Macarthur Rugby League: Picton and Thirlmere go to the wire, round 12 wrap
There’s nothing like rivalry round to spark a revival, but not many predicted the chaotic scenes that saw Thirlmere come from the clouds at Victoria Park on Sunday. Round 12 wrap.
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The battle for sheep stations lifted a notch in round 12 of the Macarthur RL as a host of rivals locked horns in a massive afternoon of Sunday footy.
Latest from all five matches.
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ROOSTERS STUN RIVALS AT THE DEATH
It’s a rivalry that never fails to deliver, but only the bravest Thirlmere fans would have tipped a battered and broken Roosters to pull off a stunning 26-24 miracle at Picton on Sunday.
Coming off a 76-10 drubbing by Mittagong just seven days earlier, coach James Towerton managed to piece the team back together, orchestrating a revival that will be long remembered at Thirlmere.
Trailing 20-4 nearing halftime, another heavy defeat loomed. Yet, despite losing players to the sin bin throughout the match, the Roosters steadied and amid a series of highlight-reel moments pulled off what many will call the heist of the season.
With one minute remaining, Picton led 24-20 and had the Roosters pinned at their own end. In the blink of an eye, Kye Madden shifted the momentum with a magic one-arm offload that sent Curtis Scott 80m upfield.
In a brave chase, Michael Lett rounded up the former Storm star in the right corner, but it wasn’t enough. With one play remaining, a full width spread ended with Vince
Romeo diving into the left corner.
At 24-all, the ball was tossed to Barry Ruttley, and after another impressive performance the fullback didn’t disappoint. With a sweet strike, after splitting the sticks from touch the left-footer was immediately swamped by euphoric teammates.
“Picton are our arch rivals, so we had to be up for it,” said Towerton after his team’s second win over Picton this year.
“We were still missing six players, and Curtis was crook but played because it was against Picton.
“It’s a huge win for us, they had it wrapped up at one stage and we had three sin binned throughout the game, but it gives us something to build on for the back end of the season.”
After transferring mid-season from the Magpies, Lincoln Miners returned to haunt his former club. Usually a hooker, Miners filled the boots of injured halfback Joey Towerton and was instrumental in the Roosters’ comeback.
Down by 10 in the second half, Miners sent Ruttley across with a grubber kick, then backed up a Scott break five minutes later to make it 20-all.
“He’s a great kid,” Towerton said of the former Illawarra pathways representative. “We knew he was good, but we said he’d have to prove himself to get a start.”
Thirlmere were well served by Romeo, Miners and Scott, but it was a desperate effort by Tim Simona that kept the dream alive.
Prior to the whirlwind finish, Picton’s Justin Stowers appeared headed for a hat-trick in the 74th minute. Up by four, the flying winger seemed certain to score the matchwinner, only to be denied in the corner by a desperate Simona lunge.
TIGERS HIT BACK
They fell short in round one, but The Oaks have managed to turn the tables on cross-town rivals Oakdale, kicking clear after halftime in a commanding 28-4 victory at Sid Sharpe Memorial Oval.
Eager to get back on track after a strong showing against Camden, the Tigers opened up a six-point halftime lead and sealed the win with four unanswered tries. The victory leaves them in outright fourth spot, just two points behind Collegians and Oakdale.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Daniel Payne literally kicked the Tigers into gear.
Backrower Ben Scambary pounced on a grubber, then after earning a repeat set following a massive spiral bomb, Payne put returning centre Chris Taripo across for the first of his double.
Francis Tuigamala barged over for the Workers’ only joy of the day, but it wasn’t enough to repel a confident Oaks.
In a return to their high-octane best, fullback Daniel Smith struck four minutes after the interval, and they quickly added another two within the next eight minutes.
Another fumbled bomb finished in points when Cruise Iosefa cleaned up to cross out wide, before Mitchell Brasington sent Taripo across.
The points dried up in the final half-hour until prop Joey Ualesi signed off in style, crashing through in the closing minutes.
“The boys played well,” said Brasington. “We set it up with our defence and kept turning them away for most of the match.”
With the return of key players and some tactical moves upfront, last year’s grand finalists are shaping up well for another tilt at the title.
“We took plenty of positives out of the Camden game and were better with the return of Taripo, Iosefa and Darren Gough in the backline, he said.
“Oakdale have a big middle, so we started with Joey on the bench this week. Just to make an impact and continue the momentum after the opening exchanges.”
RAMS RUN RIOT
Unbeaten ladder leaders Camden showed no mercy at Narellan, running in 14 tries against the last placed Jets to move six points clear at the top of the table following a resounding 78-6 victory.
Fiohiva Fainga’a continued his good form at centre, scoring three tries on an afternoon where Danny Fualalo, John Ryan and rookie Sam Lynch all notched doubles.
With 20 points, five-eighth Jackson Willis moved 28 points clear at the top of the scoring list, bringing his total to 148.
LIONS JUMP ROOS
The race towards the finals intensified after Mittagong got the better of City 36-26, in a result that sees the Lions jump the Kangaroos into fifth spot after 12 rounds.
In a contest between two evenly match sides, Mittagong got the jump on home turf and were never headed after running in three quick tries.
After piling on 38 points a week earlier, Jake Steadman continued on from where he signed off against Thirlmere, scoring a converted try in the fifth minute.
Joseph and David Eccleston went back-to-back to make it 16-0, before Roos centre Braydon Ferguson put his side on the board just before the break.
City closed to within six after the interval through prop Bryce Shaw, but they didn’t get any closer. Joey Eccleston countered, scoring his second and was joined on the scoresheet three minutes later by Gordon Toomalatai.
With 10 minutes to play, Liam Cassidy extended the lead to 36-20 before Ferguson scored his second try on full time.
WINGER SALUTES WITH FABULOUS FIVE
In the battle of Campbelltown, Ray Mu took centre stage, running rampant with five tries in Collegians’ 44-10 win over the Eagles.
Untouchable outside Leon Longbottom, the crowd favourite had the home fans in raptures at Bradbury, scoring all four of his team's opening half tries, before adding a club record fifth in the 43rd minute.
In all, Collies scored nine tries to two, and with their eighth win moved to second on the competition ladder.
Already missing gun half Donovan Boney, East Campbelltown copped an early blow when five-eighth Brett Lahey was forced from the field with concussion following a nasty collision with wrecking ball prop Tifa Iuta.
Knocked off his feet in defence, Lahey was eventually helped to his feet and accompanied off the ground.
Eagles winger Bose Serukalou finished a long range play before the break to make it 18-6, but it was all Collies after the break. After Mu’s fifth, backrower Tim Crawford bagged a double and was joined on the scoreboard by Blake Clayton and prop Heheako Tuima.
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