Round 6: Junior Clydesdales put to the test by rival Ipswich Jets

The Western Clydesdales saddled up and headed down the range to face longtime rivals Ipswich Jets at the weekend. The junior squads were put to the test by tough opposition. Find out how the sides fared and who the top performers were here.

Jake Durie, Mackenzie Zeller and Hunter Price.

LEAGUE: Up against longtime rivals Ipswich Jets, the Western Clydesdales juniors were put to the test at the weekend.

The Jets made the most of their opportunities picking up two wins from three games.

Connell Challenge 16s

The Clydesdales suffered an uncharacteristic heavy loss against the Jets.

Outplayed in both halves they let in eight tries in 40-20 defeat.

Ill discipline cost the Clydesdales who lost a player in each half to the sin bin.

They have now dropped to 7th on the ladder, with the Falcons sitting above them in 6th ahead of their final game of the season this Saturday.

Meninga Cup 18s

Taking out the Jets in the biggest upset of the round, the U18s won 28-22.

Matthew Drews bagged a double and Brock Sankey kicked four from five conversions in what was arguable their most impressive win of the season.

Leading 12-10 at halftime, the Clydesdales scored three tries in the second half to the Jets’ two, ultimately sealing the win.

They head into this weekend’s clash against the Falcons sitting 6th on the ladder and are very unlikely barring a major upset to play finals.

Harvey Women’s 19s

Mixing it with the best side in the competition on Sunday, the U19s narrowly went down losing 22-20 despite scoring more tries than the Jets.

The Clydesdales crossed the line five times to the Jets four, but inaccuracy from the kicking tee proved costly with the girls missing out on 10 points.

Granted, there were some unlucky deflections off the post and kicks from tough positions out wide, missing all five conversions attempts ultimately cost them the major upset.

“In the three years I’ve been coaching the side this performance definitely ranks up there as one of the best,” coach Russell Jones said.

“The girls played really really well, and played as a cohesive side.

“Everything from their positive attitudes, scoring off set plays we’d been working on chopping the legs in tackles, carrying the ball under their arms and other one per centres.

“I was very happy with how they played.”

Taylor Logan (left) and Mariah Brown for Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

The ladder leading Jets maintained their unbeaten record but were hampered by the Clydesdales defence for the majority of the game.

Unfortunately, the U19s didn’t get out of Ipswich unscathed with Mariah Brown going off for a HIA and Taylor Logan picking up a pretty nasty knee injury that will almost definitely see both miss their final game against the Falcons this weekend.

Round 5 vs. Wide Bay Bulls

Round five saw the junior Western Clydesdales put on a dominant display across the board against the Wide Bay Bulls.

With each side coming off a loss the week prior, it was a good chance for them to get back on track with a win.

Connell Challenge 16s

The U16s played out a thrilling game of footy against a valiant Wide Bay Bulls side.

Despite taking control of the game early with 12 points in the opening 10 minutes, the Clydesdales had to keep work hard in the clash with their regional rivals.

Leading 12-6 at halftime, the Clydesdales secured 32-22 win following a flurry of Bulls tries in the second half.

“I feel pretty pumped if I’m honest,” Kailan Roberts said.

“It’s just such a good win for the boys.

“We got to training and we were a bit down but we got stuck right into it and today it just showed that the hard work paid off.

“Hopefully we can bring it on (form) next week and pump the (Ipswich) Jets.”

Roberts acknowledged that his side switched off in the last 10 minutes of the game and knows it’s an area they must fix when they play the Jets.

“We just started falling apart a bit defensively in the last bit,” he said.

“I think it was just getting to us a bit and we just need to make sure we get our mindsets properly together if we are up.

“Hopefully we’ll pump them, their team is looking better than when we first versed them but hopefully we get the W (win).”

Top Performers

Koen Zerbst: A natural playmaker and constantly scheming, Zerbst was integral to a number of tries. In the second half he made a huge tackle on a Bulls winger folding him in half and slamming him into the ground.

Kail Eustace for the Western Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Kail Eustace: With some great runs to the wing, he also made a handful of brave tackles on forwards much bigger than him. He made a try saving tackle where he chased down a Bull that had a clean break on the wing.

Kailan Roberts: Filling in for a suspended Shaun Elara, Roberts put in a mighty performance. Bagging a double, he scored the first try in both halves.

Braithen Scott: Scoring half of his side’s total points, Scott had another solid game at fullback. Scott scored an amazing try where he broke four tackles running from the 10m mark and falling over just on the line.

Kolby Seymour: Coming off the bench, the big number 17 made an immediate impact. With aggressive tackles, he was an imposing force in the defensive line.

Meninga Cup 18s

The U18s secured A great win to make up for the disappointing lost last round.

Getting off to a great start, the Clydesdales scored a slick team try after Aaron Hinch broke the defensive line and a number of tackles, down the right and offloaded to Jett Day for the opening try.

With five different players crossing the line and only conceding six points, the U18s finished 26-6 winners.

After missing last week’s game against the Falcons, Jett Day, had a blinder.

“I wanted to show that I’m back into it and I wanted to impress, especially after missing a game,” Day said.

“I really want to base my game off aggression and where I can lift my team up, that’s what I want to do.

“I’m pretty used to playing big minutes in the heat and humidity, coming from Rocky (Rockhampton) it’s something I know well.”

Jett Day has joined the Clydesdales after playing for the CQ Capras.

On his team’s performance last week, Day said he was happy to see the improvements after the effort put in at training during the week.

“Just to get the win and to see that what we had been working on throughout the week, like getting up an being aggressive in D (defence), that’s one thing that we really came into the sheds at halftime thinking we needed to do more,” he said.

“And it was good, we came out in the second half and stuck it to them a little bit more.

“I reckon our defence is steadily improving.

“I feel like when we get there and we all want to have a dig, especially with our shoulder to shoulder contact, we all get up there and we all love to do it.”

Top performers

Luke Cesari: Read the defensive structures well and was responsible for a number of line breaks.

Patrick Nolan: The biggest player on the field, when Nolan got the ball he made metres every time. Very much a team man, he was the first to console, encourage or congratulate his teammates.

Jai Purser: Continuing his dominance at prop, whenever Purser had the pill he would make an extra 5m post contact. Purser surprised everyone when he made a huge run from a drop out taking it from his 50m to the 10m, only to be pulled down by an illegal tackle. His run and pen after set up the play for Smith’s try.

Jai Purser for St Mary's. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Jett Day: Making big tackles, Day forced a number of errors off the back of his high intensity, and also scored the opening try of the game in the first minute of play.

Bud Smith: Proved once again how dominant of a player he can be with his hunger for the ball and willingness to lead the attack.

Harvey Women’s 19s

Following on from the U16s and U18s, the U19s also put in a stellar team performance.

Getting off to an early lead, Reyna Core added more points when she ran around the back of the scrum to bamboozle the Bulls defence, crossing over for an impressive solo try.

At the end of the first half, the Clydesdales had a commanding 30-0 lead.

Late in the second to ice the cake, Lucy Davis scored a spectacular try in the final minute, coming from her own end, cutting through the middle evading the Bulls defensive efforts to score near the posts, leading her side to a 46-10 victory.

“Definitely feels better, better than last week,” fullback Cheyenne Zirbel said.

“We all pushed a bit harder, harder than last week, and yeah we had a great win.”

Cheyenne Zirbel

On her own performance, Zirbel was very humble, making sure to credit her teammates efforts.

“I reckon I did all right, but it’s everyone together as a team and we all put in that extra mile so it wasn’t just me,” she said.

“Looking forward to Ipswich, I think we will definitely carry this momentum through to our next game and our last game against the Falcons also.

“We’ll push a little bit harder and in the next game, we’ll give it our best shot we can.”

Top Performers

Jessica Fitzgibbons: On the wing, again she has had an impressive performance with a number of runs coming out of her half and not shying away from defensive duties.

Cheyenne Zirbel: Great runs out of trouble from kick-offs and restarts, she also made solid tackles that forced errors from Bulls players. She organised the line well in defence.

Katelyn Collie for Clydesdales.

Katelyn Collie: Filling in as captain for Mackenzie Zellar, Collie had a gutsy performance at prop.

Reyna Core: The lock was very impressive in attack making some special runs in the first half, and scoring one try.

Rashae King: With some bone-rattling tackles, King was very solid in defence and had a very impressive game off the bench.

Harvey Norman U19 women, Western Clydesdales vs Wide Bay Bulls. Saturday, March 18, 2023. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Round 4 vs. Sunshine Coast Falcons

The junior Western Clydesdales had a round 4 to forget against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

Battling through heavy showers and up against well drilled opposition – the Clydesdales lost all three of their games.

Despite the unfortunate results there were some positives taken away from the game.

Check out our full match reports here.

Connell Challenge 16s

The U16s put up a tough fight against a very strong Falcons side losing 18-16.

A slow start ultimately proved costly with the Clydesdales conceding all 18 points inside 20 minutes.

Trailing 18-6 at halftime the Clydesdales put on a defensive clinic in the second half but were not able to peg back their opponents.

“I think if we started better in the first half and took more advantages from our opportunities to score, and if we were able to hang on to the ball we would’ve had a different result,” Clydesdales centre Joesph Litidamu said.

“We need to make sure we stay composed and don’t talk back to the refs and not get riled up by the opposition, so then we can stay focused and not make silly errors and mistakes.

“We need to make sure we are disciplined.

“If we start well next week like how we played in the second half, we have the strike power and the players to get the win.”

Top performers

Oscar Vukovich: The winger scored a try and saved a few through great desperation goal line defence. Vukovich had a solid game.

Harry Robinson: Playing in the second row, Robinson applied himself in all the effort areas having a solid performance.

Riley Zanette. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Koen Zerbest: Going off for a HIA in the first five minutes of the game, he was cleared and allowed to return to the field. He marshalled his team around the field and was electric in attack.

Joseph Litidamu: The best player on the day, Litidamu was good in both halves. The centre made some damaging runs and provided clutch tackles in defence.

Kailan Roberts: Whenever Roberts was on the field he brought positive energy into the side and looked like a threat whenever he made a run. The lock used his big frame and strength in the 42nd minute to barge over the line.

Meninga Cup 18s

The U18s had another tough day at the office.

Losing 26-20 the Clydesdales were their own worst enemy.

With sloppy defensive efforts and numerous handling errors, they were unable to put a few solid sets together back-to-back, and apply pressure to the Falcons.

“We have the fitness, we have the talent, we just can’t seem to put together a full game,” halfback Braiden Driscoll said.

“We seem to play really well for 20 minutes, but that’s it.

“This week was tough, they were a quality side and we had players out, our coach was away and it was very wet but they aren’t excuses, they are all part of the game.

“We had a job to do today and we didn’t do it.

“Our attack is fine it’s just our defence and if we are going to win next week we need to get out of the gate strong and be resilient in defence.”

Top performers

Aaron Hinch: Filling in at fullback for the side’s captain Matthew Moore, Hinch put in a brave performance.

Lyucian King-Togia. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Lyucian King-Togia: Taking the captaincy role, the hooker put in the effort and had a commendable overall performance.

Jai Purser: The big prop crossed the line, snagging himself two tries in the match. He was strong in attack but had a few handling errors.

Braiden Driscoll: The halfback was his side’s best performer on the day. His quick play the ball and a couple of his kicks put the Falcons on the back foot, leading to some of the Clydesdales’ tries.

Harvey Women’s 19s

Leading at the half, 8-4, the Clydesdales let the game slip in the second half.

“There were some really selfish individuals out there,” coach Russell Jones said.

“I just feel gutted and really disappointed for them because I know that they have the ability and the skill to win these games, but they keep arguing with one another and some players keep overplaying their hands.

“They didn’t play structured sets like we had set out to and there were many opportunities to score that we didn’t capitalise on.”

“Looking ahead to next week, we will go back and focus on structured team plays and team cohesion.”

Top performers

Mackenzie Zeller: Captain and lock, Zeller had her best outing this season. Completing a large number of runs and making clutch goal line defensive tackles she lead with her actions.

Katelyn Collie: The prop had another solid performance on the weekend, applying herself well in attack and defensive plays.

Cheyenne Zirbel: The fullback had a quality game and was giving 100 per cent every time she was involved in a play.

Jessica Fitzgibbons scores a try for Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Jessica Fitzgibbons: On the wing, Fitzgibbons scored a try in the first half and provided a quality attacking option for her side.

Libby Dunn: In the second row, Dunn was solid in her attacking efforts and made some big tackles.

Round 3 vs. Ipswich Jets

Up against fierce rivals Ipswich Jets, the Western Clydesdales were put to the test at home on Saturday.

The Clydesdales Cyril Connell Challenge under-16 boys kicked off the day with come from behind 24-16 win.

Unfortunately that is where the celebrations began and ended for the Clydesdales faithful with club’s other junior teams recording defeats.

Connell Challenge 16s

Playing a very strong and big Ipswich Jets outfit, the Clydesdales showed their skill, coming away with a 24-16 win.

Trailing 8-6 at the break coach Ned Murphy’s side showed their mental fortitude to not be overwhelmed and stick to their game-plan.

“They all dug in and executed what we’d been doing in training,” Murphy said.

“They’re just growing as a footy team.

“Every game is really hard and if we take the foot off the pedal we’ll get rolled, so we need to keep that intensity we had today for the rest of our games.”

Murphy praised his side’s collective performance but highlighted a few players that had a great game.

“Braithen Scott played really well again, and so did (Lachy) McGrath.”

Jets had a significant size advantage through the middle of the park, which was exploited for a few tries, however, the Clydesdales used their speed and skill to break down the defensive structures of the Jets.

Shaun Elara for the Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Speaking on Shaun Elara’s performance, Murphy said that’s now the “standard”.

“He’s set that standard and benchmark for himself now,” he said.

“He did what we asked of him and he had a great performance.

“He’s a very important player in our team, and that’s where we need him to be for us to go and get the win.”

Shaun Elara not only had a stellar performance but also displayed maturity and good sportsmanship when two Jets players clashed heads, leading to both players requiring head injury assessments.

“I saw that the guys were in the wrong place and I went in to help them,” Elara said.

“I didn’t want to celebrate or anything because it was pretty bad.”

On his own performance, Elara was happy with his game.

“The coach just said when I make a line break to just hold on to the ball and get ready for the next play, instead of forcing offloads like last game, so for this week I just had to hold on to the ball,” he said.

“We played well, we played simple footy and nothing fancy.”

Looking to the Falcons, Murphy said he needs his side to maintain the same level of intensity and that ball security is key if they are going to win.

Meninga Cup 18s

The Clydesdales were impressive in the opening stages of their clash establishing 20-10 but lapses late in the first half were costly and they trailed 22-20 at the break.

The second was all one-way traffic with the Jets bombarding the Clydesdales on their way to securing a 48-20 win.

“They’re (Jets) a fairly strong side across the board and we knew what to expect, but we were just not good enough in defence obviously,” Clydesdales coach Paul Boase said.

“Ipswich are very dominant through the middle, so they play the power game and once they jam us all in to control the middle, that’s when they swing it out wide and find the space.

“We just weren’t good enough on our edge defence.

“That’s just how they win their games, through power.”

Taking some positives away from the performance, Boase said that his side were starting to “gel” in attack and when they had the ball in hand, they often “looked dangerous”.

“In defence, besides from the middle being overpowered, I think we just need to work on our initial contact and wrestle to the ground,” he said.

Bodhi Sharpley for Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Boase spoke highly of Bodhi Sharpley’s performance, noting that he is a year younger than the other players.

“He is one of the guys that has stepped up this year, he played back row last year but I’ve put him in the front (row) this season, he’s a quiet achiever that gets straight into his work and his efforts on the field are always 100 per cent,” Boase said.

“He’s one of the most consistent in the side.

“ (Jett) Day and (Bud) Smith were they other two players that stood up and showed some grit when we needed it defensively.”

Bud Smith for Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Harvey Women’s 19s

The Clydesdales were their own worst enemies in a first half littered with errors, penalties and points conceded.

Their second half however was a different affair with the home side finishing fast but unable to come away with a win, losing 20-12.

“The girls were poor in the first half, and we gave them far too many piggyback penalties and that’s how they got tries in quick succession,” Clydesdales coach Russell Jones said.

“Their tries came off us holding them down and giving away penalties.”

Jones knows that his side have the ability to win against tough opposition but stressed they will not achieve this unless they stick to the game plan.

“We had a game plan and we knew what we wanted to do off the first set,” he said.

“We just went straight away from it, so they got a bit of tough love at half time but not anything over the top, we just told the girls that when us coaching staff give you a role and a plan, we aren’t just doing it for fun, they need to execute what we ask of them.

“In the second half they showed what they can do, and you need to remember that 13 of the girls are 16 (years-old).

“We had so many close opportunities in attack and unfortunately we were held up at the line a few times.

“I’m really proud of that second half, it was an outstanding effort.”

Jones highlighted players and standouts from the game.

“Libby Dunn was outstanding off the bench, Breanna Hoskins and the two Morcom sisters played well, especially in the second half and Lucy Davis all had great games.”

Eliza Morcom for Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

The side’s centre, Lucy Davis was one of the best on ground.

“This week we had a lot of footy going on with a lot of our girls having Darling Downs trials on Thursday, so I think from that we were all a bit tired, which isn’t an excuse but it might explain why we weren’t on the ball in the first half,” Davis said.

Lucy Davis (right) takes on the line. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Davis is confident moving forward that her team will get the win next time they meet.

“We can definitely beat them (Jets),” she said.

“It’s all a mental thing.

“We have the strength, we have the girls to do it.

“I think we just need to put a bit more in at training and make sure that we are correcting our errors and doing those extra one percenters.

“When we play them (Jets) next, we need to make sure we don’t give away silly penalties and if we trust the plans and stuff put in place by the coaches, we will come away with the win.”

Davis also said that if they play how they did in the second half, they should be a good chance of a win next week against the Falcons.

“Against the Falcons, we need to come out and play how we did in the second half.”

 

Round 2 vs. Wide Bay Bulls

The Western Clydesdales were a perfect three from three at the weekend. but things could’ve been a lot different for two of the young squads.

Leading 18-0 at halftime the Clydesdales under-19 women secured a convincing 36-4 win over the Wide Bay Bulls.

The club’s two boys sides however were made to work for their respective wins against the same opposition.

Connell Challenge 16s

The ‘local derby’ started at break neck speed with the two sides trading blows like title fighters.

After conceding a try inside the first five minutes the Clydesdales slowly took control of the game edging out to 14-4 lead.

The Bulls however fought back and the sides went into halftime break locked at 14-14 having scored six tries in the opening 26 minutes of the game.

Owen Hess crossed the line in the opening minute of the second half to give the Bulls an early advantage but the Clydesdales responded through Braithen Scott and Daniel Brown.

Hess scored his second of the day in the 51st minute to close the gap 24-22 but the Clydesdales held on for a welcome win.

“It’s good to open the season with a win,” Clydesdales coach Nathan Murphy said.

“I think the boys showed a lot of resilience particularly in the last 10 minutes when they really came at us.

“With the relative inexperience we have we could’ve easily been rolled in that situation but they held on.

“We went away from our game plan a bit and I feel that’s why the game was so close, but we came away with the win and that’s obviously a lot better than a loss.”

Standout performers

Braithen Scott: Played out of position at fullback but was still a key man. Scott made himself available in the right places at the right time to score a double.

Daniel Brown: Scored two ‘wingers’ tries but his second half four-pointer combined with Koen Zerbst ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides.

Brodie Hilt: The lock worked hard throughout including a big stint in the middle playing out the first 41 minutes before earning a break.

Meninga Cup 18s

Clydesdales coach Paul Bose probably left Kingaroy with a few grey hairs and high blood pressure, but he and his team also left with a 30-26 win.

After weathering an early storm against the Bulls the Clydesdales found their feet with a few tries and took 14-12 lead into the break.

“Full credit to the Bulls they came to play,” Bose said.

“They really put it to us particularly early on in the game.

“ We certainly were not taking things lightly before or during the game, but I don’t think our boys were expecting that level of intensity from them (the Bulls).”

Luke Cesari got the Clydesdales off to the perfect start after the break, scoring in the 36th minute, and it was all one way traffic after that.

Lyucian King-Togia for Clydesdales. Under 18 men, Western Clydesdales vs Ipswich Jets, rugby league. Saturday, March 4, 2023. Picture: Nev Madsen.

The Clydesdales raced out to 30-12 lead but the game was by no means over.

Adam Khan kicked off a Bulls stampede on the hour mark and Noah Law’s try a minute from time sent a shiver through the Clydesdales faithful.

“We were very hot and cold,” Bose said.

“I was really pleased with how we scrambled in defence and at times we really showed what we’re capable of.

“At one point we the length of the field in one set and scored off the next (set).

“But we also gave them far too many opportunities and good field position off our own errors.

“We can take a lot away from this performance though and it’s good to start with a win.”

Standout performers

Bud Smith: Tucked the ball and his team ‘under his wing’ and lead the side well. Set the example for his team to follow through his actions and words.

Bodhi Sharpley: Put his hand up when the team needed someone to take on the Bulls line. Made plenty of hard runs to get his team moving forward.

Harvey Women’s 19s

The Clydesdales gave the Bulls no chance to find their feet in a convincing 36-4 win.

Taylor Logan opened the scoring in the 6th minute and from there it was all one-way traffic with eight different players scoring for the Clydesdales.

“We worked to control the ruck which we did well, and they responded at halftime to first a few things that needed to be fixed up,’’ Clydesdales coach Russell Jones said.

Round 1: BYE