Tigers push Pride all the way in narrow defeat
Tully Tigers coach Paul Ketchell has praised the effort of his players after they suffered a narrow defeat to the Northern Pride Reef Kings at Stan Williams Park.
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Tully Tigers coach Paul Ketchell has praised the effort of his players after they suffered a narrow defeat to the Northern Pride Reef Kings at Stan Williams Park.
The Tigers outscored the Reef Kings four tries to three on Saturday afternoon, but could only convert one of their four-pointers to give the Pride enough of a sniff to mount a late comeback.
With scores locked at 18-all late in the game, both sides had the chance to take the lead with a penalty goal, but the Tigers’ Benn Campagnolo and Reef Kings’ Quinlyn Cannon both shanked their attempts.
An Evan Child field goal in the dying seconds of the game was all that could separate the two sides after a physical 80 minutes, with the Reef Kings snatching a 19-18 victory.
Despite the final result, Ketchell was upbeat about his side’s performance.
“We got to our shape a lot better, the boys are really buying into what we want to do and they’re just backing each other,” he said.
“They’re playing against the Pride, which is a different level to what they’re used to, so I think the Pride should have a look at themselves because the boys are going really good out there.
“They’re a club side doing their best and they’re playing as a team, that’s the most important thing to me, they’re not giving up and they’re sticking together.
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“They’re all just playing together, they’re solving problems together and they’re going really good.”
Ketchell said it was a promising sign for the proud club, which endured one of the toughest years in its history in 2019, drawing one game and losing 17 in a winless, wooden spoon season.
Forwards Mat Laumea, Masi Nona, Dan Sagigi and Ben Cocciolone were dominant against the younger Pride outfit, while halfback Campagnolo was in everything for the orange and black.
The young playmaker was shifted into the halves against the Reef Kings, after playing in the opening round at fullback.
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“Benny Campo’s really having a crack,” Ketchell said.
“He might make a couple of mistakes but he doesn’t worry about them, he just gets on with the job.
“He’s got a mouth and I need someone with a bit of direction, but he might go back to fullback next week.
“We’ve got a couple of boys back next week so we’ll take it from there what the side looks like.”
Northern Pride Intrust Super Cup coach Ty Williams said Child showed his class in icing the game with just seconds left on the clock, but admitted it was a “scrappy affair”.
“The lads probably learned a little bit about ball control and how it has a massive effect,” he said.
SCOREBOARD
NORTHERN PRIDE REEF KINGS 19 (Ewan Moore 2, Dallas Skardon tries; Quinlyn Cannon 3 goals; Evan Child field goal) d TULLY TIGERS 18 (Benn Campagnolo, Jackson Laza, Ben Cocciolone, Cody Macintosh tries; Phil Nona goal)
NORTHERN PRIDE GIANTS 28 (Aiden Kawiri 2, Dmitri Ahwang, Javid Bowen, Josh Stuckey, Heilum Luki tries; Jack Campagnolo 2 goals) d CAIRNS BROTHERS 0
Originally published as Tigers push Pride all the way in narrow defeat