The 1st grade colts game at Uni yesterday promised to be the game of the year so far in Colts and it certainly delivered yesterday. 1v2, best 2 attacking and defensive records, one undefeated and one with a very close loss earlier in the year. It was also the only time these two sides would meet outside the semis so payback for the loser would be a long time coming. The game could have been damaged with both sides having players missing but thankfully this was not the case.
As the teams were warming up I was taken by the size of one of the Uni locks. Massive player who stood head and shoulders over everyone and easily outweighed every other forward. No surprise to find out that it was Willie Skelton's brother.
The game commenced and Manly were able to control the ball and kept pressure on Uni for the first 10 minutes with a goodvcombination of strong forward play and some hard direct runing from their inside backs but Uni were showing why they have the best defensive record and were able to withstand all that Manly threw at them. When Uni got the ball they looked dangerous and were looking to throw the ball wide and use their very fast outside backs. However, manly with some great defence and a lot of good scrambling cover were able to make sure that the early score remained even at nil all.
After about 15 minutes Manly scored first from a penalty. From the restart Manly kept ball in hand with a game plan of not kicking too much and giving the Uni back three any chance to counter-attack. Manly's back row began to make inroads and the no.7 made a great break and had the 8 in support who beat a couple of tackles to be bought down just short of the line. This gave Manly field position and allowed them to pressure Uni again. From a scrum and a couple of rucks Manly spread the ball wide and the 8 again supporting the play well was able to cross in the corner. The conversion missed but Manly had the lead 8- nil.
This stirred Uni into action and from turnovers (Uni were very good at attacking the ball and stripping it to effect turnovers) scored twice In quick time to take a 10 - 8 lead. Manly regrouped and came back at Uni for sustained period. Good work by the 7 and 8 again saw the 8 make a long break up the middle which again put Manly in good field position. They again combined strong forward play and some good back line movement to recapture the lead when they scored in the corner. A good conversion saw Manly retake a 15 - 10 lead. With the half winding down Uni put pressure on Manly from another turnover and right on half time kicked a penalty to take the half time score to 15 - 13.
The second half commenced with Manly knowing that Uni were fired up to come back at them. However early on from one attacking play the Manly 14 took an intercept and after taking forward put in a kick to the middle of the field. The supporting Manly player was able to outpace the Uni defence over 20 meters to fall on the ball over the line to increase the Manly lead. The number on the scorer's jumper 1. That's right it was the prop who showed some great pace to score.
Uni didn't lay down and no Manly player expected them to. Uni threw everything at Manly but Manly had an answer for it. The forward work at the breakdown and in general play was hard and aggressive from both teams. Manly seemed to just shade Uni in the set pieces with a strong scrum and a couple of steals in the line outs. Uni have some quick outside backs and they tried to use them whenever they could. Again manly's defence stood strong with the centre pairing making their tackles. One unfortunate event though was a serious looking injury to the Uni 14, one of the quickest players I have seen this year. Hope he is alright.
The other Uni winger showed good pace and strength to score a try in the half but every time Uni were able to score Manly were able to counter with a score of their own. In the second half Uni scored three unconverted tries whereas Manly were able to score three tries, convert 2 and kick a couple of penalties.
Uni were possibly the fitter of the two sides and appeared to be physically stronger than Manly. However,Manly were committed to what they were doing and stuck to their game plan. Best for Manly was the entire team but mention is made of the 1, 5 and 8 and in the backs 10, 12, 14 and 15. Uni were best served by the 6 and 8 and in the backs I thought that 13 and 11 were good
