Barker v St Aloysius
by “rod skellet”
With the school holiday break done and dusted it was a cold and windy afternoon that presented both teams at Barkers No 1 Oval.
With the Barker 2nds going down by two points, 13-11, the signs were not good for the Barker 1st XV with six run-on players from their last game against Cranbrook missing from the starting line-up forcing wholesale changes in both backs and forwards. And some of those changes were unique with Sean Hasegawa playing prop in the 2nd XV for Barker against Cranbrook in the previous round now finding himself on the wing against Alloys marking big Alex Diamond.
Alloys were not without the odd change as well with Nicholas Cramp (8) shifting to LHP and the Hrdina brothers both in the forward pack.
First half
The kick-off had both teams scrapping for possession but it was clear from the outset that the Alloys back line was sharper with Cohen (10), Lawson (12) and Slaven (13) not only putting the lads on the front foot in attack, but also dominating at the tackle, which made clean ball hard to come by for the Reds.
Some benign early penalties in front of the sticks but 30m out gave Diamond some easy kicking practice and Alloys were up by six after 15 minutes. A weird piece of play followed which resulted in a yellow card to one of Barker’s forwards, confusing both Alloys and Barker supporters alike as they were expecting one of the Alloys backs to walk for a dangerous tackle.
The extra man gave more room and opportunity for the Alloys’ forwards and some strong play by Will Halliday (4) had them on the attack. Young Jack Mazaraki twinkle-toed near the touch line at pace, after receiving a near “hospital pass”. He then palmed off one Barker defender before cutting inside to hook up with Lawson who gave the final pass to Slaven (13) who ran under the posts. With the conversion Alloys was leading 13-nil and it was looking ominous for Barker.
But Barker were not about to give up and despite the obvious lack of a backline combination, some consistent possession had them deep in Alloys half from the restart. They kept possession for ten minutes but they were not dangerous since they lacked a true strike weapon in the backs.
They changed tactics by using their forwards and big LHP Tim Anstey, now returned from a six-week concussion absence, showed why he will be a CAS 1st XV player again next year, by making several bullocking runs. He also gave a deft offload to Bruce Thompson who put captain Andy Lloyd over in the corner. The conversion from touch by Lloyd made the score 13-7 to Alloys.
A soft penalty to Alloys from the restart had Diamond extend the lead and with a tight head scrum win as well, Alloys were on the front foot but there was no more scoring in the half.
Half-time score: Alloys 16 – Barker 7.
Second half
One try apiece and some soft penalties had kept Barker in the game and they started the second half with gusto. Some good pressure by their forwards gave Wigglesworth (9) some clean ball and his bullet pass to Thompson at pace enabled him take on his opposite number and slice open the Alloys’ defence. After quick hands Bailey White scored the first of his two tries in the corner.
The conversion was short and Alloys led 16-12.
Alloys gathered the restart, and despite some scrappy play from their forwards Matt Hayes (9) took advantage and ran past or over three Barker players for a fine solo try under the posts. With the conversion the score was 23-12 to Alloys.
It looked too easy for Alloys and things got worse for Barker when Jack Mazaraki finished off a nice backline move for the visitors to score. The extras made the scoreline 30-12 to Alloys, which made the result look beyond the reach of Barker.
But Barker at home are always a difficult proposition and despite having little or no combination in the backs and two of their best forwards in Buffa and Pursell missing, the teams “ticker “ was obvious. Once again Thompson (10) stepped up and with a slicing run and a fine cut-out pass had Bailey White in for his second try in the corner. Unfortunately without a strong kicker the extras were missing again.
With ten minutes to go Alloys were leading 30-17.
After Barkers Caddey (15) gained good field position with some skilful ball-in-hand running, Barker’s forwards got stuck in, and were rewarded with Anstey scoring in the corner. Again the conversion went begging and the scoreline now read 30-22 to Alloys.
Barker had gained some bragging rights with four tries on the board to Alloys three but were still more than a converted try in arrears with two minutes on the clock.
Alloys were to have the last say though and after Diamond and Slaven broke through down the left side Tom Dunlop (15) linked up to score under the posts.
Full-time score: Alloys were deserved winners 37-22.
The players
Best for Alloys
Mazaraki, Halliday, Hayes and Slaven
Best for Barker
White, Anstey, Thompson and Hasegawa.
The wrap-up
Next week’s match ups will be tough for both teams with Alloys heading to face the mighty Knox at Knox, while Barker make the dreaded trip over the bridge to Death Valley to face what will no doubt be a Waverly side smarting from today’s upset loss to Cranbrook.
Scoring
St. Aloysius 37 (M. Hayes, P. Slaven, J. Mazaraki, T. Dunlop tries; A. Diamond 4 cons, 3 pens) def. Barker 22 (B. White 2, T. Anstey, A. Lloyd tries; A. Lloyd con)
Barker v Aloys photos by “rod skellet”
Click on Page 3 for a report on Waverley v Cranbrook
