It was a brief return to Friday night/Sunday football for Round 13 with two Friday evening games and 2 Sunday games.
Arana hosted an illness-depleted Tigers outfit on Friday evening at Dawson Parade, only 2 nights after the Panthers had beaten Souths at Easts home ground. Easts put in a willing effort but in the end were no match for the slick Arana outfit going down 34-4 after trailing 14-4 at halftime. To Easts credit they tried right to the end and the Panthers had to work hard for all their points. Alex T managed a double for the second game in a row, with Rob, who was devastating in attack, also picking up two tries. Both these players now head off to Townsville for the State Titles - Rob in Rugby and Alex in League - good luck to both of them!! Other try scorers were Josh, Josey and Brent, who picked up his first try of the season, a fitting reward for the great game he played. Luke kicked 3 conversions. Some downsides of the night were the late sin-binnings of three players, plus broken fingers to Brendan and Rodger, which will see them out of action for a few weeks. Rodger actually broke his in the pre-match warmup, and he still played the whole match! It was good to see Rohan back to his best, topping the tackle count with 20, and a special mention for Dean who pulled off 19 tackles at five-eight. Josey was back to his best, all of his 16 hit-ups causing problems for the Tiger defence.
By the minute:
9th min: Alex T Try/Luke Goal - Arana 6-0
14th min: Josh Try - Arana 10-0
23rd min: Rob Try - Arana 14-0
26th min: Easts Try - Arana 14-4 (Half-Time)
32nd min: Alex T Try - Arana 18-4
34th min: Rob Try/Luke Goal - Arana 24-4
41st min: Brent Try - Arana 28-4
51st min: Josey Try/Luke Goal - 34-4 (Full-Time)
The other Friday night game saw Redlands host Redcliffe, both sides having been defeated in tough games on Wednesday night. The Parakeets were not going to be denied twice in a row however, and the clash of the 2001 grand-finalists turned into a one-sided romp for the home side, with them eventually running out winners 44-0. Redcliffe have been struggling over the past few weeks, and will no doubt be happy that the competition break has arrived to allow them regroup for the run to the finals. Redlands representative players shone through on Friday, with them all getting through the game and ready to head north for the State Carnival.
The first Sunday game was at Brandon Park where the Souths side, desperate to break a 4 game losing streak, hosted Centenary, fresh from their victory over Redlands on Wednesday night. The game turned out to be a "try-fest" with some fantastic attacking football displayed. Souths started better and, with Mase bagging an early hat-trick, they moved out to an 18-6 lead just before half-time. Just before half-time he looked like making it four, but a fantastic chase and tackle by Tim Mc snuffed out the chance, and Centenary regained possession, managing to score a try themselves just as the half-time hooter sounded - this 12 point turnaround in the shadows of the break was to prove critical, as trailling only 18-12 the Panthers were well and truly in the game. The second half saw play go from end to end with both sides setting up heaps of scoring opportunites - with 5 minutes to go the score had progressed to 30 all, with 3 great conversions from the sideline from Tim Mc keeping Centenary level. A controversial penalty to the Panthers 42 metres out saw Tim once again kick for goal, and he made no mistake, giving the visitors a 2 point buffer. A last minute converted try sealed the victory 38-30. As on Wednesday night, when they were narrowly defeated by Arana, Souths were unlucky not to at least pick up a point, but there is no doubt their defence will have to tighten up as they have scored 128 points in their last 5 games (an average of nearly 26 per game) but amazingly lost all of them!!! As expected Logan Brothers proved far too strong for Slacks Creek at Civic Park in the other Sunday game running out 52-6 victors. Once again the Lions were competitive up to about 20 minutes into the match, but 3 quick tries before half-time snuffed out their hopes of an upset. Matt S had a fine game for the Brothers boys, and will be looking to take that form to Townsville with him.
The top four teams all won on the weekend, and they have started to open up a gap from the teams battling for fifth place. Arana on 24 hold the competition lead with Redlands, Centenary and Logan only separated by for and against 4 points back. There is a further four point gap to Redcliffe on 16, with Souths still out of the five on 14. Easts on 10 still have some chances of grabbing a semi spot. Slacks Creek on 4 remain in 8th position.
The next round is not till Tuesday July 9, so hopefully the break will allow a lot of players to get over niggling injuries. To the 19 boys (18 from our competition) travelling to Townsville to represent Brisbane in the State U14 titles, all the very best for a successful, injury-free carnival. To all the other, enjoy the rest!!
Brad T
24/6/2002
