Eastwood 46 – 24. As the clock continues to tick down – there are 12 minutes to go – the question begs; can the Rebels get across the line again to at least pick up the bonus point for a fourth try? From the restart the Rebels go straight back into action and head towards the Woodies white line. A little bit of gay abandon, yes, but all aimed at that lone point still be earned and salvage some pride from the game. Not unlike the previous try the Rebels find a weakness on Brackin’s side of the field with 5 minutes to go. With some very fancy footwork and pure determination Brackin glides down the line, stepping and jinking, to eventually score in the corner. Nathan has one of his rare misses from the sideline to have the final score Eastwood 46 – 29. The long and winding trip home leaves another year to wait before the Rebels break the Millner hoodoo. One-Eyed’s
Points In
what may prove to be controversial there are no points for this week
as the result though disappointing, probably was not as disappointing
as the play during the game. It seemed that Sutho came to win the
game as did Eastwood. The important difference was that the Woodies
had the extra step of playing, knowing that had to put in to win.
This was the ingredient, which appeared to be missing in the Rebels
game today. A lesson learned – hopefully. Scores Southern
Districts 29 (Tries
Tetera Faulkner, Josh Gamgee, Brackin Karauria-Henry,
Ben Schreiber; Conversions
Nathan Sievert 3 Penalties
1) v Eastwood 46 Back home next week to start the second half of the competition, against Gordon. Reflecting on the first half the Rebels have done themselves proud to create many records along the way to be the leaders of the Sydney Premiership at the half way mark. This reminds One_Eyed of Max’s comment at the start of the season that it is very important to get as many points as possible during the early stage of the competition given there will be both Wallabies, on a sporadic basis, and Super 14 players returning to Clubs for the second half of the comp. This will test the mettle of many a club and player during the next 11 rounds. West Harbour 19th June Forshaw Park With the Super 14 now finished for another year all Sydney teams were being bolstered by players returning from rep duties. Running on to the filed there were some rather large characters from the Pirates who obviously had been included to halt the march of the unbeaten Rebels. As predicted at the end of the North’s report this game was expected to be physical and make no bones about it that’s how it started; some solid hits with no quarter asked or given. The settling period seemed to take ages as the ball went from end to end with no real advantage to anyone. The early evidence suggested that if a win was to occur then the side that had their heads in the right place (aka attitude) would walk away with the points. The word must have got out from the side that it would be necessary to have the Pirates create errors in their own half to break what was becoming a see sawing battle. So, the Rebels showed their strength to move deep up field and put the Pirates under pressure. As the Pirates attempted to clear from within their own in goal, Sean was belting through at about 100kmh, well fast anyhow, to stifle the clearance and force a 5 metre scrum with the feed. Clicking into taction the forwards began their normal oppressive roll towards the Pirates’ line. The outcome; Radike scores with Nathan converting to have Sutho lead 7 – 0. Undaunted by this early set back the Pirates continued the same style of play; little did they know the Rebels were watching from any weaknesses they may might probe. With the Pirates sending the ball downfield, Nicky obliges with a return Garryowen and collects on the follow through to off load to the Tank – Ita – who makes his normal ground. Quick recycling and sensible passing finds Radike in almost a one on one challenge and over he goes with Nathan converting; Sutho 14 – 0. One_Eyed, One_Beer and One_Opinion all agree this is more like the early season style to which they had become accustomed to watching, as the killer instinct seemed to be evident today. From a shallow restart Sean does an impersonation of Gary Ablett – get rid of those AFL scouts - to gather the ball and allow the Rebels to start their progress upfield again. Working their sufficiently upfield there is a scrum, with e Rebels to feed. The buzz goes around that Ita will no doubt do his usual dribbling then charge to the line. No one was disappointed except the Pirates did well to hold him up over the line. No matter another attempt to do the same. The pressure goes on but the Pirates earn the ire of the ref to have a penalty, not once but twice. Is a penalty try in offing with such continued breaches? Yep and away the Mazda Man goes to place himself under the sticks for Nathan to then have a conversion in front; Sutho 21 – 0. Soon back into the attack the Rebels come to halt due to an accidental obstruction – fair go ref – the Rebels didn’t mean it! Without too much ado the Pirates take full advantage of this possession and in no time at all have managed to work their way up the field and cross to start the scoreboard rolling for them; Sutho 21 - 7. This try must have created an entire adrenalin lift within the Pirates as, not 3 minutes later, the Mazda Man was signalling another try for them. With the conversion going astray Sutho 21 – 12. Wake up boys! A great case for video as Kane is called for not releasing, as One_Eyed and cohorts clearly disagreed, along with all Sutho supporters on the open side of the ball; rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb ... (for the uninitiated that’s what crowd scenes say in movies when they wish to create the aura of many conversations in large scenes). Not long after and the Rebels are back on the ascendancy only to be held up over, with the feed and 5 a metre scrum. The famed Rebels forward pressure would now be seen again and again and again but for some reason no penalty try – after 4 minutes of illegal play be the Pirates. A penalty try should have been given as has been the case in previous games when defences continually spoil the attacking play with such tactics. The unruly One_Eyed and cohorts were clearly upset, as were most of the Rebels supporters, as the Mazda Man did not make his way to the sticks. What should have been a 28 – 12 at the break was only a 21 – 12 lead. Only 3 minutes into the second half and the Rebels have a penalty which Nathan gratefully accepts and steers through the posts; Sutho 24 -12. It seemed like ages since seeing the last one, but John U came up with one of his famed bell ringer tackles as he sent the ball carrier into Never Never Land . Some 5 minutes later the Rebels forwards came up with one of their big scrum pushes as they dispossessed the Pirates of the ball after West’s had fed the scrum. Not the valuing the possession they had achieved the Rebels coughed up the ball. With West’s wanting to get out of their danger zone they cleared the ball up field for Nicky to collect. However, the Pirates didn’t anticipate the incisive run that Nicky would make and link up with Josh T. From there Josh ran the show himself as he carved his way through the Pirates, seemingly without a hand laid on him, to go over under the post - all class! Nathan converts and the score moves along to Sutho 31 – 12. Then, for the second time in the match the Pirates strike back immediately, as they brutalised their way over to reduce the score to Sutho 31 – 19. With such a quick reply the enthusiasm of the Pirates seemed to grow whether in attack or defence as the pressure had been turned 1800 as the Rebels were now on the back foot. Not 10 minutes later the Pirates’ patient work was rewarded again with a grinding try and after the conversion the gap had been reduced to 5 points; Sutho 31 – 26. Complacency was creeping into Sutho’s execution of play as there was no going to meet the attack. Waiting for them to come now appeared to be the order of the day – all fraught with danger. The Pirates were coming home with a wet sail and it was up to the Rebels defence to collapse the surging attack. Some dour defence from the Rebels managed to cut the Pirates thoughts of an upset. Also with what little ball the Shire boys obtained some ground was made but an inevitable turnover created self pressure on the defence. The last 5 minutes of the game seemed to take an eternity but as the hooter called the game to a halt a sigh of relief, from the supporters, never sounded until the ball was played dead; Sutho 31 - 26. Many years ago the Sydney Kings (basketballers) were labelled as the Cardiac Kids – the Rebels are starting to create the same aura as the number of brows being wiped at the end of each game seems to be growing week by week ... is the first loss of the season coming? Highlights
One-Eyed’s Points A little of an up and down spectacle with some good passages of play and some not so good. Filtering through the 80 minutes it comes down to 3 Points Sean; his first season out of Colts’ and his efforts probably do not draw enough rewards and praise – One_Eyed now gives credit to an enthusiastic and well deserved local for his efforts 2 Points John U; continues his punishing efforts in the engine room and just seems to get better each week. 1 Point Each Ita; ultra consistent with his efforts in both attack and defence every week. Once one hears the opposition supporters comment about “...the Sutho No 8...,” as a highly consistent player then very little else needs to be said. Radike; for being there to finish the moves off and almost being unstoppable from 5 metres out. Scores Southern Districts 43 (Tries Radike Samo 2, Josh Tatupu, Penalty Try; Conversions Nathan Sievert 4 Penalties 1) v West’s 26 Top of the table clash next week at T G Millner, with a little extra passion for the Eastwood boys with Brian Melrose’s final game as coach; should be a rippa!
Northern Suburbs 5th June North Sydney Oval Given the rain during the week it’s well done to the groundsman at the home of the Shoremen that the oval presented so well. With the pressure to maintain their unbeaten record, the Rebels took to the field with what appeared to be a gritty determination to remain at the top of the table undefeated, after the next 80 minutes. With the game no longer than 3 minutes old the Rebels were in attack after a cross field kick from Sisa, collected by Nicky, put the Rebels on the ascendancy. Some slick moving of the ball back to the other side of the ground has the Rebels pressing the North’s line. Quick recycling, with some pick and drives has Sutho presenting their answer to the Maradona “Hand of God” – the Stretch of Sita, with the exception that Sita’s action was totally legal in giving the Rebels a 5 – 0 lead after Nathan’s conversion attempt shaved the outside of the upright. Whether or not there was a false overconfidence from such an early try, the Rebels started to make some uncharacteristic errors in trying too much, too quickly rather than sticking with their basic successful style of playing to date. Turnovers and lost ball seemed to be growing and North’s’ were sniffing this with their counter attack. At the 10 minute mark North’s began to claw their way back into the game taking a 3 point penalty on offer after some ill discipline by the Rebels close to their own line; Sutho 5 – 3. By this stage it appeared that the Shoremen had a belief in themselves and were prepared to take the Rebels on and the fact that Sutho were undefeated did not appear to matter one iota to them. North’s’ were here to play and play they did. Spinning the ball from side to side and probing for any weakness they finally found one, as they raced into the far corner to take the lead; North’s 10 – 5. Playing some attractive rugby Sutho upped the ante and began to steam roller towards the North’s’ line. Unfortunately denied twice in a very short space of time the result eventually came as Ita dribbled the ball, must be practicing with the Sydney A League side every now and then, in a scrum. Then he peeled off with the ball well and truly tucked under his arm to crash over ... as he does ... and Nathan converted to have Sutho back in the lead; Sutho 12 – 10. This try sparked a resilience which had some quick and expansive play by the Rebels ... oops did one speak too quickly as the North’s centre grabbed an intercept to race 60 metres for a try. Despite Nicky’s efforts steaming from the far side of the play he just failed to catch the ‘Interceptor’ before the ball was grounded. North’s regain the lead, but fail to convert, 15 – 12. North’s then seemed to apply the Rebels play style, of the Premiership, to date; simple basic rugby and doing it right. A quick reward is then achieved as they cross for their third try of the half to now lead 20 – 12. With the break imminent Sutho are attacking and with some strong running, with following support players, Nathan scoots over under the post to give himself an easy conversion. Half time and North’s lead 20 – 19. The half time talk amongst the fence sitters is that Sutho should have been ahead but went astray due to some very basic and fundamental errors. Oh to be “..a fly on the wall in the dressing room..” There was no uncertainty about the tactics, on the resumption of play. The Rebels had elevated their play to the style, which had them leading the comp. Intensity, support, ball control and the basics of defence and attack all being executed correctly. North’s relented to giving up a number of penalties close to their line until Mr Walsh said that’s enough and awarded a penalty try, which allowed the Rebels to kick to a lead of 26 – 20. Within the blink of an eye, from the restart, Sutho were back on attack as Josh T planted a deep kick into the North’s quarter. North’s defence scrambled to get the ball into touch but from the feed and the scrum the Rebels forward machine sprung into action. Picking and driving bit by bit the next 5 pointer became imminent with each new phase. It looked like Sita was heading towards a double for the afternoon when he was brought down just short, however John in his usual support manner was there to collect the recycle and barge his way over to stretch the Rebels’ lead to 33 – 20 after the kick. Starting to look good, we think, but the problem is the spits and spurts style of play, which may eventually bring the Sutho boys unstuck down the track. The first 10 minutes of this half clearly displayed the quality of rugby the Rebels can achieve once the mind stays on the job ... just needs to be extended to the full 80 minutes without break until the Mazda Man says stop. Did One_Eyed speak too soon, as North’s determined they were not finished yet, they dug deep and put it to the Rebels? Some careless play and wanting defence had the Shoremen crossing the Rebels line to have them back in touch for an upset; Sutho 33 – 27. Without time to take a breath the Shire Boys bounced back with an incisive break by Josh G to Sisa in support and under the posts he scampered. With Nathan tidying up the after try celebrations Sutho lead 40 – 27. Back in attack North’s cough up a long arm and Nathan duly obliges; Sutho 43 -27 With a 16 point lead Sutho appeared to become lax, as though in coasting mode thinking of a few after game Powerades/Gatorades maybe. As a result North’s clapped on the pressure and found the Rebels’ wanting again, in scrambling defence. Another try to the Shoremen, duly converted has the final score Sutho 43 – 34. In truth, a far from impressive performance and with some high pressure games on the horizon, to remain undefeated, the full 80 minutes between the pea being blown will have to be foremost in all players’ minds. Highlights
A little of an up and down spectacle with some good passages of play and some not so good. Filtering through the 80 minutes it comes down to 3 Points Sita; came up with some good options, scored a try from a seemingly hopeless position and contributed everywhere. 2 Points Ita; a normal game for him where the Shoremen would have nursing their bruises after the game. Seems to have picked up the dribbling game pretty well to be effectively dangerous near the opposition line with the scrum packed down. 1 Point Each Sisa; getting back into the swing of things after early season injuries and showed a keenness to go looking for attacking work with the rewards coming in the second half Tetra; is a pillar of strength in his role at prop ensuring the stability of the scrum continues. Scores Southern Districts 43 (Tries John Ulugia, Sita Timani, Ita Vaea, Nathan Sievert, Sisa Waqa, Penalty Try; Conversions Nathan Sievert 5 Penalties 1) v North’s 34 A week’s break next week, due to wet weather catch up and then the Pirates, which is always a traditional physical encounter Warringah 29th May Forshaw Park Given the inclement weather that had been occurring all week it was a pleasant surprise to see the Park in such a healthy condition; well done to the groundsmen and the staff for nurturing the pitch. As indicated at the close of last week’s report, it the play will be interesting with the return of a number of Super 14 players – on both sides of the fence. So on with the game... Early on the game appeared to be simply a game of field position without too much excitement except for the occasional break every now and then, by Sutho. One of the alickadoos suggested it was an arm wrestle more than a game of Rugby as no real headway was being made by either side, either in field position or the score. Then the next alikadoos suggested it was a game of Snakes & Ladders ... up one minute down the next in the quality of the game. As the game progressed One_Eyed was finding hard to write anything too much about the game as there wasn’t too much happening; this could be the shortest report on record. A half hour gone past and the score board attendant may have gone into Rip Van Winkle mode as his services had not been called upon. Not long after, Radike brought everyone to their feet with some skills, power and a highly entertaining play, to set up the Rebel’s first try. Breaking through at about half way, he set sail for the closest corner at the southern end of the field. Enticingly holding the ball out in his right, looking as though he was going to off load the defence backed off. So, to commit the defence he brought the ball back to his body... in moved the defence.... so out went he ball again just looking like the wing of a flying boat with the landing pontoon at the end, but being the ball in this case. Not knowing what to do, time had run out for the defence as he was only just short of the line and finally off loaded to Braces– see last week’s report against East’s – to go over untouched. Nathan converts and the deadlock of 0 – 0 is now broken – 33 minutes into the half. Sutho 7 – 0. Little did anyone now that in the very next short space of time, including the early stages of the second half, Sutho were about to put on some open running rugby with what was eventually a winning lead. Taking the oranges at half time, after Nathan had kicked a penalty; Sutho 10 – 0 at the break, a concerted discussion was no doubt occurring with Dasha & Co (Co = Cameron Blades and Steve Harkin) to get the Rebels back on game plan. Once back on the park it seemed the rocket must have been well and truly lit and hit the target. The normal enthusiasm of past games was evident with some enterprising play and good use of the ball. Just as the heavens had opened at Woollahra last week with the rain, the Rebels heaven opened with some very quick tries in very few minutes. Nicky crossed three times with Nathan duly conducting his normal duties to send Sutho to the lead of 29 – 0 after 11 minutes of the second half. The Rebels had scored 29 points in 18 minutes. Done and dusted you would think about Warringah ... but wait there’s more as the famous Tim Shaw advertising spruiker would say. The early syndrome of the scoreboard attendant being in Rip Van Winkle mode was suddenly transferred to the Sutho XV. Warringah started to feed off the scraps and began to claw their way back into the game. This was no better displayed, than by the Waratahs’ half Luke Burgess who continuously collected loose Sutho ball, which culminated in him scoring a try and being involved in Beau Robinson’s two tries. As the difference between the two sides shrunk One_Eyed and the troops could see the lift in the Warringah visitors who seemed to believe they were not out of it. Heads down and backside in the air the Rats continued their upfield movements, with 5 pointers to the scorers mentioned above. Thankfully
Sutho scored their fifth try of the day, Sita doing another one of
his big stretches, which had them see the game out ... a very quick
rush to the bar after the game by One_Eyed, One_Beer and One_
Opinion; just to soothe the nerves ... er celebrate the 8th
consecutive win for the season. Highlights
One-Eyed’s
Points Frankly not a good game as an 80 minute spectacle, if one wishes to be honest 3 Points Ita; just puts in week after week at a high level. 2 Points Josh T; normal game of support and a few noted extra hits when defending today. 1 Point Each Radike; for one the most entertaining try set up’s seen in a long while and his usual problems for oppositions in his role as the big flanker Nicky; for finishing off the good moves during the purple patch of play as outlined in the highlight section above.
Scores Southern
Districts 36 (Tries
Nicky Price 3, Josh Tatupu Sita Timani; Conversions
Nathan Sievert 4 Penalties
1) v Warringah 21 Off
to the wrong side of the harbour next week for the Rebels to
hopefully continue their winning streak against North’s on the ABC
Match of the Day. Eastern Suburbs 22nd May Woollahra It seems to be a tradition that when Sutho play the Beasties at Woollahra the rain comes. Today was no exception. Though the weather looked promising at the start of the game... after some showers earlier in the day... the ominous clouds were rolling in as the ABC TV cameras started to roll. Speaking of ominous; the Beasties mascot took to the field but as he did so one of his foot claws fell off ... was this a sign that the wheels were falling even before the game started? All these signs... what was really going to happen with this top of the table clash; Sutho undefeated and Beasties only losing one game to date. Little did the ball know, as it was sent into play, that it was about to gather more frequent flyer points than the South African Super 14 teams gather in an entire season, all in about the first 5 minutes of play! Once Nicky settled the play by making the first run with the ball now back to earth, Sutho started to play their style of rugby that had taken them to the top of the table ... or were they? Though running with the ball there seemed to be a disjointed effort, un-Sutho like play and missing structure not making their way upfield in the normal composed manner. Patience and simple play had gone out the window; pushing the pass that should have seen the ball become a maul or ruck often saw the pill coughed up and turned over. Was this nerves showing playing the team sitting just behind the Rebels on the table ... trying to protect their lead rather than letting then natural, flow, of all games to date, take precedence? Dasha, get the word on to the field to stick to their normal game plan and play the attractive style they have been playing for the first six rounds! With the score still locked at 0 – 0 at the 15 minute mark Sutho are facing up in defence as a turnover occurs. Taking the short side, from about the half way mark, Josh T, ever in support, makes a break to find Josh G on the wing. The sprint is then on in earnest as Josh T has created the overlap and Josh G outsprints the cover defence to the line and crosses in the corner. Becoming used to kicking from the side, Nathan steers it over for Sutho to start the scoreboard attendant’s job for the day; Sutho 7 – 0. This try had the desired affect as the Rebels started to click into their normal style of play ... almost. Continuing to make ground up field the final part of movements were marred by dropped ball or wrong options, which allowed East’s’ to reform their defence and hold the Rebels at bay. Attack was ordinary but the defence, if there was a highlight for this half, shone – even though the conditions were overcast. Ita made sure that every East’s ball carrier that met him progressed no further; actually with the role reversed One_Eyed cannot remember a first tackler stopping Ita – a real handful whether in defence or attack. As East’s continued to counter attack the Rebels, using the kick on most occasions, ground was being made ever so slowly. In what appeared to be a brain explosion, Sutho attempted a chip kick which turned into a disaster. The chip was too low and was taken by the East’s left winger, a là Adam Gilchrist, and away he went. Despite being chased by several defenders, including Nicky coming from the other side of the field, the score was squared up at 7 – 7 after the conversion from in front. No doubt the ball had been affected by the damp surface and there were a number of mistakes being made, including a few crooked throw in calls more than normal. As the break approached Sutho started to play smarter, whilst in possession, with sensible passing and good recycling. The phase count had approached about 12 - 15 when the Mazda Man awarded one of the very few long arms of the half, in front of the East’s sticks. Nathan accepted the gift and took the Rebels to the sheds leading 10 – 7. With the resumption of play little seemed to have changed, as the half was only 2 minutes old when East’s had an easy long arm awarded, however Debartolo, who would normally kicked this type of kick blindfolded, missed! Not 2 minutes later a similar kicked raised the flags for the same kicker to have the Rebels and East’s level pegging at 10 – 10. The heavens then opened up and the Rebels play took an immediate lift ... this might be one to remember ... good mud runners maybe? In particular Radike appeared to sprout wings and take control of centre field with the ball. Grasping the ball in one hand he started to create problems, for East’s, with every touch of the ball. Taking giant and powerful strides upfield Radike busted the middle of the field to find the Flying Scotsman – Gareth – in support to leave the defence stranded as he crosses under the posts; Nathan converts and Sutho now lead 17 – 10. The Rebels are now looking as ominous as the bad weather, which is approaching in force, so East’s will have two challenges to face. A blink of the eye passes as Josh G drops a well placed chip in behind the defensive line and the support play of Josh T comes to the fore again as he collects the chip, to find Gareth in tow, and then send a perfectly timed pass to him to find the line the again for the second time within 5 minutes. Nathan misses as Sutho skip ahead 22 -10 and start to look like leaders of the comp. With the tap really turned on now the rain is staring to clean the player jerseys so one can start telling the difference between the Sutho and East’s teams again. Additionally, the ball is sent to the sky again indicating neither team wishes to play in their own half. As well as the ball becoming slippery, underfoot is become greasy. Toing and froing with the ball in the air Sutho return the ball into East’s half with Debartolo taking the ball and running an angle to link up with the left winger, on his inside. Running the diagonal the winger goes unchallenged and defies all attempts to run him down as he crosses out wide and reduces Sutho’s lead to 22 – 15 after the kick. Did One_Eyed speak too soon about looking like competition leaders ... time will tell! Whilst a good reply may have taken time it was that man Ita, who was still causing the problems, for East’s that he produced in the first half. Taking the ball up the far side, about three tacklers were unable to ground him and with Josh T sniffing an opportunity supported him to take the pass and set sail for the line. With the white line approaching Josh dived over – a 6 out of 10 with a very non Greg Louganis completion to the action. But an effective 5 pointer, which provided a 29 -15 lead once Nathan converted. Contention, contention as the Mazda Man (MM) recalls the ever alert Radike after collecting the ball from a ruck, where the MM claims he picked it up from the side rather than the rear. Geez he takes big steps, so One_Eyed was sure he just taken off too quick such that it appeared as though he was on the side. A would be try, under the posts, gone astray! Not resting on their laurels the Rebels continued to press the advantage they had established and even when a penalty within kicking distance was received, the pressure to go over the line was opted for. Initially this decision was rued as the ball was lost in general play. Trying to get out of the danger zone, East’s pushed to half way. However, as Sutho regained possession Sita flexed his muscles and presented a gap as wide as Sydney Heads to give Josh T – again in great support position; One_Eyed thinks he will have to be christened “Braces” (always in support) – a free run to the line for his second try of the afternoon. As the hooter sounds Nathan converts to finish the game at Sutho 36 – 15 and leave East’s pointless at home.
Highlights When
deciding to play their normal game, in the second half, the Rebels
turned it on
One-Eyed’s Points A lot of good performances with a few standouts 3 Points Ita; a complete game across the park for the entire 80 minutes, whether in defence, attack or even setting up tries – a few of the Beastie’s will have bruises after welcoming Ita to Woollahra. At the end of the game they were probably glad to see him leave. 2 Points Radike; a great second half setting up the runners to come off his breaks. Tidied up a lot of loose play in defence. 1 Point Each Josh G; ran the field well and judiciously kicked for good position. Josh
T; if there were breaks
being made “Braces” was there to support. Had a hand in 4 of the
5 tries in one way or another. Scores Southern
Districts 36 (Tries
Josh Tatupu Gareth Morton 2 Josh Gamgee; Conversions
Nathan Sievert 4 Penalties
1) v Eastern Suburbs 15 Back
home next week for the Rats from Pittwater, which will be interesting
given the mass return of Super 14 players . Parramatta 15th May Forshaw Park Today’s game was going to be interesting according to One_Eyed and the group gathered to watch. With the déjà vu of Parra now being in the same boat that Sutho was in a couple of years ago, it was expected that Sutho would win well – no disrespect to the Two Blues – so there was a mystery how the game would pan out. Five minutes into he game and Tetra Faulkner opens the scoring for the Rebels with Nathan doing a Walter Lindrum nursery canon from one post to the other to convert the try; Sutho 7 – 0. Five minutes later Benny Schreiber crosses over in the corner with Nathan converting again; Sutho 14-0. So only a short time into the game Sutho had made their intentions quite clear, play open rugby and keeps the scoreboard rolling. With Sutho working the ball well, Nicky scores a further try after some attractive play to move upfield with good team work. Nathan converts and Sutho jump to 21 -0. Straight back on to the attack the Rebels plundered their way to the hapless Two Blues line only to see the move break down, with a probable 7 points going begging. Not daunted by their error the Rebels continue the attack only to see Chris hung out to dry with a coathanger. Out comes the yellow card with the Parra side now reduced to 14. Applying themselves to play as competition leaders Ita strolls over to score the Rebels’ fourth try, and the bonus point, after 26 minutes of play. Coincidentally the score stays 26 – 0 after 26 minutes of play, after Nathan sends the ball askew off the boot. From a scrum the ball is whipped wide to Benny, who finds himself unmarked, so away he goes down the line and gives Nathan a rare opportunity to convert from in the front of the posts; Sutho 33 – 0. Four minutes to the break and quick work a from a lineout finds the ball going wide again, with t Benny the recipient again to go over with Nathan converting to have Sutho going to the break 40 – 0. The half time score may have given the impression of a scoring procession but there were times where Parra did apply themselves and caused the Rebels to go into a concerted defensive effort. Outclassed to the half, Parra were at least giving it their best. With the second half commencing there seemed to be a different step from the visitors. Their defensive mode appeared to step up a cog, or two, such that the Rebels had to start digging a little deeper to make the same ground they were making in the first half. One_Eyed thinks the Parra coaching may have told the Two Blues to restart the half as though the score was 0 – 0 and just to lift their game to make the Rebels earn whatever points they may score in the second half. What did Dasha say – don’t know – you’ll have to ask him! Sutho were finding it much harder to score as they did in the first half, to the credit of the visitors. One_Eyed and the cohorts kept their fingers crossed that complacency had not crept into the game. Perhaps there was some frustration being experienced by the Rebels, with this new found effort by Parra. It took almost 20 minutes before Ita progressed the half time score to 45 – 0 after collecting the ball from the back of a scrum and stretching over in the corner. This try seemed to act as sniffing salts to awaken the Rebels, as attack was the immediate response from the restart. Looking promising, the move collapsed 10 metres out. Regaining the ball quickly Nicky almost suffers a decapitation with a second Parr player sent to the bin, for the afternoon. The ensuing penalty has Ita crashing over for Nathan to convert; Sutho 52 – 0. These two quick tries certainly got the Rebels back on the game plan with the ball doing the work required to progress the score. The forwards were certainly muscling up to show their dominance. So dominant was the forward display now that Tetera is rumoured to now have to front up to the front rowers disciplinary committee for scoring his second try of the game (his fourth for the season); Nathan converts – Sutho 59 – 0. By now it was evident the early second half effort of the efforts of the Two Blues, in the first 20 minutes, was now telling. The Rebels XV had been more patient than the supporters who were looking for the scoring to recommence from the restart of the half. Maybe Dasha’s words had been along the lines that Parra would come out at all costs to slow the scoring, but in the end the effort would tell, If that’s what had been said then the prediction was coming to fruition. The relentless Rebels’ forwards then moved into real action as each possession was presenting a challenge of “...to score or not to score, that is the question...” (apologies to William Shakespeare) Sita was the next to roll the scoreboard further using his albatross length arm to stretch across the line. Nathan’s kick goes astray and Sutho lead 64 - 0. Not the blink of an eye later and The Rebels are hard at it again, with a nice little forehand on play by Josh G and Benny goes over for a quartet of 5 pointers for the afternoon. With Nathan boot back on track Sutho lead 71 – 0. Soon, another try looked ominous down the left wing but Parra’s left winger – coming from the other side of the file had different ideas. To his credit, even though the game had well and truly gone, he made a great run to cut down the ball carrier who was within sight of the line for Sutho’s next 5 pointer. Well done to, Isikeli Tavola, as highlighted in the after game speech by Sutho Club Captain, Nathan Dwyer. This defensive highlight, however, was only punctuation in the Rebels’ attack as Bernie crossed the line for Sutho, in his maiden game for the Rebels to take the score to 76 – 0 after the kick went astray. With the siren sounding, and the Two Blues in possession, there is a turnover and Benny finds himself in the clear to race some 60 metres to score five 5’s for the day. Nathan then gives a blank stare as the kick misses from one of his easiest attempts of the day to have Sutho run out winners 81 – 0. Highlights
One-Eyed’s
Points The standard of play continues to be high by all – surely to be tested next week against East’s. 3 Points Benny; five tries for the day to do his job well. 2 Points Sita; another high performance game with is bruising running and defence.
1 Point Each Sean;
probably tends to go unnoticed with all his ferreting work. He is
becoming a bit of pain to the opposition in defence as his scrounging
makes it tough to get clean ball for those who oppose him. Scores Southern
Districts 81 (Tries
Ben Schreiber 5,
Ita Liuteine
3, Tetera
Faulkner 2, Sitaleki Timani, Bernie Orbell, Nicky Price; Conversions
Nathan Sievert 8) v Parramatta 0 Off to Woollahra next week for the top of the table clash between the Rebels and the Beasties. One_Eyed is looking forward to the clash of John Ulugia and the returning Super 14 player Huia Edmonds; one who runs and hits like a hammer the other a spritely hooker who sniffs gaps out of nothing – very contradictory styles opposing each other. NSW Premiership Rugby Union
http://www.nswrugby.com.au/TooheysNewShuteShieldSydneyGrade/TooheysNewShuteShield/Ladder.aspx
NSW Premiership Rugby Union
http://www.nswrugby.com.au/TooheysNewShuteShieldSydneyGrade/GregorGeorgeCup/GregorGeorgeCup.aspx . Randwick 8th May Coogee The annual pilgrimage to the seaside suburb of Coogee always brings consternation when thinking about the difficulties in finding a car park. With One_Eyed and One_Beer cruising around and around a park is finally found but will we catch the 373 back to Coogee – nah we’ll walk the exercise will be good. Once the game started the Rebels made their intentions very clear with an early hit by John U to put the Myrtle’s on notice that Sutho were here to maintain the lead in the comp and remain undefeated. In true Randwick style they used the ball well and placed an early chip to Nicky, where there was a mongrel of a bounce enabling Clinton Sills to swoop through and collect only to be dragged down by Nicky. Regrouping to defend, the Rebels were deemed offside... give us a go Mr Pearce... and the ensuing penalty had Randwick hit the lead 3- 0. Back to the task at hand – another long arm against the Rebels and back footing is the name of the game at present. Very little ball to date and almost 10 minutes into the game. Once the Rebels had a sniff of the ball the forwards asserted their ascendancy, immediately, and put Randwick on notice that they had a target each time the ball was in possession; stop us if you can. As the ball was progressed upfield the simplicity of the play was evident and ball security was good. Patience was eventually rewarded at Sita could not be held back as bullocking his way over ,with help from John U, in the corner and Nathan converts from the sideline – there may be value in reviewing the number of sideline kicks Nathan has potted just to clarify how deadly his kicking boot is; Sutho leads 7 – 3. With the Rebels defending the Wicks, in the latter’s own half, Benny crunches a great tackle into Halangahu who spills the ball. Swooping on the ball like a starving albatross, Sita takes off then off loads, half way to the ground, to the flying John U coming from nowhere. The Wick’s cover defence had his measure but Benny, backing up after making the tackle to regain the ball, is supporting on the inside and finishes the movement to go over. As Nathan raises the flags Sutho skips out to a 14 – 3 lead, and looking in control. By this stage the pattern of the game seemed to be well and truly established; Sutho were intent on grinding Randwick into the ground by the intense use of the eight little pigs up front and to the delight of the many Rebels’ supporters it was working like a well oiled machine. The patience of the Rebels to play smart Rugby was no better exemplified than in the next try as some 12 phases of play occurred. Though the Mazda Man indicated an advantage to Sutho, due to a Wicks infringement, play continued with the ball being moved well so there was no need to recall for the penalty. With the progression of play from one side of the field to the other the ball found Nifo who delicately off loaded to Josh T who created the space for Chris to execute the final move. Once again Nathan converts – some rumours began to abound that he should be made kick with a blindfold – as the Shire lads bounded to a 21 – 3 lead about 7 minutes from the break. Seemingly lifting their game another notch Josh G joined the John U “Clanger Club” by dropping the Wicks ball carrier like a sack of spuds. As the Shire ‘Berlin Wall’ was truly entrenched, in the middle of the field and on the Rebels line, the Wicks had no alternative but to seek their fortune by going wide to find if there were any offerings provided away from the eight little pigs. With some quick ball movement, Randwick finally found a chink with Bev Tuqiri scoring the Myrtle’s opening try for the afternoon just on the break. The conversion goes off line and Sutho take a 21 – 8 lead to the change room. The half time break presents a novel idea to Randwick by having some of their players, unavailable for the day, to be interviewed. The faux pas of the day was then heard all over the ground when the interviewer questioned the Wicks player about the performance of the Rebels in the first half. Paraphrased the reply was “... I think someone should check the Southern Districts ‘salary’ cap...” Not knowing the player being interviewed as One_Eyed and One_Beer almost in unison confirm that the player points system was obviously working as some teams are now on a level playing field with the talent being spread across more teams as opposed to what happened historically with the better known Clubs having a glut of the top players. The worm has turned and obviously neither well accepted by this player nor understood for the reasons behind the player points system. Back to the game and Rebels retake Coogee Oval with a real spring in their stride. The half is not 2 minutes old, than another long arm ... but wait ... the Mazda Man has turned and it is a penalty to the Rebels. Though within kicking distance, of you know who, Josh G opts to immediately apply the pressure, and try to obtain the fourth try bonus point, by finding touch. In what turns out to be a masterstroke (yeah, as if....) John U throws in crooked and Randwick get the scrum. Then a piece of history, which will be spoken about for some time to come ... if you weren’t at the ground then you missed some classic rugby. Randwick feed the scrum and the rubber starts to burn in reverse as the Randwick eight are shown no respect with the Sutho eight little pigs – maybe big pigs in the case – pushing their counterparts in to submission by driving them backwards with what appeared to be little problem. Straight over the line, went the Sutho eight, for Sita to drop on the ball and score his second for the afternoon and totally demoralise Randwick, in particular their forwards as jaws were dropping. At this stage, there was probably more noise produced by Marcel Marceau, in his career, than the Randwick supporters were producing, with what had just been witnessed. If ever a game had a defining moment, this was it. Oh yeah, One_Eyed almost forgot – need to increase the daily dose of Ginseng – Nathan does his usual trick to send the scoreboard to Sutho 28 – 8 leaders. To their credit Randwick continued to press on and try and make a game of what could be turning into a total embarrassment – maybe along the lines of many years ago when Sutho put the cleaners through ‘em at Forshaw to the tune of about 60 -15. A little bit of sloppy and careless play by the Rebels midfield – the fat lady isn’t warming up yet boys – sees the Wicks get a sniff in the Sutho quarter. The Randwick XV continues to press on and work their way slowly but surely towards the Rebels line. As Nifo goes to the blood bin, to have his hairdo adjusted, due to a head wound, Randwick eventually force their way over and convert; Sutho leads 28 – 15. Not long after the restart Randwick infringes and pay the penalty as Nathan gets his first opportunity to steer a 3 pointer over the dot; Sutho 31 -15. From the restart Sutho are soon back in the Wicks half. With a great lift in the lineout Matt is able to execute a steal from the Randwick throw, to put Sutho on the front foot. Using the blindside Chris takes off down the line only to be dragged down, but with a long arm in their favour Sutho quickly makes ground towards the Randwick line on the far side of the field. From a ruck formed only about 5 metres out, Tetera accepted the gap, which opened as wide as the Sydney Heads, and barged over wide out. Anybody who was willing to bet against Nathan today was going to go home broke, as he steered another one from wide out; Sutho 38 – 15 with just on 20 minutes to go. Such was the domination of the Rebels that even in defence they were becoming a danger as Randwick seemed to be watching them rather than keeping their eye on the ball before attempting to make ground – the result being dropped ball. Throwing the ball with a bit of gay abandon Randwick manages to somehow create an imbalance in the Sutho defence and score their third try of the afternoon. As the touchies raised the flag Sutho lead 38 – 22; not what one would call a true indication of the Rebels dominance but credit to the Wicks for sticking on like a bit of recycled chewy. Disaster! Nathan has his second penalty attempt of the afternoon and it goes wide of the mark – Jock get on the field to do a running check of Nathan’s gyroscope! Everything OK, he’s just proving he’s human. Did someone move the posts as he kicked, did someone changed the direction of the fluttering flags or was there a great gust of wind from the Wicks supporters on the far side of the field as ball sailed towards the post? Maybe Nathan had a sore foot from the previously unmissed 7 out of 7 attempts. Well done Jock, as the gyro must have been fixed because the next penalty is back on track; Sutho 41 -22. With the game all but over Randwick has found their way back into the Sutho quarter. Desperation on two fronts here; can Sutho keep Randwick to zero points for the day or can Randwick salvage a bonus point for a fourth try, as the fat lady starts to warm up. A number of consecutive penalties keep the Wicks charging the line with the Sutho forwards denying any access to same. As the bell goes the intensity of attack and defence remains ... and another penalty. As the Rebels let their guard down Randwick whipped the ball wide with speed and score their bonus point try after the bell to finish the game Sutho 41 – 29 after the conversion. Highlights A totally dominating performance by the Rebels on the day. Close to the best effort seen by One_Eyed for many years by all players, individually, and more importantly as one unit of 15 players. Though the score appears close it was flattering to Randwick
One-Eyed’s
Points The midnight oil has been burning trying figure this one out and One_Eyed would not be one bit surprised to see the selections challenged, so intense were all efforts across the park 3 Points Dan; close to the best game ever played by Dan for Sutho as his contribution and dominance was superb along with the scrum work and loose field work. 2 Points Sita; caused problems, for Randwick, in both defence and attack as well as doing a lot of difficult things for someone his size in terms of off loading and low pickups.
1 Point Each John
U; moves from strength
to strength and seems to lift his level every week, even providing a
cuddle assist to allow Sita crossing for the Rebels first try. Scores Southern
Districts 41 (Tries
Sitaleki Timani 2, Tetera Faulkner, Chris Kerr, Ben Schreiber);
Conversions
Nathan Sievert 5 Penalties
2) v Randwick 29 Back to Forshaw next week where the Rebels must maintain the intense consistency to stay at the top of the ladder as Premiership Leaders; marked targets for all other teams to now beat. Footnote Despite what may be read in other electronic and / or paper media reports the scorers, for Sutho, reported here are the correct ones. . Penrith 1st May Forshaw Park The rumblings with One_Eyed and all cohorts started well before the game, let alone the players appearing on the park. The consensus <... Penrith always give Sutho a hard game no matter what. Why? No-one knows, but it invariably occurs that the Penrith Emus generally come prepared to play against Sutho. With the ball sent to the air to start the game the play was soon halted – 1 minute in – with the first long arm against the Rebels. Didn’t take long to start the ball rolling with the penalty count; will we need an abacus to keep count ... time will tell. Three minutes have elapsed and the second long arm is awarded to the Emus within kicking range; Penrith 3 – 0. Four minutes another long arm, five minutes another long arm and again within range of the Penrith boot; Penrith 6 – 0. There is some suggestion form One_Eyed and the group an inspection of the Mazda Man’s other arm may need to be done just to ensure it is working. Some 10 minutes into the game Sutho had the feed about 5 metres out from the Penrith line, but the Emu’s managed to rotate the scrum for the ball to be regained. Thankfully there appeared to be no panicking even though everything seemed to be going against the Rebels. Not a minute later the Rebels looked threatening but ... did they have Waratahitis from the previous night’s Super 14 game, as nothing came of the attack? Crooked throw ins, lost ball, penalty count – what else could go askew? At the 20 minute mark One_Eyed was considering the purchase of a second abacus as the first one had been worn out. All this time of woes and grief for the Rebels, one must acknowledge that the Emus had in fact had come to play and were managing the field well. They were making Sutho defend, whilst mounting sustained attacking forays. One_Beer and the alickadoos were becoming agitated looking for the amber fluid to settle their nerves. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the Mazda Man gave the Rebels a long arm. This seemed to spark some action as Josh G took off for the line but the last pass went to ground, to see a try go begging. The haunting sounds of the opening comments of this report started to ring in One_Eyed’s head. The second penalty of the afternoon, for the Rebels, and with some good use of the ball their efforts were frustrated by good Emu’s defence to hold them up over the line... maybe ... but that was the call. Hallelujah, from the ensuing scrum Sutho decide to hold the ball and off load to Chris Kerr to use his weight to crash over to start the scoreboard ticking over for the Rebels. Nathan converts and the Rebels take the lead 7 – 6. Not what one may say is an impressive lead but nonetheless the points are, thankfully, on the board. Then without a breath One_Beer’s optimism comes to the fore – three more for the bonus point... the less said on that statement the better at this stage of the game. With 5 minutes to the break the Rebels seem to slow down to execute the basics; good straight line defence moving as one and then when in attack simple ball handing by letting the ball do the work. Had the worm turned, had the penny dropped ...clichés, clichés everywhere, had Chris’ try awoken the sleeping Rebels? With Josh G steaming to the line the ball eventually ends up with John U who asserts his strength and ability by burrowing over the for the second 5 pointer and yep, Nathan converts again; Sutho 14 – 6. Yeah, we know One_Beer, two to go! With Penrith on the attack just before the break, it looks like the gap will be diminished, but wait there’s more... the Emus knock on with a try going begging as the Mazda Man decrees a rest for all. The second half opens with some déjà vu - a penalty to the Emus. Here we go again! Then, just on a minute later another long arm, but to the Rebels this time, where the roll starts. The ball quickly finds its way towards the Penrith line with a good touch finder. As Radike takes the ball cleanly from the lineout he off loads to Nifo who bullocks his way over for Nathan to convert and kick the Rebels clear; 21 - 6; a bit of breathing room at last. Not chucking in the towel Penrith press on and Sutho are caught offside picking the ball up on maybe a contentious call; of course it’s contentious, what else would One_Eyed say! The Emus waste no time sending the ball wide finding the Rebels wanting on the far side and they cross for a converted try; Sutho 21 – 13. It’s a hard day at the office today on the field and off the field for all. With some sensible settling play Sutho work the ball towards the half and then newcomer, Stephano Hunt, receives the pill to start a sideline run. He runs in then jinks out, runs in then jinks out again and finally finishes an impressive run with his maiden try for Sutho, in firsts. Nathan raises the flags from the side to open the gap again; Sutho 28 -13 As the play drifts up and down the field there is nothing over spectacular from either side, in a way maybe just playing the game out. With 7 minutes to go Nicky chimes in to make the extra man and send Stephano over for his second – nice start to the career at the Rebels. With the clock winding down the Rebels finally turned it on with a 60 metre try, which went through a series of about 9 hands with Josh G eventually going over, put together with some good last minute passing by a number of players, along the way, to the support hands in pursuit. Nathan converts to end the game Sutho 40 – 13. Highlights This game never really reached any great heights and the Rebels seemed stuck in low gear for a greater proportion of the game. Nathan continues to display his knack for potting the goals from anywhere – mostly the sideline. Defensive effort good bar for one lapse which allowed the Emu’s to cross for their sole 5 pointer John
U standard of play seems to be increasing each week; again his
strength in the scrum and loose play were telling factors. One-Eyed’s
Points A game which highlighted a lot of strengths but unfortunately a number of areas that still need improvement; almost word for word from last week!. On to the points for the day 3 Points John U; his dominance continues to impress as his game is moulding into a complete hooker come prop, prop come hooker. 2 Points Ita; another high level and busy game causing Penrith woes whether with the ball or in defence.
1 Point Each Nifo;
a very mobile and strong performance capped with a 5 pointer. Scores Southern
Districts 40 (Tries
Stephano Hunt 2, Josh Gamgee, John Ulugia, Nifo Nifo, Chris Kerr);
Conversions
Nathan Sievert 5) v Penrith 13 Off to Coogee to take on the Myrtles next week – one that the Rebels would love to win. Though it’s the ABC game of the week attendance at the ground is important to bolster the players on the field. . Sydney University 24th April University No 1 Oval Due to grand parenting duties One_Eyed was on sabbatical for this game and many thanks to One_Beer who stepped up into the breach to pen the report for this week. Now, on to the report... One_Opinion and One_Beer set off for annual jaunt to Sydney Uni, looking forward to the world famous double One_Eyed ground announcer. The august and serene surroundings in the heart of a busy city centre is always something to savour. Well it didn’t take long for One_Opinion to get going – even before the game started. As Forshaw is famous for its BBQ delights, Sydney Uni is becoming renowned for it hot Ham Roll. – One_Opinion had talked it up all week. The grumbles began as One_Opinion stomped back to his seat Hot-Ham-Roll-Less the disappointment expressed in no uncertain terms that the staple food option at Uni, the chunky Hot Ham Roll, was no longer on the menu. The kick off was delayed for a few minutes while a very moving and apt ANZAC Day remembrance ceremony was performed, with the Last Post played to a silent and respectful crowd. After Sydney Uni kicked off Sutho was subjected to some early pressure, however, a good relieving kick by Nicky saw the ball reach touch inside the Students 25. Uni was able to capitalise on a lineout penalty by sending the ball up the other end of the field and were awarded a penalty within a kickable distance. Luckily, or unluckily if you are a Uni supporter, the Uni fullback did not bring his kicking boots and sent the ball wide of the sticks. The Rebels withstood some pressure and with a clearing kick followed by a penalty, the ball was in touch at Uni’s 25 metre mark. With good handling by the backs followed by a long pass out to the wing on the far side, a try was narrowly averted by Uni. However, this was followed by a lineout and the Rebels started the scoreboard rolling for the afternoon with a strong try to Ita in the corner, after a great cut out pass by Gareth; Nathan converted from wide out so Sutho leads 5-0 14 minutes into the game Uni’s No. 6 was invited to have a 10 minute break. Taking advantage of the one man in the bin there was some excellent Rebels’ forward play and a try in the corner to Tetera Faulkner, his first for the Club. This time Nathan kicked a fine conversion from the side to boost Sutho to a lead of 12-0. As the half progressed the play moved up and down field, with some strong pressure from Uni. Sutho’s resolve to apply themselves, as they had done in the first two games of the year, was displayed with good defensive skills on the try line. The Rebels’ defence eventually told with an excellent steal from the hands of a Uni player. The ball was passed to Ben Connolly who bolted to the 10 metre line in the Uni half. Sutho experienced some renewed pressure and with more strong defence on their line the referee called a penalty back near the quarter line. The long arm attempt by Uni again sailed wide; normally a bread and butter kick for them has now cost Uni 6 points, allowing Sutho remain 12 zip up. With less than 10 minutes to the break Sutho was back on the attack and after good work on the wing by Tom Koroi, Callum Reilly was over the line but the Assistant Mazda Man declared he had put his foot over the sideline. Rhubarb groans the Sutho supporters, he’s only a little fella with small feet – he couldn’t have been out! So Callum has to wait another day to score his initial 5 pointer in 1st Grade. Some great jumping gave Sutho the ball from the lineout and it was quickly passed out to the far side with Nicky chiming in to make the overlap and was over for the 3rd try of the day and maintains a personal tally of one try in every game to date. Nathan converts to send Sutho well clear at 19 – 0. Shortly before the oranges were handed out Uni received another long arm on the Rebels 10 metre line, but again the kicking Gods frowned on Uni as the ball failed to open their account. With 1 minute to go of the half Uni was pressuring the Rebels’ try line. After winning the lineout Nicky cleared the ball to the half way mark ensuring Uni trudged off at the break without a point to their name. During the half time chat among some of the more knowledgeable alickadoos the general feeling was Sutho had this game in the bag and the bonus point was up for grabs early in the second half. Upon resumption of play Sutho sent the ball into the air but with some relieving kicks from both sides territory was quickly gained and lost. One such kick by Uni landed the ball 10 metres out from the Rebels’ line. The ball was quickly passed out to their far wing and with some good zigzag running by Uni’s Dyer he was over for a try. An easy conversion had the score at 19-7 Shortly after less than 10 minutes into the half, we saw another try for Uni coming from a poor clearance kick. The Uni substitute scored with his first touch of the ball. The conversion from the sideline missed the mark leaving the score at 19-12. Uni were building on their new found determination and confidence. Sutho on the other hand were visibly tiring – had the Rebels done a Manly of last week, by running themselves into the ground in the first half - and struggling to get to the breakdowns and set pieces. Although there were periods where Sutho had the ball for multiple phases, in the Uni half, ground was being lost. 20 minutes into the half saw a lot of messy and unattractive play from both sides. However, Uni gained their composure and started to exercise wave upon wave of attack towards the Sutho white line. The Rebels dug deep and the defence was up to the task. Crooked throws and collapsed scrums provided each side with temporary advantage. With 12 minutes to go a scrum was awarded to Uni but trouble in the scrum resulted in the Mazda Man awarding a short arm to Sutho. Nathan provided the relieving kick to ensure the play was outside the Rebels’ quarter for the first time in over 10 minutes. There were some good sporadic bursts of play displayed by Sutho, such as the intercept by Callum Reilly heading for the line, all of which eventuated to little. Unfortunately, Uni ended up with a penalty 5 metres out from their line. With the fat lady warming up to sing – or 7 minutes to go - Uni had a break up the wing. Despite some valiant attempts by the defence to stop Uni’s Betham, the gap was closed with a try in the corner. A difficult conversion was missed with the score now at 19-17.Finger nails time boys and girls! For the closing 5 minutes Sutho was attacking but Uni was repelling the attacks. For the second week on the trot the ball is dropped in the back line in the last few minutes – pressure and intensity of the occasion creates a level of nervousness that must be overcome. After a Uni scrum Sutho again gained possession and Nicky produced a great run up the wing. However, the short over the head chip ended up with a scrum to Uni. From the scrum the Rebels, determined to play the game at the Uni end, charged down the ball and chased hard over the Uni line. A try to Sutho; no, a scrum to Uni – count has been lost on the no try decisions over the last two games that the Rebels have played ... must be something like 5 or 6. Keep this intensity up and those no tries will eventually turn into tries. Getting possession of the ball after the final whistle saw the ball booted over the sideline and sighs of relief on the faces of all the Sutho supporters and alickadoos ... and the coaching staff, who did hard towards the end. Highlights The classic statement of “...it was a game of two halves...” – the first half good enterprising play and the second half, well.... So what were the highlights?
One-Eyed’s
Points A game which highlighted a lot of strengths but unfortunately a number of areas that still need improvement; almost word for word from last week!. On to the points for the day 3-Points Nicky; his efforts in both attack and defence continues to impress; cool and calm (well at least on the outside) he appears to make time for himself with the selection of options at his disposal. 2-Points Ita; particularly busy everywhere and rewarded with his second try of the season. Defensively in the face of Uni not giving them too many quiet moments. 1-Point Each Nathan; another strong performance particularly in the kicking department again this week.
Scores Southern
Districts 19 (Tries
Nicky Price, Tetera Faulkner, Ita Liuteine);
Conversions
Nathan Sievert 2) v Sydney University 17 Back home next week, against the Emus, to protect the unbeaten record to the start of the season. As the crowd swelled out of No 1 Oval One_Beer is sure a voice came from somewhere ... I am not coming back until the hot Ham Rolls are back! . . . Manly 17th April Forshaw Park . Prior to commencing the first home game for the season a minute’s silence was given in respect of former St George and Wallaby great, Alan Cameron. Then on to the game where ...ah back at Sutho with the barbeque sauce from the hamburger dripping down One_Eyed’s arm; it’s great to be home ... some significant changes were noted to the Rebels with the run on side; Radike Samo at flanker, Josh Tatupu at inside centre, Nicky Price moved to fullback and Ben Connelly fills the space voided by Nicky. Manly decided to show their hand very quick in terms of their pattern of play, run it as fast as possible, whether in attack or defence. This appeared to catch the Rebels by surprise as the Rebels defence was called on to defend, without a breath between tackles. When in attack – which did not happen very often in the early part of the game – Manly was immediately upon the ball carrier. With this bustling affect the penalties started to flow the way of the Marlins and the Rebels were on the back foot more often than not. With the weight of penalties – One Eyed had the shoes and socks off (this may be an exaggeration but the thought was there to remove them) after what seemed to be a very short time, to keep count – the toll finally took affect with Adam D’Arcy putting Manly in front 3 – 0 after 7 minutes. Similar to last week, the Rebels’ ball security needed to improve if they were going to be in this game. Thankfully, the ball security of Manly was not up to par either. Manly would steal, then Sutho would steal; was the speed of the game causing these errors – more than likely yes, in One –Eyed’s opinion. However the telling factor was going to be whoever controlled the ball first would be difficult to beat. At each exchange of ball turnover Manly was the eventual owner of the ball – the Rebels were getting plenty of defensive practice. So with the weight of possession and the climbing penalty count it came as no surprise to see Manly score the first 5 pointer, though there was some doubt about obstruction however the points were on the board. As Adam D’Arcy converts his own try from wide out Manly skip to a lead of 10 – 0. On the very odd occasion that Sutho did get the ball, and maintain it, there were some promising forays into the Manly half but the inevitable error would see the ball coughed up at the last minute. Maybe One_Eyed should get some cough syrup on the field to ensure ball retention! At the 17 minute mark Sutho received their first penalty, which seemed to spark the XV into action. From an ensuing phase, on the scoreboard side of the field, the ball was quickly spread to the other side of the field with Radike, presenting as an overlap, giving an underhanded pass to Brackin, without looking – very well rehearsed guys – for the Rebels to tick the scoreboard into action. Nathan converted from the sideline and Manly lead 10 – 7. For those who have may have blinked from the restart Brackin almost had the Rebels in again. Taking the ball up the sideline he dropped the ball onto his foot but was taken out very late – Manly very much on the back foot probably realised he would beat all to the ball. From the penalty Nathan equalised at 10 – 10; Sutho’s way of course. It was a credit to the Rebels’ defence that the game was even at this point, given the lack of possession which had occurred. In particular, a notable number of play shutdowns were effected by Josh T who continuously cut off a number of backline raids by either putting the ball carrier to the ground or turning the attack back inside. This good defence began to translate to a little more possession and allowed the Rebels to build some attacking momentum. Then at the 25 minute mark all waited with baited breath as the TMO was asked to determine whether the Rebels had scored or nor not. Bah humbug – held up over the line! From the ensuing scrum Sutho ignored the golden rule of ball security, letting Manly off the hook. Manly worked the ball up field fairly quickly and then a bit of déjà vu with Adam D’Arcy chiming to make the extra man to go over for his second of the afternoon; missing the conversion Manly now lead 15 – 10. Not 5 minutes later the play was dragged back across the field, some 4 or 5 phases after Sam supposedly misbehaved and as a result he was given a 10 minute rest. From the penalty, Manly increased their lead to 18 – 10. Hmmm – 2nd round of the comp and One_Eyed might be off to the libray for the first perusal of the Law Book for 2010. Back into the swing of things, Ben Connelly flies down the far side of the field and decides to chip through with a well weighted kick; so the race is on. Beaten by the smallest of touches Manly ground the ball before Ben arrived. Working their way out of the danger zone Manly eventually win a lineout against the throw and start to efficiently recycle the ball towards the Rebels’ line. One_Eyed, One_Beer and One_Opinion all start to shudder as Manly are looking very dangerous! With patience and simple ball movement Manly eventually score their third 5 pointer of the afternoon and with the conversion their lead is extended to 25 – 10. Only a short time to the break and the Rebels show a good resolve to ensure the game stays alive. With the helpful assistance of the grandstand supporters the Mazda Man correctly calls a crooked throw in by Manly. Woops, Sutho lose the ball after the free kick, but the supporters come to the fore again, helping the officials call Manly for a held ball. One_Eyed cannot recall giving any man of the match points to the supporters but today could be different for their excellent refereeing of this game. This small glut of possession has Sutho attacking right on the break. A series of passes sees Sita with a chance to peg the Marlins back before the oranges’ break. Brought down, where it appeared he was just about to break through, the ball goes to ground. With virtually little time to the break Sam is back on the ground to give Sutho the full complement of 15. As the hooter sounds the Mazda Man correctly invites a Manly player to take a longer than normal half time break with the appearance of the yellow card for the second time of the afternoon. Nathan pots the ball over to make the half time score Manly 25 -13. Sutho start the ball rolling for the second half with a well judged kick and regain. A Marlin is immediately penalised for trying to plant a Rebel head first. Nathan obliges and steers another one between the sticks to see the gap close to Manly 25 – 16. Where’s Lleyton when you need him with lawn mower antics and the famous ‘Come on ...’ From the restart the Rebels inexplicably somehow go into pedestrian passing mode with some questionable and heart in the mouth play. Finally Josh G gets the Sutho boys up field to regain composure away from their line. Manly worked hard to get the ball back towards the Rebels line however the campanology event of the afternoon then occurred; John U absolutely creamed Adam D’Arcy ball and all with a superb tackle; they tell One_Eyed that St Mary’s Cathedral are looking for a bell ring that effective. Unfortunately D’Arcy had the last laugh not long after as the Mazda Man penalised the Rebels ... again... with a 3 pointer sailing over; Manly kick away 28 – 16. Was this gap proving to be a problem as the peripheral vision which had started to become evident started to disappear along with mistakes appearing. Then just as quick as mistakes came the attack clicked into operation with a second Rebel try denied by the TMO – he must have been watching a different replay to that of One_Eyed and the cohorts! Sutho retain this pressure which eventuates in Ben S going over n the corner, and yep Nathan converts to reduce the lead; Manly 28 – 23. This game is becoming pretty much like a yo-yo tournament; up and down and round and round in circles with fortunes changing. Sutho seemed to be gaining a threatening momentum; maybe Manly were starting to pay the toll for their first half speed – and still with 22 minutes to play. Each time Josh T had the ball danger threatened as he was finding gaps with quick, and some mid air, direction changes or just sheer speed through existing gaps. However the man with the whistle has once again saved the Marlins. One_Eyed is now looking to One_Beer to take his shoes and socks off to keep count of the penalties. With the penalty going over Manly skip 8 points clear with Sutho looking at a zero point return for the afternoon. With a good heads up attitude Sutho win a scrum in the Manly half and like a scalded cat Josh T goes through the defensive line, like a hot knife through butter, and off loads to the ever present Nicky who finds the line in the corner. Struth, wrong time to prove your mortal Nathan and miss; Manly 31 – 28, with just under 20 minutes to go. As the clock ticks towards shower time the long arm goes up again in favour of the Marlins; Manly 34 – 28 after the kick. Just on 5 minutes to goes, and 6 points behind, the Rebels really start to put the pressure on with each phase of play; if they were to go down Manly were going to have hold out an onslaught. As the ball comes clear from a ruck Josh T takes it on the fly and again he causes a nightmare for the Manly defence. So elusive was his run that he scored a well deserved try about 10 meters to the side of the sticks. Without batting an eyelid Nathan steps and pots the ball over the dot for Rebels to take the lead 35 – 34. From a quick restart the Marlins move into heart in the mouth territory, for the Sutho supporters. Phase after phase the Marlins were attacking – all Sutho supporters squinting for the potential fateful long arm – but the Rebels held the line and thwarted everything thrown at them. With the ball turned over to the Rebels a great sigh of relief occurred in the stand ... but then, a dropped ball and Manly regain. Here we go heart back in the mouth! Manly, with virtually nothing left on the cock, decide to drop a goal but their rudder is off course as Sutho kill the ball and take the full 5 points for the game, which as all agreed was never in doubt as many make their way upstairs shaking and rushing for their sedation medicine.
Highlights A game that was both good and not so good had the following highlights
One-Eyed’s Points
A game which highlighted a lot of strengths but unfortunately a number of areas that need improvement. On to the points for the day 3 Points Josh Tatupu; no question about Josh’s standout game. He was an absolute nightmare for his Manly counterpart all afternoon plus other Marlins who do not expect to meet him on the field. 2 Points Nathan; cool calm and collected play plus some great kicking which one could argue meant the difference between a win and a loss. 1 Point Each Tetra; very solid in the scrum and close in work ensuring the Rebels were not overshadowed up front John; in partnership with Tetra played the same role plus the bell clanger for the day. Scores Southern Districts 35 (Tries Brackin Henry, Josh Tatupu, Ben Schrieber, Nicky Price; Conversions Nathan Sievert 3; Penalty Nathan Sievert 3) v Manly 34
A very new look team took to the field at Chatswood for the start of the season with a fair bit of youth evident along with some of the “older heads,” on a very warm afternoon. The sad part of the day was a remembrance to young Dan Robinson who was tragically killed in January; a young man who apparently had a bright future in front of him; Southern Districts joined with Gordon remembering him. With the first kick of the season the excitement of the game began, though the lack of any Sutho style barbeque aroma could be detected. Only five minutes into the season and One_Eyed is already yearning for a Sutho Burger! With Sutho deciding to play the game in Gordon’s end, the ball was hoofed up field, which realised a Gordon fumble. Unfortunately Sutho’s ball security was as good as, or was that as bad as, Gordon’s so straight into the defensive mode from what should have been an attacking foray. With Gordon working the ball upfield an early penalty was given up by the Rebels and the ever reliable Dave Harvey must have left his rudder at home at he sprayed the kick wide of the post. Play then progressed like a tinny in a storm – up and down the field – without any real advantage being gained by either XV. Ball security was proving to be a problem for both sides (with the accompanying groans from the sideline); early season jitters – perhaps, warm afternoon slippery ball from perspiration – who knows, trying a bit too hard to push the impossible play or pass – One_Eyed will leave that one to the coaches. Within the early phases of the game Sita and Nifo, in particular, offered some very solid running up the middle of the field just to let Gordon know that the Rebels had come to make a contest of the day. Ably backed up by Ita these three were making it a hard day at the office for the opposing Gordon eight. Similarly in the backs Brackin was showing his experience of playing in the Aussie Sevens with some slight of foot, being able to swerve and jink through a number of would be tackles before going to ground. Backwards and forwards, with mistakes punctuating both sets of attacks; then it was Nathan’s turn to see if he had brought his rudder with him – sure did and Sutho lead 3 - 0 after 18 minutes. From the restart Sutho patiently worked the ball towards the Gordon white line. Eventually the ball found touch from a Gordon possession. Amazingly the lineout was lost, from the Sutho throw in, and Gordon punished the Rebels accordingly. Working the ball to the scoreboard side of the ground the Gordon left winger placed a delicate chip to the in goal area and nagged to beat all the Rebels to it. Woops Dave H has found his rudder as he converts from the sideline; Gordon 7 – 3 after 20 minutes. Only a couple of minutes later and Sutho are caught out, with Dave H booting a penalty to stretch the lead; Gordon 10 – 3 after 26 minutes. Will somebody please break Harvey’s rudder! As if sparked on by that penalty the Rebels then play some smart and percentage rugby by holding the ball, making the plays that were on and not attempting the impossible. The outcome saw Ban Connelly race over and make his way under the post for Nathan to equalise at Sutho 10 – Gordon 10 after 29 minutes. Making the most of this effective play Sutho again worked their way up field effectively using all the tools in their armoury – all of which pointed to the smart play options being used. With the ball being whipped out along the line, a great cut out pass by Ita to the flying Ben Connelly, sees an early double for the latter to start the season. Alas, the kick from the sideline went astray but the Rebels had now turned a 10 - 3 deficit to a 15 – 10 lead, with 3 minutes to the break. With the oranges hitting the field the coaching staff seemed to be happy, even though there had been a number of mistakes. One_Eyed thinks it relates to the resolve of coming back from the deficit in such a positive manner – obviously Josh had calmed down the general play to take the percentage options and run the field accordingly. With the Rebels turning their backs to the sun, and with it fully in the eyes of the Highlanders ,the restart was collected by the candy stripe jumpers and full attack was in the offing. Then oops, back to the first half jitters as the ball security faltered. This seemed to spark Gordon into action as they quickly barged their way towards the northern end of the ground. In no time at all the Highlanders were camping just on the other side of the Rebels try line trying everything to gain the equaliser. Finally, the Gordon 8 used brute muscle to crash his way over to give a conversion attempt about 5 metres to the side of the post. Unbelievably, someone must have stood on Dave H’s feet as he missed another easy one, which he would have probably normally kicked with a blind fold on; Sutho 15 – Gordon 15 after 3 minutes of the half. In what seemed a very short time, after the kick off, The Rebels were in possession and attack. Ben Connelly was featuring in a number of highlights and again he stepped up to the mark. This time he made ground, when the defence should have stopped him, put a chip through only to see the Gordon defence swarm in and thwart his third 5 pointer for the afternoon. From the restart it didn’t take long for the Rebels to be charging towards the Gordon line in what seemed to be an almost inevitable try. But then, Sisa, unfortunately emulating Christopher Dean on ice, over pirouetted and presented Ben Schreiber with a forward pass to have the Mazda Man recall the play. Geez, he could have let it go – only marginally forward by about 2 metres! With Gordon desperately trying to work the play out of their half, a clearance was charged down by that man – Ben Connelly – with Gordon receiving the throw in after Ben’s charge down rolled into touch. As Gordon won their lineout the kick was sent down field where, yep, him again – Ben Connelly – was alert to Nicky looking for the quick throw in. Lucky One_Eyed has referenced the Bible every now and then, as Nicky “Moses” Price took off up the field at an angle that appeared to be just like the Red Seas parting only it was the jumpers of the Highlanders parting with Nicky showing an absolute clean pair of heels backing himself to out run the Gordon XV. With the winged feet of Mercury he sizzled over the ground to cross untouched in the corner. Though the conversion missed the deadlock was broken; Sutho 20 – 15. As a side issue, there may be an opportunity for a garter sponsor here, as Nicky had covered the ground so fast his socks had found his ankles - all something to do with the lack of centrifugal force maybe – One_Eyed reckons all offers will be considered. Confidence seemed to step up to the next level after Nicky’s try. Careful and patient build up was happening with sensible passing, recycling and ball security. Slowly but surely the candy stripe machine worked towards the Gordon line. Toe on ball was tried again and Ita was rewarded with his first 5 pointer for the Club – a very well deserved try for his efforts; but then all forwards would have been just as deserving of a try. Nathan’s conversion kicked Sutho to a clear 27 – 15 lead after 19 minutes. Quickly back into the “enemy” territory a scrum is set about 10 metres out, from the Gordon line, with Nathan feeding. As the ball comes out Nathan catches everyone napping and steals the line untouched in the corner. To rub salt into the wound he converts his own try from the sideline; Sutho 34 – 15, with 16 minutes to go. As play settled into an arm wrestle up field and down, Dan was ordered to take an early shower with 14 minutes to go; does this mean he had the hottest shower of the afternoon? Would this open the door for Gordon to give them a slight sniff of victory? Would this make the Sutho XIV step up to the mark – time would tell. Sutho were going on the back foot without the ball and Gordon started to take advantage of the extra man by maintaining progress within the forwards. From about 20 metres out Gordon produced a set piece from a scrum, with a chip and overlap to see them score in the corner, with Dave H missing again; Sutho 34 – 15. Muscling up for the remainder of the game the Rebels appeared to grit their teeth to keep the Highlanders out. This they did with success. Finally, Mazda Man decided he wanted a hot shower too, so he called full time with the Rebels more than deserved winners of their opening game of the 2010 season. Highlights As a quick review of the game, which will be given every week, the following highlights were evident
One-Eyed’s Points This game, after full time was blown, really showed that all the players had put in, in one way or another. In defence and / or attack each did their job. A nice predicament to be in though, when the team showed they could work as a unit or as individuals as the circumstances presented. 3 Points Sita; an outstanding first game for the Rebels as he was dominant in attack, defence and sniped a number of the Gordon lineouts. Caused headaches for the Highlanders all day. 2 Points Ben Connelly; Did the necessary finishing work as his position dictated, made ground when he really shouldn’t have and was on the ball – physically and literally – to put the Rebels in a good position on a number of occasions. 1 Point Each Nifo; with his partner Sita made it a doubled barrelled headache for the entire Gordon side. Ita; Had the Gordon ball carriers looking before catching as his defence was on top for the majority of the game. Backed up in support continuously and rewarded with a 5 pointer on debut. Scores Southern Districts 34 (Tries Ben Connelly 2, Nicky Price, Nathan Sievert, Ita Vaea; Conversions Nathan Sievert 3; Penalty Nathan Sievert 1) v Gordon 20 First Home Game for Grade next week when the Rebels take on Manly, who are apparently the whisper team for the comp this season. If you can’t make it the game, tune into the ABC as it is the TV game of the round. . . |
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