2003_Trial

The Panthers won their second trial of the season by a similar margin to the first, but in "reverse" order. Last week they jumped away to a 22-0 lead against the Magpies before relaxing, whereas this week they started slowly, trailling the Dolphins 12-0 till just before halftime, but then putting on 26 unanswered points.

Redcliffe dominated possession for the first 20 minutes and were rewarded with back to back converted tries in the 8th and 10th mins. Arana never panicked however and struck back just before halftime with 2 tries in 2 minutes, one of them converted by Luke to only trail by 2 at the break. The first try was a simple one to Alex T after sustained attack on the Redcliffe line while the second was better constructed with slick hands putting Mitchell over in the corner.

The second half opened tightly, although Arana had a little more possession and missed a couple of scoring opportunities. After 10 mins, a fine individual effort by Josey put the Panthers in the lead for the first time in the match. Mitchell scored his second try 6 minutes later after a great burst, running off a superbly timed pass from Geoff. Luke's conversion put the Panthers 8 points clear, and Rodger sealed the win scoring from a strong burst close to the line with 5 minutes remaining. Both team's handling deteriorated in the damp condition in the closing stages.

This was another good pre-season hitout for the Panthers with contributions from all across the paddock, with Brendan and Nash again prominent in close, and Geoff settling further into the five-eight role. Both wingers played strongly, with Mitchell showing glimpses of his best, making a number of breaks. In the forwards the workload was shared around with Zac pulling off some great one-on-one hits and the back row of Rohan, Matt and Josh working tirelessly. Josey and Alex T also ran strongly, and Phippsy proved a handful for the Redcliffe pack. Brendan had his usual strong game at hooker, and Doug, filling in from the B's, did some good work off the bench.

Redcliffe showed some good patches under their new coach Terry Webb with Angus prominent at halfback, and a couple of new faces performing well - no doubt they will be a force again as the season progresses.

Arana now have a week off before the competition proper, although most will play in the Met North trials on Thursday March 13.

Brad T

3/3/2003