It was another CAS round of trying to stop Knox or not lose ground to them.
Trinity had lost only one of their three games and were considered a slight chance against Knox. Waverley, who would be cheering them on, had gone down to Knox last week but had couldn’t afford to slip further behind. They had a tricky game against Cranbrook who had been causing some cheek after a rough start.
Aloys were hosting Barker – neither had won a game yet and barring a draw one would be grinning afterwards.
Barker v Aloys
by “rod skellet”
The bottom two teams of the CAS comp squared off at Hornsby in an important game.
Both sides were plagued with injuries with Aloys missing up to seven front-line players from the start of the season. This meant some strange positional shifts, especially in the backs with 2015 CAS winger Mazaraki playing 10 and CAS inside centre, Slaven at fullback.
The forwards had been affected also; so it was going to be an interesting afternoon. With the Barker 2nd XV winning 26-nil with uncontested scrums due to a lack of Aloys’ props, any injuries to such players would impact the 1st XV game.
First half
The first 15 minutes was enterprising from both sides. The Aloys backs looked more polished with the 9/10 (Heath/Mazaraki) combination working well and giving Flaherty (12) and Slaven (15) room and opportunity.
The downside was that Barker has had lots of tackling practice this year and the Aloys boys could not crack them open.
At scrum time the Reds were gaining an advantage. Unfortunately an injury to Aloys prop (3) Kennedy forced the ref to call for uncontested scrums which favoured Aloys with the more composed backline.
With no score two minutes before the break, an attacking fumble by Barker gifted the ball to Mazaraki (10) who sprinted 55m to score under the posts.
Half-time score: Aloys 7 – Barker 0.
Second half
Aloys started well: chancing their arm with uncontested scrum ball. though Barker showed resilient defence. A nice chip and regather by Mazaraki, followed by a neat offload to Heath (9), had him score wide out. Aloys 12 -0.
Barker needed to lift. A regather by Barker’s 11 Van Woerkem from the ensuing kick-off, followed by a gate-crashing support run by Barker’s Year 10 no. 8 Reimer, put the Reds deep in Aloys half.
Quick ball to the backs found the hands of seagull Coghill (2) who was a man possessed carrying the ball and he crashed through two defenders to score out wide. The kick from Nevison hit the crossbar but bounced over. 12-7 to Aloys.
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Despite uncontested scrums, both packs were giving plenty with Aloys 8 Rahme tackling non-stop and his opposite number Reimer running dynamically with the ball. The pick of the forwards from both sides now was Barkers’ (2) Coghill, who is a fearless ball-runner and enjoys collisions.
After another strong run by him, Barker’s 10 Kitchener weaved past two defenders to score next to the posts. With the extras Barker led 14-12.
Aloys were not done, and with easy scrum ball, their slicker backs looked dangerous, especially Flaherty who despite taking a few big hits was playing well.
Freed (13) made a mid-field break for Aloys and passed inside to Mazaraki who chipped ahead. The ball bounced around the in-goal and the race was on. Despite giving away a 15-metre start Mazaraki came within a whisker of getting his second try, but was foiled by a desperate lunge from Barkers Coghill.
With the clock running down, a clever 22m restart by Barker halfback Tejcek, landed neatly in the arms of Van Woerkom who ran 40 metres to be ankle-tapped ten metres short of the line. However a penalty from the ensuing ruck to Barker added another three points to their total.
Final score: Barker 17 – Aloys 12.
The players
Aloys
Mazaraki (10) – despite playing out of position he showed speed and defended resolutely.
Rahme (8):- ran and tackled hard all day. Never gave up.
Barker
Goghill (2); fearless in attack forcing Aloys to commit two or more players in the tackle giving Barker space wider.
Reimer(8): Will be a handful in two years’ time in year 12, running hard and winning good line out ball.
Photos of Aloys v Barker by “rod skellet”
Trinity v Knox
by “Backsaresmarter”
The light drizzle had just settled and the sun was a slim chance of breaking through as Knox and Trinity trotted out onto TGS No1 Oval at 3.15pm.
Trinity had the right to feel a good chance of an upset. Their forward pack is traditionally strong, with several players touted for rep honours, and Knox have shown signs this season of being rattled early.
First half
As James Armstrong kicked off, Knox showed little hesitation as they used the momentum to score an early try off the back of a series of mauls.
It looked like it was going to be a long day for Trinity.
To their credit Trinity bounced back from the restart and secured a penalty in the Knox 22. They kicked for touch and the resultant lineout drive could not be held. Trinity had returned fire with a forwards try within minutes! And made Knox look shabby into the bargain. Unfortunately the try went unconverted.
Possession changed hands. Knox would put together a series of phases only to knock-on time-after-time. The ball handling by their forwards was inferior.
Finally, Knox put through a high kick which was unfortunately knocked-on by the Trinity 15. The ball was quickly spread wide and James Armstrong scored an opportunistic try.
Knox then followed-up quickly with a superb backline move to flying winger Jack Cane who scored in the corner.
Trinity’s defence was starting to look weak.
Trinity kicked-off and Tom Woodcock scythed through their backline and offloaded. He then scooted around and broke through the line again before a well-weighted pass to Hunter Myers. This series of running rugby led to Connor Grindal scoring near the posts.
At this point Trinity No. 10, Lachlan Ilias and 15, Ryan Longville were kicking the ball in behind Knox. Unfortunately, this strategy only gave the ball to one of Knox’s attacking weapons, Harry Stocks. Also, Trinity were suffering from the same ball handling disease as Knox, and a dropped ball in the backline was toed through and pounced-on by Stocks to score again.
The only real opportunity for Trinity in the first half was a scintillating run by Longville who evaded the Knox outside backs out wide, but a covering tackle by James Armstrong saved a certain try.
Half-time score: Knox 35 – Trinity 5.
Second half
Trinity changed tactics in the second half. They stopped kicking and decided to try and bash through Knox’s defensive line. Unfortunately, the Trinity scrum was struggling. Brady Dawson had the measure of James Wayland and the Knox scrum was rock solid – if not dominant.
Knox’s handling was improving, and what little possession Trinity had was used with Liam Rasch, Sipu Tuitavake and John Bechara trying to breach the Knox defence from the back of rucks and mauls. Unfortunately, they couldn’t bust through very often and Trinity started to look like they were running out of options.
This was a very stop-start game with handling errors and very slow re-scrums. The crowd was getting frustrated.
But Milan Basson was not going to let the crowd down. He ran about 50 metres running through many of the Trinity team to score an impressive solo try.
Neither was Woodcock, who created a slick backline move that broke through Trinity’s defence. His supporting play had him handling again in the same phase. He stepped a couple and outpaced the fullback to the tryline, scoring a brilliant try.
A cricket score was threatening.
However, Trinity’s defence started to stick. Their tackling was improving, unfortunately it was too late to make a difference. Trinity will be disappointed with their efforts in defence and lack of mongrel in their forward pack. The Trinity backs were quiet – with the exception of Longville.
Final score: Knox 49 – Trinity 5.
The players
Best Players – Knox
Milan Basson – Another standout performance
Knox front row – Shutdown Trinity scrum
Stocks – Brilliant ball runner. Must be in contention for CAS
Woodcock – Strong in attack and physical
Bosch – Halves combined well and he kicked 7 from 7!
Best Players – Trinity
Rasch – Dominant bullocking runs
Tuitavake – Looked dangerous in attack
Longville – Did a few good things in attack. Very fast.
Wayland – Had a quieter game than usual but still solid.
Waverley v Cranbrook
by “Anonymous Al”
On a sunny but chilly afternoon at Death Valley the local derby produced an entertaining try fest.
First half
Cranbrook opened the scoring with a strong 40 metre try by 10 Searle who also converted. 7-0
Waverley gained possession from the kick off and controlled the ball to go forward. From a ruck in Brook’s red zone, scrum half Jordan stepped his way through the defence to score under the sticks. 15 Mood converted. 7-7
A long kick from 10 Donaldson resulted in a Waves throw in near Brook’s line. 4 Wright barged over from the lineout to take the lead 12-7. Cranbrook tied the game up again after stringing together some good phases of play for 5 Oliver Burston to crash over for a five-pointer.
The Waves’ led again when 8 Moretti beat the defence to dot down from a few metres out after some strong forward play. Waverley 19-12.
Then the Double V made a break on the Brooks after working their way into their way into their territory. A flick pass from Fuller followed by a long ball from Donaldson gave Mohi enough room to beat two defenders skilfully and race over the try line: Waverley. 26-12
Then Cranbrook came back once more when Brooks’ 8 Matters barged over in the corner after a lineout win and controlled phases . 26-17
Waverley’s Finn Wright was yellow carded for an infringement in a lineout and injuries forced Searle and Waverley’s Yoannidis from the field.
A 50 metre box kick from Jordan resulted in a Brook knock on a couple of metres out from their line. From the ensuing 5 metre scrum the half back dummied and darted his way over for his second try.
Half-time score: Waverley 31 – Cranbrook 17
Second half
Jordan ran the blind side from a scrum on half-way and slipped an inside ball to 6 Clifton who sped 40 metres to carry defenders across the white stripe. 38-17
Next to score were Brook. From a Waverley miss-kick they gained favourable field position and from a ruck 15 Stenmark dived over the try line. He also added the extras. 38-24
Waverley returned serve and attacked from their own red zone. Keen support play resulted in the ball going through several sets of hands before Fuller reached over the line next to the posts. Then. Brooklyn Hardaker threw a long pass to 14 Carr who dived over in corner. 50-24
It got worse for Cranbrook when their best lineout jumper 4 Tom Burston was assisted from the field injured.
Waverley continued to attack confidently to score two more tries. Jordan passed for Carr to score his second; then the two were involved again when Jordan cross-kicked to Carr who stepped inside for his third.
Final score: Waverley 62 – Cranbrook 24.
The teams
Cranbrook gave a good account of themselves in the first half but it was tough going being on the back foot in the second, and losing one of their best players in Searle before the break didn’t help
.
Waverley have players with serious individual skills but their support play and ability to offload the ball were their strong points in an impressive team effort.
The players
Waverley – All team members chimed in with confident play but Clifton was dominant all game. His strong running, speed and ball skills, as well as his defence were first rate. Jordan’s varied and skilful play continually set up attacking opportunities. Moretti and Fuller showed off their skills as did the two wingers Mohi and Carr.
Cranbrook – the best was 7 Kemeny; his high work rate and tough defence made him a stand out in a losing side. Tom Burston was dominant at the lineout and 13 Dickens and Stenmark made an impact.
The wrap-up
Waverley wore Brook down with their willingness and confidence to attack from any part of the field. Cranbrook didn’t give up but were out-gunned.
Scoring
Waverley 62 (Z. Carr 3, T. Jordan 2, F. Wright, L. Moretti, J. Mohi, P. Clifton, T. Fuller tries;. J. Mood 5 cons, Donaldson con) def. Cranbrook 24 (D. Searle, O. Burston, F. Stenmark, M. Matters tries; Searle, Stenmark cons)
Images of Waverley v Barker by https://www.facebook.com
