Students and Woodies book spots in prelim finals; Easts topple Norths and Randwick stun Pirates to progress to week two
Shute Shield Finals Week 1 Review by Brittany Mitchell, photos by www.seiserphotography.com
Sydney University has joined Eastwood in the preliminary finals after a Bernard Foley drop goal in the dying seconds snatched victory from the jaws of the Manly Marlins.
Eastwood’s 33-27 victory over Southern Districts on Saturday saw them book the first place in the third round of the finals, while (as a top-four qualifier) losers Southern Districts will have one more shot at qualification next weekend. Souths will next week face Randwick after the Galloping Greens surprised West Harbour at the weekend, crashing to a 37-24 victory to progress to the semi-finals.
In yesterday’s other match, Eastern Suburbs were just too strong for Northern Suburbs, notching up a 36-27 win to guarantee their place in next weekend’s semi-finals. They will face the Manly Marlins who, like Souths, get another shot at the preliminary finals after going down to the second-seeded Students earlier today.
Losses for West Harbour and Northern Suburbs end both teams’ finals campaigns.
Sydney University v Manly
In a huge match, Manly took control early on but it was the composed Students who stole the win in the dying seconds with a Bernard Foley drop goal on the final whistle.
From the opening whistle, Manly attacked hard at every tackle and earned a penalty in front, which was quickly converted. A Marshall Milroy break through a weak tackle resulted in a five pointer and extended the Marlins’ lead to 10-0 soon after, before a great line from Pat Leafa saw the hooker slice through the midfield and cross for his side’s second try.
The conversion pushed the lead 17-0 before a yellow card to Jordy Reid put them on the back foot and allowed the Students to create an overlap and put fullback Tom Kingston over in the corner. A quick counter attack from the Students saw Nick Phipps score right on half-time making the score 17-10.
Despite missing a number of attempts at the posts early in the second period, Milroy finally found the target on the third attempt, stretching the scoreline to 20-10 with 25 minutes remaining.
Despite being denied by a TMO decision, the Students were eventually rewarded after several huge scrums resulted in Tom Boidin going over. The Marlins quickly hit back, slotting a penalty to make it 23-17 with ten minutes left but Students’ replacement James Dargaville made his fresh legs count , crossing in the corner with his first touch of the game to close the gap to a single point, 23-22.
But with the Marlins struggling to hold on to the narrowest of leads, the Students forced their way into range allowing flyhalf Bernard Foley to slot a field goal on the bell, stealing the win and ending the match, 25-23.
Sydney University 25 (Tom Boidin, James Dargaville, Tom Kingston, Nick Phipps tries; Bernard Foley con, dg) d Manly 23 (Marshall Milroy, Pat Leafa tries; Marshall Milroy 2 cons, 3 pens) at Manly Oval. Referee Damien Mitchelmore.
Eastwood v Southern Districts
Eastwood have overrun Southern Districts, running in five tries to three in a high intensity match, which featured plenty of huge hits and a number of great centre field breaks.
In the opening minutes, Souths looked to be dominating Eastwood with an early penalty and a quick sideline try through Alex Gibbon, after the Woodies failed to kick the ball out from a penalty. The converted try put Souths ahead 10-0 after 20 minutes but Eastwood hit straight back, regaining the ball from the restart and moving it quickly to cross in the corner for their first points of the match, courtesy of Nick Batger.
Another penalty for the Rebels pushed their lead to 13- 5 after 30 minutes but a huge hit from Woodies’ No. 8 Locky McCaffrey changed the course of the match, turning over possession and bringing his team seven points when Hugh Roach snuck through a gap to cross beside the posts and Ben Batger added the extras.
The 13-12 scoreline in the Rebels’ favour remained until the break, but soon in the second period, a Jimmy Hilgendorf interception and a Ben Batger conversion put the Woodies in the lead for the first time, 19-13. Minutes later, the Woodies were over the line again after Michael McDougall made a huge downfield break from the kick off and was back in support to cross over the line, extending the Woodies’ lead to 26-13. Ten minutes later the Woodies made it 21 unanswered points when Benn Robinson crossed the line for his side’s fifth try.
With the score at 33-13 with 30 minutes remaining, the Rebels began their fight back. With only twenty minutes left, they were rewarded with a try from captain Steve Fualau, who crashed through Eastwood’s defence to bring the score to 33-20. Almost ten minutes later, the Rebels were on attack again with Nick Cummins making a huge break and kicking ahead for the Rebels to regather. Although Eastwood’s defence held strong for several plays, they just couldn’t keep the Rebels out and ran out of defenders to allow Rob Horne to cross and Rohan Saifoloi to add the extras to close the gap to 33-27. With neither side able to get the advantage in the closing minutes, the Woodies held on to secure the win and move straight on to the preliminary finals in two weeks’ time.
Eastwood 33 (Nick Batger, Jimmy Hilgendorf, Michael McDougall, Hugh Roach, Benn Robinson tries; Ben Batger 4 cons) d Southern Districts 27 (Steve Fualau, Alex Gibbon, Rob Horne tries; Rohan Saifoloi 3 cons, 2 pens) at T.G. Millner. Referee Edward Martin
West Harbour v Randwick
Randwick has surprised West Harbour to knock the Pirates out of finals competition. The Galloping Greens came out firing early in the match, crossing the line several times before the Pirates could start to get a foothold in the match. The Pirates began their fightback late in the second half, but the Galloping Greens were too strong and took the match 37 to 24, helped by doubles from wing Ethan Ford and centre Peter Samu.
Randwick 37 (Ethan Ford 2, Tristan Goodbody, James Helliwell, Peter Samu 2 tries; Marc Kotezcky 2 cons, pen) d West Harbour 24 (Henry Seavula, Rory Sidey, Shaun Treweek tries; Jack Debreczeni 3 cons, pen) at Concord Oval. Referee Angus Gardner
Eastern Suburbs v Northern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs were just too good for the Shoremen, running in four first-half tries to one. Although the Shoremen fought back after the break, the Beasties’ lead was great for them to overcome. A double from Corey Brown put them back in the mix but the Beasties held on for the win, ending the Shoremen’s finals campaign.
Eastern Suburbs 36 (Damon Anderson, Mitch Chapman, Will Fay, Pauliasi Taumoepeau, Alex Walker tries; Henry Hudson 4 cons, pen) d Northern Suburbs 27 (Corey Brown 2, Ben Matwijow, Bill Meakes tries; Corey Brown 2 cons, pen) at Chatswood Oval. Referee James Leckie
