Waverley v Barker
by “sidelineview”
On a very pleasant and sunny winter’s afternoon at Death Valley, Waverley and Barker played a entertaining game of rugby which saw the Double V bounce back into the winner’s circle.
First half
Both teams started strongly but Barker gained the early ascendency to post the first points of the match. #13 Matt Nevison supported well to score a try after some strong lead up work by the Barker forwards. 5-0 Barker.
Waverley returned serve not long after with some good phase play. #13 Jake Smirnotis backed up close to the line to cross for his team’s first five-pointer. #9 Cooper Murphy converted to make the score 7-5 Waverley.
A serious head clash from the kick-off saw one of Waverley’s best players and vice-captain, #8 Justin Cooper stretchered from the field with concussion. He was taken to hospital so let’s hope he’s OK and has a speedy recovery.
Waverley continued on with their form reversal from the week before. #12 Tom Fuller split the Barker defence on the halfway mark and made an incisive 35 five metre break. The Double V worked hard to control the ball and from an ensuing ruck #6 Zac Cardassilaris broke free to score under the posts. Murphy converted. 14-5 Waverley.
Barker didn’t waste time putting their heads down and after some impressive phases of play, Captain and #7 Andy Lloyd’s support play was rewarded with a try out wide. 14-10 Waverley.
From the kick-off Barker was forced into touch. The Double V took advantage to work their way to within ten metres of the red team’s try line. # Lachlan Drew-Morris stormed onto a short inside ball from #10 Dion Narayan and used his big frame to barge over under the posts. Murphy converted.
Half time score: Waverley 21 – Barker 10.
Second half
Barker immediately put the pressure on Waverley and through strong forward play were pressing their line. But against the run of play #14 Jaya Yoannidis stole an intercept pass and outpaced the defence to race 90 metres for a try. Murphy was successful with the conversion. 28-10 Waverley.
Barker once again applied pressure to the opposition’s defence through their hard working forwards and this time they converted the advantage into points. #12 Andrew Saar forced his way over from five metres out. Saar converted his own try to make it 28-17 Waverley.
Then the Waves scored the try of the match on the grandstand side of the field. The home crowd’s boisterous cheering echoed around Queen’s Park as they applauded their team all the way to the try line and back to the halfway mark.
It happened like this.
#15 Tyzac Jordan fielded a Barker kick on the burst ten metres out from his own line and caught the defence napping. He went on a 50 metre jinking run before putting a chip kick over the last line of defence. Narayan, who was backing up in support used his speed and skill to gather the ball in; he passed to replacement forward Ben O’Sullivan who had kept up with the play. O’Sullivan managed to slip the ball back inside to Narayan to see him race over the white stripe to score the last five pointer of the match.
It was an exciting finish to a good game of rugby and enough to make the Waverley faithful forget about last week. It was also the perfect ending to home games at Queens Park for the Waverley Year 12 players.
Full time score: Waverley 33 – Barker 17.
The teams
Waverley still struggled to win a lineout but apart from that the forward battle was fairly even. Both packs competed fiercely and produced a fairly low mistake and penalty rate to make for a flowing game of rugby.
Barker – their forwards played up to expectations even though the Waverley team was vastly improved.
The players
It was difficult to single forwards out from either team; all 16 forwards plus replacements deserve a mention. They worked their backsides off and played tough to lay a platform for their respective teams to win.
However, in the backs there was a difference: Waverley’s #10 Narayan outplayed his counterpart Thompson. Smirnotis put in his best performance of the season. Murphy lead his team around well, Jordan had a strong game at fullback; winger Zac Carr’s defence was rock solid and Fuller and Yoannidis were outstanding.
#9 Wiggelsworth and # 12 Saar were the pick of the Barker backs.
Yoannidis received the Barker player’s game ball and Lloyd won the Waverley player’s award.
The wrap-up
Barker didn’t play a bad game and Waverley had to work hard for it, but their improved ball control and superior backline sealed the deal.
Scoring
Waverley 33 (J. Smirnotis, Z. Cardassilaris, L. Drew-Morris, J. Yoannidis, D. Narayan tries; C. Murphy 4 cons) def Barker 17 (M. Nevison, A. Lloyd, A. Saar tries; A. Saar con)
Other results
Waverley won the 2nds, 3rds and 15As. Barker won the 16As and 14As.
All were close games
Images of Waverley v Barker and on Home Page by https://www.facebook.com
Click on Page 3 below for a report on Cranbrook v Trinity by “rod skellet”
