Cousin’s debut delight for Marsden; Mabel and Keebra ready for finals
National Schoolgirls Cup: Debut delights for Marsden SHS ahead of a the big four, Ipswich, Keebra, Mabel and Marsden, clashing in the semi-finals. Read how round 5 unfolded here.
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There was a debut delight for Marsden SHS’s Leilani Taofinuu after she made her National Schoolgirls Cup debut alongside her cousin, Evelyn Roberts, in round 5’s blockbuster yesterday.
HOW ROUND 4 UNFOLDED AFTER TWO BLOCKBUSTERS
Marsden SHS won a rip-roaring affair 16-10 which sets the scenes for next week’s semi-finals which will also involve Ipswich SHS and Keebra Park SHS.
In a physical contest, Marsden’s defence held up while they showed nice enterprise to also score 16 points.
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Marsden led 10-nil after tries to each second rower, Rosa Lefono and Deleni Paitai.
Lefono’s try was a beauty, involving a lovely exchange of passing between Angel Austin and Leilani Taofinuu.
Mabel Park got back to 10-4 at the break, and it was anyone’s game.
Down but not out, Mabel Park came hard at Marsden during the second half. Twice they looked likely to score, but Marsden hooker Raewyn Oloamlii’s typified Marsden’s goal line defence with two telling stops.
Once she halted a dangerous inside runner switch move from the ruck, and then in the next tackle Ololamlii helped hold Mabel Park up over the line.
Having repelled Mabel on several occasions, Marsden’s back five and forwards worked their side away from the danger zone. Then five-eight Evelyn Roberts wove her magic to combine with yellow head gear wearing winger Austin who scored.
Still Marsden kept defending, with Taofinuu producing an important tackle of Mabel’s Mamele Misa while Marsden’s Rosa Lefono claimed the tackle of the match on Mabel’s Amanii Misa.
Eventually Mabel crossed courtesy of Taleigha Kingston-Francis, but it was a bridge too far for the home side.
Marsden coach Shane Hammond said he was pleased with the way his side handled the atmosphere of a big away match in a foreign environment. “We stuck to our game plan a lot better this week than last week.
“Full credit to Mabel Park. They had a really big second half and our middles had to scramble a bit to hold them up.
“They would have taken positives out of their loss.’’
Mabel Park SHS coach Chace Carey said it was all about building into the finals and the middle forward performance, particularly that of Sharlene Vaili and Armarni-Lea Auvae.
“Defensively we did a good job, but credit to Marsden for finding some space,’’ Carey said.
It was a big moment for cousins Leilani Taofinuu and Evelyn Roberts to play alongside each other again.
“We have not played alongside each other for a while due to injuries, but it was good to get on the field alongside her in her debut.
“I am super proud of her and all her efforts have helped where we are today.
Taofinuu said living with her cousin had developed a deep bond, both family wise and rugby league wise, which showed on the field.
In the Ipswich SHS v St James’ clash, Ipswich coach Alex Nicholson said he was pleased with his team’s enthusiasm when challenged early in the game. “Some teams carry a slow start longer than what they want to, but our girls dialogue addressed effort areas needing attention.
In was a team performance, but Pauline To’o, Ella O’Dea and Bailey Sorbello had amazing matches. They were very much a terrific trio.
“With players returning from injury, we will have a few selection headaches selecting a squad for next week’s semi-finals.’’
Nicholson praised the endeavour of St James in their first season in the competition. “I have a lot of admiration for St James and the infrastructure they’ve built around their girls.
“There are so many opportunities that the girls there have to play high level football like Confro and Titans Cup. I look forward to seeing them grow in future seasons.’’
St James coach Ana Fotu said proudest thing from our St James Girl’s this season was seeing the girls compete to the “very end and continue playing with intent until the final whistle regardless what the score was’’.
It was a group well led by Aspen Nakao, Layla Satui and Harmony Harris who encouraged others with their chat.
Players like Tina Gaw, Bernadeatte Papani, Saili Chan Kee and Kina Vainga led with their actions.
Big Improvers included Tina Gaw and Saili Chan Kee.
“They have grown in confidence over the year from club footy to now having them here in school.
“Both player’s have alot of potential and with a new rugby league excellence put in place we are very excited to see how much growth we can get out of them and a number of player’s we will have in the program.’’
Originally published as Cousin’s debut delight for Marsden; Mabel and Keebra ready for finals
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