Cacth up games on a Tuesday night for this round, with some very tired kids running around after 4 days on State Championships. Unfortunately there were a number of quite serious injuries during the carnival, with Rohan A from Arana, Isaac S from Norths, Dominic H and Ben E From Redlands, Nick W and Beau B from Centenary, Mase Laul from Souths and David T from Easts all suffering injuries that will keep them out of footy for some time. All the best to these boys for a speedy recovery.
Arana travelled to Redcliffe knowing they had not beaten Redcliffe in a competition game there since before the under 11 comp, and that they had to win to guarantee a place in the Chairman's Trophy. A loss would see them potentially drop to 4th and miss this as well as qualification for the Foundation Shield. Arana started the better and put pressure on the Redcliffe line, but the Dolphin defence held, and it was the home side who eventually opened the scoring with a try from a kick on the 5th tackle in the 13th minute. Arana gradually improved their handling, and replied with a try, also from a kick on the 5th tackle to draw level at 4 all. Just before the break Alex T burst through from a great ball from five eight Geoff to give Arana a 6 point lead (10-4) at the break. Arana spent the second half doing their best to lose the game, turning the ball over to the Redcliffe side on numerous occasions. The Dolphins were much more secure with the ball (in fact completing 16/17 sets in the 2nd half) and drew level 11 minutes after the break when Jack W burrowed through for a try after concerted attack. A determined try from Alex T restored Arana's lead 5 minutes later, and despite Redcliffe getting close on a number of occasions, Arana eventually sealed the match when Jozey scored wide out with 5 minutes remaining, the final score being 18-10. The match was highlighted by a record Arana tackle count from Matt H (32) who also had 13 hitups. Jozey and Nash, who like Matt had played in the State Champs racked up 28 tackles apiece, and Tim C had a great second half with 14 tackles including 2 try-savers. Arana did more than 40 more tackles than they had in any previous game to give some idea of the defensive effort. The effort took its toll on Brendan whose legs cramped in the last minutes of the match and were still cramped over an hour later!
By the minute:
13th min: Redcliffe try; Redcliffe 4-0
20th min: Luke C try; 4-4
24th min: Alex T try/conv; Arana 10-4 (ht)
40th min: Redcliffe try/conv; 10-10
46th min: Alex T try; Arana 14-10
37th min: Jozey try; Arana 18-10 (ft)
In the other games, Logan Bros locked up third spot and a place in the Foundation Shield with a 44-24 victory over Norths, Redlands proved too strong for Easts 38-10, and an injury decimated Centenary side pushed Souths all the way before going down 30-24.
This completes the first full round of the competition, with Redlands undefeated leaders on 18 points. Arana (+206), Logan Bros (+104) and Souths (+64) are locked on 14 points, with Arana going into the Chairman's Trophy, and Logan Bros qualifying for a Foundation Shield quarter-final spot on for-and-against. Redcliffe are 4 points further back on 10, with another 3 points back to Centenary. Easts are on 6, Holy Spirit on 5, with Norths 2 points coming from the bye.
Brad T
11/5/2003
