Group 2 Rugby League: Wrap, results, standouts from round four

One of the competition frontrunners has piled on some long-range tries as it was forced to come from behind in a seesawing Group 2 clash.

Jayden O'Shannessy bagged a double as Sawtell came from behind to beat South Grafton. Picture: Leigh Jensen

Sawtell has maintained its position as one of the early Group 2 frontrunners after coming from behind to defeat South Grafton 30-16 on a wet and muddy Rex Hardaker Oval.

Centre Jayden O’Shannessy crossed for a double as the Panthers were forced to weather a series of early attacking raids and a second-half surge from the Rebels before running in three late tries to seal the side’s third win from four starts this season.

“I was really happy with our first half. I thought our defence was outstanding, we just kept turning them away,” said Sawtell captain-coach Sam Johnstone.

“I think at one stage we defended four or five sets in a row on our line. Credit to South Grafton, they were completing high and kept coming at us but our boys kept defending and turning them away.

“I also liked how we built on that. In the second half we started a little bit slow but once we got into our rhythm we scored a few tries towards the end.”

The Panthers racked up their third win from four games. Picture: D Wigley

In what was the only game of the weekend played in Group 2 and one of just a few matches that took place along the whole East Coast, the Panthers were put under the pump early as an error handed the ball over in dangerous territory.

The Rebels applied some pressure early and remarkably enjoyed possession for seven of the first eight sets of the match, but were unable to crack the Sawtell line.

While the game settled into a rhythm, South Grafton continued to have the better of possession and field position and it eventually showed midway through the half when backrower Nick Torrens crashed over on the right edge.

Despite defending for much of the opening 25 minutes the Panthers hit back right away with a long-range try that started on the left edge, with winger Kalani Morris put into space down the touchline and then doing well to find Robert Brilley on the inside put the home side up 6-4.

Sawtell was building into the game and went in again late in the half when O’Shannessy ended up with the ball after a clever chip from Mikaere Beattie to give his team a 12-4 lead at the break.

But just as they did in the first half, the Panthers put themselves under pressure early in the second with dropped ball.

This time the Rebels capitalised as five-eighth Nicholas McGrady sliced through some soft defence to score just two minutes after the restart and slash the deficit to two points.

South Grafton had their tails up and surged to the lead shortly after when young fullback Samuel Petch got on the end of a clever chip from skipper Todd Cameron.

Petch then slotted the conversion from in front to put his side up 16-12 with just under half an hour to play.

The situation was starting to look dangerous for Sawtell as the Rebels had the momentum.

Captain-coach Todd Cameron helped get the Rebels into the lead. Picture: Leigh Jensen

However the home side worked its way back into some good field position and hit back midway through the half when a nice offload from Billy Youman put Beattie through a gap to score and once again regain the lead.

The blow was particularly bitter for the Rebels, as an attempt to prevent Beattie from scoring resulted in an eight-point try and the Panthers went ahead 20-16.

Then with about 10 minutes to play came a moment that helped seal the game.

With his team attacking the Sawtell line, South Grafton’s Nicholas McGrady put a grubber in behind the Sawtell line.

Panthers centre O’Shannessy reacted well to take the ball and with no one in front of him he took off up the line, running 95m to score a length-of-the-field try and seal the match.

The home side then capped off the win with a nice try to winger Kalani Morris down the left-hand touchline.

Billy Youman set up a crucial second-half try. Picture: D Wigley

The victory takes Sawtell to a record of three wins and one loss from the team’s first four games in what has been a positive start to the season for the side.

“I still think we’re a long way from playing our best footy, which is pleasing,” said Johnstone. “If you’re still winning but you’ve got areas to improve, that’s a positive.

“Obviously I’d like to be four from four but three from four is still a good result. I think we’ll just get better and batter as the year goes on. The combinations will get better as we play more footy together and I think we’ll be firing when the finals come around.

“We’re still getting a few things wrong at the moment but we’re addressing them and we’re getting better every week.”

Sawtell 30 (O’Shannessy 2, Brilley, Beattie, Morris tries; Beattie five goals) defeated South Grafton 16 (Torrens, McGrady, Petch tries; Petch two goals)