Gordon shine while Marlins record massive upset
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Saturday, 12 July 2008
NSWRU Media Unit
In one of the matches of the year Gordon have overcome Eastwood 24-20 in their Round 15 Tooheys New Shute Shield clash today at T.G. Millner Field, however the story of the day was unfolding at Manly Oval.
Terry Preston wrestles through contact.
Terry Preston wrestles through contact. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Eastwood v Gordon]
Eastwood fullback John Grant.
Eastwood fullback John Grant. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Eastwood v Gordon]
Matt Toomua fends off Pingi Talaapitaga.
Matt Toomua fends off Pingi Talaapitaga. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Warringah v Eastern Suburbs]
Warringah hooker Huia Edmonds.
Warringah hooker Huia Edmonds. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Warringah v Eastern Suburbs]
Dan Vickerman is taken high by Codie Medway.
Dan Vickerman is taken high by Codie Medway. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Sydney University v Northern Suburbs]
Ben Alexander charges forward for Northern Suburbs.
Ben Alexander charges forward for Northern Suburbs. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Sydney University v Northern Suburbs]
Wycliff Palu scored a try on return for Manly.
Wycliff Palu scored a try on return for Manly. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Manly v West Harbour]
A dejected West Harbour outfit during their 71-17 loss to Manly.
A dejected West Harbour outfit during their 71-17 loss to Manly. [2008 Tooheys New Shute Shield Round 15 - Manly v West Harbour]
With Wycliff Palu and George Smith returning to the Manly back row, the Marlins thrashed West Harbour 71-17 in a ten-try romp.
Eastern Suburbs made a big second half comeback to upset Warringah, while Sydney University, Randwick and Parramatta all recorded bonus point victories.
EASTWOOD V GORDON at T.G. Millner Field
In a match which went right down to the wire, Gordon has defeated Eastwood 24-20 at T.G. Millner Field.
In stark contrast to the 52-8 annihilation they delivered in round four, the Highlanders had to work hard for today's victory with Dave Harvey the star with 19 points.
Gordon started on top but after applying early pressure Eastwood had the best opportunities of the opening 15 minutes.
However the defence for which Gordon are becoming renowned for showed its mettle, repelling wave after wave of Eastwood attack.
In the end the pressure proved too much with Josh Holmes crossing in the left corner after a break down the left from fullback John Grant.
Ben Batger converted from the sideline to put Eastwood up 7-0 after 18 minutes.
Gordon spent the next 15 minutes camped in Eastwood territory however struggled to apply scoreboard pressure. Twice the Highlanders crossed however when the decision was referred to the Television Match Official they were denied both times.
Eastwood's Josh Dunning, who was having a fantastic game in the presence of his Wallaby brother Matt, coughed up a ball on the Woods' 22 in the 34th minute, and when Gordon shifted it right Dave Harvey scored in the corner, from where he converted his own try.
In the shadows of half-time Josh Dunning turned over a ball well inside Eastwood's half and the clearing kick sent Gordon backwards. When the Highlanders failed to throw in straight to the lineout, Eastwood put it through the hands to the right and Grant crossed in the right corner.
Batger's sideline attempt went astray however the scoring was not done for the opening stanza.
With Eastwood's mind already on the break, Dave Harvey strolled through a gap and fought off the final defender to score under the posts and send Gordon to half-time with a 14-12 lead.
In the opening minutes of the second forty Gordon benefitted from another crooked throw, with the ball sent to Terry Preston who crossed for his twelfth try of the season.
Harvey kept his perfect record with the conversion to open up a 21-12 advantage.
With both sides looking to play field position, the match was played between the two 22s for much of the third quarter of the match. Gaps started to appear in the mid-field and it was Rowan Kellam who made an incisive break before sending Holmes further downfield.
Eastwood's raid seemed to have come to an end through a turnover, however when the home side wrested the ball back almost immediately it was sent wide for Grant to cross in the corner.
The decision was referred to the TMO who awarded Grant, who was a late inclusion in place of Wallaby Lachie Turner, his second try. Batger's attempt went wide to leave the gap at four points.
That closed again in the 61st minute when Batger nailed a penalty leaving the scoreboard at 21-20 to the visitors.
With ten minutes remaining Eastwood were right on the attack when Vinnie Byrne was penalised and shown a yellow card for defending offside right in front of the goal line.
White line fever got to Eastwood however and a turnover relieved the pressure on Gordon who booted the ball downfield.
Eastwood struggled to maintain any meaningful field position in the closing stages, and a penalty to Harvey with a minute ago meant a last minute try was required for the home team.
And while Eastwood won back the kick-off and tried hard, eventually play wound down and Gordon recorded their ninth win in a row.
The loss sees Eastwood drop out of the top six, while Gordon have now picked up 44 from a possible 45 competition points in the last nine rounds.
Gordon 24 (Dave Harvey 2, Terry Preston tries; Dave Harvey 3 cons, pen) d Eastwood 20 (John Grant 2, Josh Holmes tries; Ben Batger con, pen) at T.G. Millner Field. Half-time: Gordon 14-12. Referee: Daniel Cheever.
WARRINGAH V EASTERN SUBURBS at Pittwater Rugby Park
Kick-off was delayed due to some Eastern Suburbs players being involved in a car accident on the way to the ground, however it didn't stop the visitors recording a 22-19 victory over Warringah at Pittwater Rugby Park.
Warringah led 12-3 at half-time, however were crippled in the second half by injuries to Clint Eadie, Huia Edmonds and Brock McGarity.
Easts ran in three second half tries to overcome Warringah by three points and have now leapfrogged Eastwood and the Rats into fifth place on the table.
Eastern Suburbs 22 (Aaron Tawera, Clyde Rathbone, Junior Puroku tries; Gavin Debartolo 2 cons, pen) d Warringah 19 (Scott Fardy, Ed Doyle, Clint Eadie tries; Clint Eadie 2 cons) at Pittwater Rugby Park. Half-time: Warringah 12-3. Referee: Damien Mitchelmore.
PENRITH V RANDWICK at Western Weekender Stadium
Randwick has recovered from back-to-back losses to defeat Penrith 29-12 at Western Weekender Stadium
While they didn't have it all their own way, particularly in a tough first half, the Galloping Greens scored four tries to two to collect a bonus point along the way.
Brumbies flyer Francis Fainifo scored twice for Randwick while returning Wallaby hooker Adam Freier also notched a five-pointer.
Randwick 29 (Francis Fainifo 2, Adam Freier, David Batiratu tries; Danny Kroll 3 cons, pen) d Penrith 12 (Lemarn Ma'a, Solomona Fainifo tries; Jeremy Su'a con) at Western Weekender Stadium. Half-time: Randwick 12-5. Referee: Andrew Lees.
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY V NORTHERN SUBURBS at University Oval No.1
Sydney University survived a second half comeback to defeat Northern Suburbs 35-26 at University Oval No.1.
Boasting an all-Wallaby second row in Dean Mumm and Dan Vickerman, the Students ran in four tries to one in the first half to lead 28-7 at the break with a bonus point already in the bag.
However Norths, who troubled the Students in their round four meeting, never gave up but fell short of upsetting the competition front runners.
Matt Schwager scored a double for Sydney University and Daniel Halangahu kicked five conversions from five attempts, while Wallaby rookie Ben Alexander crossed twice for the Shoremen.
Sydney University 35 (Matt Schwager 2, Nathan Charles, Dan P Kelly, Ed Jenkins tries; Daniel Halangahu 5 cons) d Northern Suburbs 26 (Ben Alexander 2, Jason Peseta, Chris Burnett tries; Chris Burnett 3 cons) at University Oval No.1. Half-time: Sydney University 28-7. Referee: Nathan Pearce.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS V PARRAMATTA at Forshaw Rugby Park
Parramatta led from start to finish to record a bonus point in their 31-12 victory over Southern Districts at Forshaw Rugby Park.
The Two Blues opened up a 17-0 half-time lead, and although both sides scored two tries in the second half the Rebels had given up too much of a head start.
Ten points outside the top six, Parramatta will need a lot of luck to be present at the business end of the season however more victories like today will keep the dream going.
Aaron Mattin starred for the Two Blues with 16 points from a try, a penalty and four conversions from as many attempts.
Parramatta 31 (Brian Sefanaia, Aaron Mattin, Andrew Brown, Winney Paulo tries; Aaron Mattin 4 cons, pen) d Southern Districts 12 (Jackson Mullane, Ben Rigon tries; Michael Black con) at Forshaw Rugby Park. Half-time: Parramatta 17-0. Referee: Anthony Moyes.
MANLY V WEST HARBOUR at Manly Oval
Manly have been buoyed by the return of Wallabies George Smith and Wycliff Palu who inspired the Marlins to a 71-17 thrashing of West Harbour at Manly Oval.
The Marlins scored ten tries to three, with Adam D'Arcy tallying 31 points alone from two tries, nine conversions and a penalty goal.
The bonus point victory takes Manly to within seven points of the top six having won eight of their last ten matches, their only two losses coming against front-runners Sydney University and Gordon.
West Harbour on the other hand will have to recover from conceding the most points in a match this season, but they do maintain their fourth position on the table behind next week's opponents, Randwick.
Manly 71 (Dylan Sigg 2, Adam D'Arcy 2, Elvis Taione, Wycliff Palu, Luke Johnson, Tyrone Smith, Lupini Siale, Jarrod Murphy tries; Adam D'Arcy 9 cons, pen) d West Harbour 17 (Nick Reily 2, Lester Salanoa tries; Ben Martin con) at Manly Oval. Half-time: Manly 31-5. Referee: Stuart Dickinson.