Colts 1 club rugby round 16: Easts, Souths snare crucial wins nearing finals
Colts 1 club rugby: Easts and Souths have snared crucial wins ahead of the finals while Wests warmed its engines with an eight-try barrage against GPS. More here on how round 16 unfolded.
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Easts and Souths secured crucial wins in round 16 of Colts 1 club rugby as the finals loom large with just two rounds remaining.
Souths beat University 44-25 to jump into third place while Easts dealt with Brothers, only just, winning 37-31 to remain in fourth spot.
At GPS, Wests continued to move closer to their best form with a comprehensive 57-14 win over the Gallopers.
At Sunnybank, Bond University consolidated top spot on the ladder with a 39-18 win over the Dragons after at one stage being level at 14-all approaching half time.
At Crosby Park, prop Byron Murphy garnished a ripping scrum performance when he scored a telling try moments from full time.
Easts led 32-31 before Murphy burrowed over from behind his ferocious forwards and settled the scores at 37-31.
It capped off an enormous performance from the Tigers pack, although some of the gloss was taken off the win when outstanding flanker Noah Raluni clutched at his hamstring after making a break downfield.
Rauluni’s run earnt the field position that led to Murphy’s try but the dynamic Fijian Under-20s weapon had to bring himself to ground after hamstring tightness entered the picture.
Easts will be hoping it was just a niggle because given the way Rauluni played, he is a genuine difference maker when it comes to finals footy.
Himself and No. 8 PJ Su’a were just exceptional while lock giants Tom Nadenic and Max Campbell owned the lineout and spoiled a few of Brothers’ throws to cause headaches.
There was no questions as to who owned the scrum. Easts won that battle fair and square, with the likes of Murphy, Dante Febo and Jakeb Horne key contributorsin a match that went down to the wire.
THE EASTS SCRUM IS SUPERB
The Tigers scrum were the roots for success at Crosby Park.
Twice No. 8 PJ Su’a scooped up the ball and scored on the back of it pushing Brothers backwards.
On the first of those two occasions it was Brothers’ feed into the scrum. Byron Murphy, Jakeb Horne and Dante Febo were fabulous and Su’a couldn’t believe his luck when the ball wound up at his feet.
It was one of Su’a finest games of the season.
Two tries and a timely pilfer which created the field position for Easts’ third try were his finest moments outside of strong ball carrying and good defence.
KARTELO LOVES A GOOD TRY
Easts winger Will Kartelo regularly finds himself finishing a try or having a slick involvement in the lead up to one.
It was the latter on Saturday when he stepped infield twice from his left wing before unloading to No.13 Larry Clark who cruised in for a 20-12 half time lead.
Kartelo had caught a pinpoint cross field kick from flyhalf Sam McGahan, who backed himself when Easts had a penalty advantage.
McGahan operated at his usual high standard kicking for touch and in general play while under pressure.
He almost did too much kicking for the corners but instead, on two occasions, McGahan gave hooker Horne a lineout throw just 5m from the Brothers line.
And so it was the case, three minutes into the second half, when a McGahan kick to the corner gave Easts its chance to strike.
Prop Febo was the one do so, stretching out and scoring for a 27-12 buffer with 30 minutes to go.
Brothers then made it 27-19 when Oli Clark scored but Easts were quick to respond when Horne’s rolling maul try made it 32-19.
BROTHERS FIGHT BACK
Brothers scored two tries in quick succession to have the chance at taking the lead, up 33-32, when Zach Lewis lined up a conversion from about 15m in from touch.
Juan Falaniko, the Brothers No. 8, was everywhere and it was third time lucky when he took the ball from the foot of a fallen teammate and burst away downfield to create a Will Ross try (47th).
Halfback Joe Post ran in support and flicked it off to Ross.
Post was in the thick of it again shortly after when he was the beneficiary of his own support running.
Typical unpredictability and fast feet from fullback Charlie Johnstone, paired with even faster hands from inside centre Sam Condon, saw Brothers break away down field and into striking distance.
Johnstone’s long pass back infield, whilst running at full pelt, landed in the arms of Post who scurried over for a 32-31 scoreline.
It was Muphy and Easts who had the last laugh at The Butchery.
ROUND 16 TALKING POINTS
SMITH AND CO COORDINATE SUPERB DISPLAY
Wests tighthead prop Archie Smith was superb as the Wests forward pack revved its engines and blew GPS away.
Smith was awarded player of the game by Wests coaches but it was an outstanding collective effort from the entire pack that put the Gallopers to the sword on the way to a 57-14 trumping.
The physical Smith, hooker Harry Solofa and Hamish Ward headed a scrum that yielded penalties on the regular.
Behind them, Rory Bliss, Will Pascoe, Ezalle Matautia, Alex Watkins and Tom Doe dug their heels in deep and were busy, clinical and generally on fire, in what was one of Wests’ finest team performances this year.
“I was happy with the balance to our attack,” coach Phil Mooney said.
“Choosing when we were direct and when we went wide.”
KIM CASHES IN
The Wests backline also looked a million dollars and on the receiving end of some excellent game management from flyhalf Will Nason was winger Adam Kim.
Kim scored two tries and with about 20 minutes to go looked right at home playing at centre.
Kim’s dependability on the wing has been grand over the second half of the season with all of the injuries Wests are facing.
He has stepped in and stepped up in a Wests backline that fed off the platform its forwards set for them at Yoku Road.
“We’d been impacted by injury all year, as a lot of teams are, and I feel like we’ve just been working really hard collectively,” Mooney concluded.
“Just getting a little bit better each week.”
Even when Wests were ahead and in the clear, Mooney was pleased with how his side stayed in sixth gear rather than getting loose.
“We kept our shape and discipline pretty well,” he said.
BACK LIKE THEY NEVER LEFT
Wests had been without impressive flyhalf Will Nason (injury) and Nick Conway (Australian Under-20s) but both played on Saturday and showed their class.
Nason, starting at No. 10, was “superb” with his game management and in his return from injury he didn’t miss a beat.
Conway came off the bench for the second half and scored a try, one of eight from Wests on the day.
The other tryscorers were: Adam Kim (two tries), Tom Doe, Jamie Alexander, Hamish Ward, Nick Dunstan, Charlie Bird and Archie Smith.
OH MY GOODNESS, GIDEON!
In Souths’ high-stakes stoush with University, Souths fullback Gideon Lasaqa was the point of difference.
His counterattacking ability is almost second to none in this competition. University fullback Tom Howard also had some tricks of his own on Saturday but Lasaqa had the last laugh with his mighty Magpies turning a 17-15 half time lead into a 44-25 triumph.
The lightning-fast Lasaqa had plenty of help turning the tide.
Winger Viliame Lacudru made onlookers creep forward on their seats in anticipation of his next move, while the kicking and general presence of flyhalf Finn Mackay crucial.
The match was still up for grabs with about 15 minutes left but the big moment came early in the second half when Lasaqa moved to put the game to bed when scoring a 90m stunner against the run of play (39th).
“He was electric,” concluded Souths coach Matt Bennetts.
Bennetts said watching Lasaqa in full flight was just exciting, while the return game of Darling Downs centre Heath Lindenmayer was heartwarming.
Lindenmayer, a member of the 2024 premiership team, suffered a syndesmosis injury during the pre-season trials.
Off the bench on Saturday, he made a stellar return with his midfield punch an instant hit.
Footnote: More on the Sunnybank versus Bond University game coming soon.
Bond University 38 (Tries: Wake, Carter, Robinson, Gillan, Leck, McCauley. Cons: Howarth 4) def Sunnybank 19 (Tries: Gunewardene 2, Vagana. Cons: Cummins 2).
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Originally published as Colts 1 club rugby round 16: Easts, Souths snare crucial wins nearing finals
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