With both teams coming off losses this game was shaping up to be Desperate Dan type of stuff.
The Match
Much of the first half was played in the air with both sides kicking for territory. Jono Lance’s searching kicks for the Force were very effective in getting behind the Reds line and turning them around. Although McIntyre’s return kicks were not so effective, the class of Goromaru could be seen when the ball made it into his hands.
First blood was drawn by the Force in the fourth minute when Lance converted the first of many penalties. The Reds discipline was not the best throughout the match and Lance took advantage every chance he got.
Hearts were set a flutter in the 13 minute when the ball was lost by the Reds just inside the Force half. Cottrell displayed some soccer skills kicking through and it was a race to the line. Eventually the ball was grounding in goal by a scrambling Reds defence despite the best efforts of a couple of Force chasers. Frisby forced a knock on at the resulting scrum by the man who started it all and the Reds escaped.
The handling errors by the Reds were alleviated by the good performance of their scrum. We should possibly give them the benefit of the doubt though as there was some rain in the morning and it was hot and humid. I think the only reason that the Force did not have as many dropped balls is because they just did not have much possession.
Very rarely does an Australian derby have very few tries scored. With the half time score just 3-9 it looked like we were in for one of those rarities.
In the second half the handling errors and infringements by the Reds continued but it wasn’t all one way traffic. The force had their fair share of issues as well and the game entered the final minute with the score still being entirely made up of penalty conversions – 6 -15.
After 10 minutes of bashing away at the Reds line Lance kicked across field for Luke Morahan to go in for the game’s only try in the 80th minute. Ian Prior stepped up to convert and continue the Force’s winning streak at Suncorp.
An observation – If the new laws were meant to open up the breakdown it doesn’t seem to be working. Both derbies this weekend have resulted in some significant chaos at the breakdown. Particularly late in the game.
In other news – Baby Reds (43) did a number on the Forcelets (7), even if handling became difficult towards to end of the match.. Cambell Magnay & Taniela Tupou showed the benefit of having a year in the “system” behind them.
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The Game Changer
Don’t think that there was really just one incident that changed the game. The Force won it fair & square with their better discipline and handling.
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The G&GR MOTM
Has to be Jono Lance. He ran the Force attack with skill and patience. His 100% from the kicking tee and excellent from hand kicking was just icing on the cake.
Honourable mention to Ben Daley – If only for lifting Guy Millar off the ground in the 20th minute.
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Wallaby watch
As per MOTM, Lance is not doing his chances any harm with his form in the first two rounds. However I would be very surprised if there was not a distinct Reds tinge in the Wallaby front row.
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The Details
Crowd: 17,533
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]Reds : 6
Tries: NIL
Conversions: NIL
Penalties: Goromaru (2)[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]Force : 22
Tries: Morahan
Conversions: Prior
Penalties: Lance (5) [/one_half]
Cards & citings
None
