Wentworthville Magpies side

1. Kieren Moss

2. Bureta Faraimo

3. Vai Toutai

4. Ryan Morgan

5. Honeti Tuha

6. Cody Nelson (c)

7. Mitch Cornish

8. Rory O’Brien

9. Cameron King

10. James Hasson

11. Kelepi Tanginoa

12. David Gower

13. Kaysa Pritchard

Interchange:

14. Scott Schulte

15. Joseph Ualesi

16. Aaron Pene

17. Nick Kassis

 

The Magpies are as per program today as they face Mounties in a top-of-the-table clash!

 

Wenty receiving the ball to start the game today. Rory O’Brien notches up the first run of the game. Gower and Hasson get runs in the first set as well before O’Brien gets a second carry – this time wide on the left – to bring up the last. The kick to complete the set is okay but Mounties clean it up easily in the end.

 

Line speed is lacking for Wenty in their first defensive set and Mounties nearly make them pay as they test our right edge out. A big around-the-corner offload from Barnett is a bit astray and draws a knock on from his winger.

 

Faraimo and Tanginoa get the first carries this set before Rory O’Brien loses the ball, was that a strip in a multi-defender tackle? I am pretty certain it was, rubbish call. Big chance for Mounties though. They don’t have to wait long to open the scoring either when they catch us short down our left on the third tackle. Gee that was a poor call from the referee but the defence from Wenty was damnably ordinary.

 

Try scored by Ottio for Mounties. Conversion unsuccessful.

Mounties lead 4-0

5min gone

 

Wenty looking a bit fragile here as Mounties make big metres down the right edge of the home team but they undo the momentum with a poor bomb that sails deep in goals where Moss defuses it.

 

Faraimo and Toutai get into the middle to help their forwards out. Hasson carts the ball down the right edge before Tanignoa gets the ball on the next tackle on the opposite edge. Pritchard brings up the last. Wenty actually get two kicks away on the last, with the second finding the in goals but a poor kick chase lets Santo escape the in goals and then Mounties make easy metres up the middle in reply. Wenty need to tighten their defence up ASAP.

 

Mounties get to their kick and bomb Tuha who takes it easily but Rory O’Brien gets another error to his name as the ball squirrels out. The first one was a rubbish call but this one looks fair. Massive pressure on Wenty here.

 

The visitors nearly cut us open via Sam Williams but some last ditch defence keeps him out. Alas, Wenty have been sucked in to make the save and some fast hands down the right for Mounties sees Ottio notch up an early double. Wenty are up against it today.

 

Try scored by Ottio. Conversion unsuccessful.

Mounties lead 8-0

11min gone

 

Mounties get a deflection on their attempted 40/20 but Moss shows some wheels as he quickly changes courses to clean the pill up. Faraimo and then Moss do some ruck work before Hasson gets the first run by a forward this set. Nice run from Cornish there as he runs it down the left and beats the first defenders to link up with Tuha who then takes the tackle. That brings up the last but once again Wenty put up an ordinary kick that Sisa Waqa not defuses but creates a linebreak out of as he links up with support. Desperate cover defence from Wenty forces a turnover near halfway but there are danger signs everywhere here.

 

Wenty drive the ball back to the redzone of the visitors and this time the kick from Cornish is on the money as it comes away with a line drop out due to a knock on in goals from Kennedy of the visitors.

 

Time off for an injury to Ryan Morgan.

 

Oh shit, horror start for Rory O’Brien today. He has been immense for Wenty for the first five rounds but has come up with another error from the drop out run. It was a good shot in defence but still no excuse.

 

Fortunately, Mounties make their own mistake in turn giving Wenty a reprieve.

 

Messy stuff from Wenty here. Kaysa makes a half break but loses the ball up the middle. The turnovers are killing us here. Mounties march deep into our half from the bonus set and some second phase play in front of the sticks catches us out. Didn’t wrap the ball up there, opening up the opportunity for the offload for Glenn Buttriss to score.

 

Try scored by Buttriss. Conversion successful.

Mounties lead 14-0

18min gone

 

Mounties go deep into our half on their last tackle before bombing Tuha, who is up to the challenge again. Really concerning signs though.

 

It is the backs doing all the work here as Toutai brings up the last and Cornish gets a very good kick away while being under immense pressure. Hooks it back over to the right and finds touch 12m out.

 

The hits keep coming as the Mounties fire off a 40/20. Executed perfectly and neither Moss nor Tuha were anywhere near it. For once Mounties blow their chance when the visitors make an error in the ruck on their first tackle. Small blessings for Wenty here given the start to the game.

 

Faraimo and Tanginoa take the first runs before a great run and offload from Gower gets Kaysa into the backfield!. Pritchard has no support and takes the tackle. Wenty work it back to the posts before Cornish bombs to Wenty’s left edge where Ottio come flying in and drops it! Six again and a huge chance here.

 

Cody Nelson nearly pokes his way through down the right but is held out. Tanginoa gets hammered on a flat line from dummy half and on the last a clever kick from Cameron King salvages a penalty from a set that had fizzled out. King is taken out chasing his own grubber and Wenty get the fresh set.

 

Gower is up for the first run but on the second play Schulte, fresh on down the left edge, drops the ball cold from Cornish on an unders line. Bad execution and bad hands there.

 

Great hit from Kasya Pritchard there as he knocks Waqa over from the scrum win. And he has forced the ball loose! Wenty NEED to make something of this!

 

Cornish turns Morgan back to the posts from the scrum win. Ualesi is on and gets his first run of the day. Cornish goes to Nelson down the right but the play then falls apart as the ball hits Gower who thought he was the decoy. Frustrating stuff here.

 

Mounties just scoot out of dummy half this set and make massive metres. Not much in the tank for Wenty now. They bomb Moss on the last but knock it on at which point Scott Schulte cleans it up. Not much doing for Wenty in return as they tru to work the ball down their left edge. Mounties contain them easily so Cornish rips off an early kick trying to relieve the pressure. It is a handy effort as well.

 

A relatively flat set from Mounties follows as they get to their kick and bomb Tuha once again. There is zero kick chase though and Tuha swallows it up and gets a solid return out of it. Wenty get a much needed penalty when Rory O’Brien is put down with a second effort. O’Brien gets the first carry from the restart of play. Ualesi and O’Brien get the next carries but Wenty are lucky not to get pinged for a forward pass there. Cornish kicks early down the left but Ottio is well positioned to clean it up. Poor set.

 

Finally a decent defensive set from Wenty. Moss takes a bit longer than expected to clean the kick up though. Let the ball bounce unnecessarily it looked like there. Some second phase play from Wenty late in the set here. Started with a good run and offload from O’Brien before Ualesi powers over a couple of defenders in the midfield. Wenty complete the set with a good kick and chase and midway through the following set Mounties have made an error come out of their redzone. I have said it plenty of times today already but here is a big chance for Wenty.

 

Touti gets the ball flat from Gower from the scrum win and a penalty comes the way of the home team as Gower is belted by a late shoulder charge off the ball.

 

Moss takes the ball down the left edge from the rap restart. Tanginoa gets the ball on the second but is well tackled but on the third tackle Prithcard gets out of dummy half and sees the outside defenders racing up so he goes himself and breaks through an arm grab tackle to score! Gee we needed that!

 

Try scored by Pritchard. Conversion unsuccessful by Cornish.

Wenty trail 4-14

38min gone

 

Taningoa returns the ball from the kickoff. Moss and Gower follow up the middle. Nelson darts in behind the ruck before a strong carry from Ualesi brings up the last. We stab it in behind the right edge of Mounties but the clean it up nicely. Some clean hands down the right edge of the Mounties catches us short and the visitors make a huge bust down our left edge. We scramble to shut it down and do just that. With seconds on the clock Sam Williams bombs it to the other edge looking for Waqa but his tap back is well off the mark and sails into touch. Phew!

 

Half Time

Mounties 14 LEAD Wentworthville Magpies 4

 

Second Half

 

Went kick off in the second half. Kassis and Gower lead the charge to make the first tackle of the half. Wenty defend solidly until the penultimate tackle where Clydesdale makes a big run from dummy half. The visitors bomb Moss on the last but he takes it well.

 

Okay set in reply for Wenty but the fifth tackle kick is taken well on the full to give Mounties a strong start to their set. Urgghhh, Faraimo is embarrassed there. I know he was dealing with an overlap but he played it horribly. Turned inside and out and then plays the complete wrong man to let Waqa streak to the line untouched. Awful start to the half for Wenty.

 

Try scored by Waqa. Conversion unsuccessful by Williams.

Mounties lead 18-4

44min gone

 

Huge injury toll for Wenty today. King and Morgan out. Pritchard out of the sheds late. As I type that there is a bellringer shot from Ualesi. Mounties get to their kick and blatantly knock it on but the call goes against the home team. What was that?

 

Mounties attack our right edge from the scrum win and are repelled. They come back to the posts and then test our left edge out but are once again held out. Oooh that was close! Faraimo races out to jam our Waqa but nearly misses the tackle. He comes back for a second effort and knocks the ball loose! Good and bad from Faraimo in a sense, but obviously an overwhelmingly good result. Can’t knock the effort there!

 

O’Brien carts the ball up strongly. Tanginoa follows. Nic Kassis follows there lead with a bustling run and gets a penalty! Close call there as the ref initially signalled knock on but got an over ride call.

 

Rory is back for another charge, this one steered to the posts. Ualesi goes next and on the third Nelson, acting as dummy half in the absence of King and Pritchard, bullets a cut out ball to O’Brien on the goal line and the ball is spilled over the line. Story of the day really.

 

Penalty to Mounties but that is quickly followed by a mistake from the Canberra feeder team.

 

Bureta Faraimo makes a costly error as he tries to force an offload working the ball up out of our half. Mounties drive the ball into our redzone and Tuha is called upon to bat a bomb dead. Can’t fault the play call from Tuha there. Ottio was soaring in over his shoulder.

 

Wenty off the hook here as there is another error from Mounties. Moss cleans the ball up and darts into the fractured line for a quick play the ball which Tanginoa capitalises on as he earns a penalty. O’Brien trucks it up the middle for Wenty on the second tackle before Kelepi makes a half breakd down the left! He is just pulled  down. Wenty then work it to their right before an offload from Gower take the ball back down the left. That brings up the last and Cornish gets a tough ball down the short side and bats it on to Tanginoa who is held out. Bad way to finish a promising set.

 

Another error from Mounties! They are leaving the door open for Wenty! Toutai cleans it up and makes some tidy metres in reply AND gets a penalty. Come on Wenty.

 

Hasson and Kassis take the first runs as Wenty centre the ball. Pritchard is back on and the attack looks far more direct as he plays out the back to Nelson who links up with Moss. Moss creates the two-on-one for Toutai who in turn gets Faraimo over in the corner! Wenty had to score next and they have done just that.

 

Try scored by Faraimo. Conversion successful by Cornish.

Wenty trail 10-18

59min gone

 

Huge up-swing in tempo for Wenty now as they roll the ball easily upfield and then get a penalty for hands in the ruck! Tuha the one drawing that call from the defence.

 

Gower gets very close on the second before Pritchard tries to go himself on the second. He is held out but it draws the defenders in and on the next tackle Cornish sets it up on  silver platter for Moss and Tanginoa and Schulte run the interior decoys and suck the defenders in! That was a training drill right there. Wenty have finally woken up!

 

Try scored by Moss. Conversion successful by Cornish.

Wenty trail 16-18

62min gone

 

Pene and Tanginoa get the set underway. Gower gets the ball two wide on the third and takes the tackle. Kassis is used on the fourth and Cornish kicks early and deep. Ottio is back to clean it up on the full but there is a solid kick chase. Never mind that as on the second there is a bust from Santo up the middle. Kassis does well to scramble and bring down the fullback but the defensive line is in tatters. Fortunately Mounties switch back to grinding it up the middle but it all proves too much when on the last tackle Mounties run it and turn it back inside, catching our right edge out as they score via their #6 Croker.

 

Try scored by Croker for Mounties. Conversion unsuccessful by Williams.

Mounties lead 22-16

66min gone

 

Good set after points by Mounties as the ruck the ball past halfway. They stab a kick in behind that Moss cleans up on the first bounce. Faraimo and Toutai work the ball out for the home team. Hasson and Nelson take the last carries of the set which in turn sees Cornish reef the ball downfield.

 

Mounties get into the grind and look to be winning the arm wrestle here. They dab the ball into the corner and then lift in defence. Wenty are cornered in their red zone before a light footed carry from Tuha promises so much but he channels the great Ben Roberts and drops the ball cold with no one near him! That run had Mounties reeling too!

 

Wenty concede a penalty as the ball squirts out of the ball runner early in the following set. Kassis the culprit there. The infraction happens 10m out in front of the posts and with 10min on the clock, Mounties make the no-brainer call to take the shot at two points.

 

Penalty conversion attempt by Williams is successful.

Mounties lead 24-16

72min gone

 

Oooh was that a knock on? I am nearly certain it was as Croker loses sight of the kickoff and the ball goes from the ingoals into the field of play. The ref sees it otherwise though. Huge call in the context of the game.

 

Mounties kick early in the set. Faraimo cleans it up. Pritchard is back on. All happening here. Wenty work the ball down their left with Pene. Tanginoa follows Pene up with a strong carry to bring up the last. Cornish bombs it to the right but there is zero presence from the kick chase. Not sure what happened there but that sort of non-effort will hurt Wenty in the championship minutes.

 

Wenty get a sliver of hope when the kick from Williams sails dead from midfield. They need all the help they can get here but Pene has shot himself in the foot there as he loses the ball in the tackle on the the 40m mark. Indicative of the game really.

 

Mounties kick early again, surprising in the context of the game but it ends up trapping Moss ingoals so a handy result. Wenty roll the dice on the short drop out, no choice really, and Cornish pulls it off! Kicks directly forwards for himself and he gets it back. Also picks up a penalty as he is held down.

 

Good run from Pritchard out of dummy half on the third. Toutai makes a good run on the next tackle but in a horror moment which he doesn’t deserve given his effort today, Kaysa grasses the ball at first receiver.

 

An error from Mounties gives Wenty the ball back and Cornish makes a bust! He links up with Tuha who takes the tackle and Wenty then look to centre the ball. Pene has a good run down the right edge and is followed by Faraimo out of dummy half but he is pulled down short. Cornish kicks crossfield and finds Tuha perfectly but Honeti has dropped! Nooo, that is the game as well! What a kick but Tuha just couldn’t bring it in.

 

Mounties make another error but it is too late barring an 8-point try. Kelepi makes another half break down the left and offloads to support in Moss but the fullback is tackled before he can find the runner behind him which would have lead to the try. Cody Nelson takes the ball to the posts and tries to offload to support in a last ditch effort but he drops the ball as he attempts the offload and that will do us today.

 

Full Time

Mounties 24 DEF Wentworthville Magpies 16