Wentworthville Magpies side

1. Honeti Tuha

2. Nathan Davis

3. Kirisome Auva’a

4. Dane Aukafolau

5. George Jennings

6. Troy Dargan

7. Jeff Robson

8. Joseph Ualesi

9. Cody Nelson

10. Peni Terepo

11. Marata Niukore

12. Frank Pritchard

13. David Gower

Interchange

14. Ray Stone

16. Magnus Stromquist

17. John Folau

23. Willis Meehan

 

The Magpies will be looking to cap a terrific weekend for their joint-venture partners, the Parramatta Eels, when they host the Canterbury Bulldogs at Ringrose. Wenty will be looking to extend their run of victories to to six today and in doing so keep themselves right in the hunt for a berth in the Top 4. The Bulldogs are perched one win ahead of the Magpies coming into this round so for this is a match up that has massive play-off implications.

Nathan Cayless will be without the services of Peni Terepo and Kirisome Auva’a after the impact forward and powerhouse back turned out for the Eels on Friday night. It seems likely that Magnus Stromquist will move into the starting pack with the likes of Jack Morris and Scott Schulte battling it out for the vacant position of the bench. Will Smith is also a candidate to make a return to the ISP this week, possibly filling a hole in the back line.

The other notable story line coming into this game of course is the club debut of Willis Meehan. The imposing front rower is the latest reclamation project of Brad Arthur and while he is almost certainly going to be short of a gallop – seeing how he takes his first steps at the Eels (via Wenty) will be fascinating to witness with an eye towards the 2018 season.

Kickoff is at 3:00PM so swing by then for all the updates from the game. Until then though, feel free to shoot me any lower grade questions you have!

 

Late Mail

 

The Magpies have gone full David Bowie and have wrung out the c-c-changes today. So much so that you are getting a new team list in image format because it is just way easier that way.

 

 

 

First Half

 

Wenty kick off to start the game. Nelson and Stone lead the kick chase. The Dogs work to their left through the first few hit ups before bringing the ball back through the middle. They kick in behind our right edge on the last and Honeti Tuha takes it on the bounce.

George Jennings and Nathan Davis take the early runs. Marata Niukoure in next. Both he and Davis really got Wenty going forwards. Troy Dargan tries to capitialise on the momentum as he runs it down the left edge but loses the ball into contact. A penalty is blown following the play and tempers blow up immediately. Not sure what the call is for but the Dogs have the first penalty of the game.

Touch is found on halfway but wow that is silly! From the tap restart they sortie in-field and run behind another player. Easy obstruction call. How absent minded of the visitors.

Wenty’s turn to attack now. Good carry by John Folau down the left. Back to the posts with Niukoure who earns the second penalty of the day for the Magpies when he is held down. Tap and go for Marata as he goes 1m short. Robson sweeps left to Dargan who taps on to Tuha but the Dogs tackle him well. Wide right to Atini Gafa now as he pulls in a long cut out pass and comes back in-field. Back to the left now as Dargan feeds a short ball to Folau who then offloads back to Dargan. Seeing half a chance, the young half tries to roll a kick in for Jennings but it is intercepted by the Dogs and the resultant tackle sees Tuha left strewn on the ground. Friendly fire from Davis I think.

The Dogs then pick up a penalty for an offside defender. Time is off for Tuha. Amazingly, Honeti is right to resume play, must have been an issue other than the head. Back to the Dogs on the attack.

Wenty defend storngly up the middle through the early tackles before the Dogs play right and short. A nice shot from Niukore puts an end to that though. The Dogs go one back to the posts before testing Jennings with a chip-bomb but the Dogs lose it forwards in-goals in the contest. 20m restart for Wenty.

Nothing too flash this set for Wenty but the metres are forthcoming. Dargan looks to put a bomb up but it ends up uncontested due to some effective escorting. Dogs back in possession.

The Magpies show both good line speed and nice wrestling technique to pin the Dogs to their 40m mark for this set. Their kick is a shocker as they drive it along the ground but Tuha makes a complete meal of it! It takes a kick up at the last moment and bounces 5m forwards off his hands. He desperately dives for it and gets his hands to it but it hits the ground first.

And wow there the Dogs go. From the scrum win the Dogs go down their left edge and simply catch Wenty short a defender and Tyrone Phillips strolls over untouched in the corner. Gee that came from no where.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Canterbury lead 6-0

11min gone

 

Solid set after the opening try for the Dogs. They work over halfway and roll the ball along the ground. Tuha does a better job of cleaning it up this time! Jennings jumps out of dummy half before Gafa has a run. Dane Aukafolau provides a good run and then Magnus Stromquist takes us 10m into the Dogs’ half. Dargan sends a deep bomb up that Canterbury clean up and the visitors look to work it out from deep in their red zone.

Chance here now for Wenty. Canterbury can’t complete their set as an error in the PTB sees the ref pack a scrum down 30m out from their line. Nelson plays to Robson who uses Aukafolau on the first. Stromquist comes back through the middle then Dargan an overs ball to Matt Woods and the rangy backrower is barely tackled otherwise the try line is begging. Dargan sees space in behind two tackles later and laces a grubber kick through. Davis flies through in pursuit but is barely beaten to the ball by a defender who then bats it dead! Phew.

Line drop out.

Tuha takes the kick of the full. Barely. Wenty get about their business from there. Two up the guts before wide right to Niukore who carries defenders for 12m to the goal line before he is pulled down. Nelson plays nicely at the line to put Kurt De Luis through half a gap before Wenty go like lightning to their left. Cutout pass to Woods who immediately turns the ball inside to Tuha! Lovely play but the Dogs meet it amazingly well and somehow strip the ball out of Honeti’s grasp as he goes to score! Another line drop out.

Dargan takes this one on the bounce. We got left early as Davis puts on some footwork to make some handy metres. Right now to Robson who kicks early to Gafa. A chip over the top. The Dogs read it well though and get to it on the full. They look to get back into the field of play before a cavalcade of chasers arrive and drive him back. Third line drop out on the run.

Stromquist and De Luis take the early runs before Aukafolau beats a few defenders coming back in-field. Stone goes close before Kurt De Luis spins his way over! He took a short ball from Nelson at dummy half and pirouetted as he hit the defensive line, opening up just enough space to get the ball over the line! Wenty really needed to convert that pressure into points. Good work.

 

Try scored by Kurt De Luis. Conversion successful by Nathan Davis.

Wenty lock the scores up at 6-all

22min gone

 

Exciting end to the next set! Dargan sends up a mid-field bomb that Woods brings in before offloading to Stone who then finds De Luis. His first instinct is to look to pass before he realises there is plenty of space in front of him! He puts the head down and steams forwards for a good 25m before the defence finally bring him down and enforce the turnover.

Back and forth form both teams as Wenty look to win the wrestle. They grind their way into Canterbury’s half and look to run it on the last where Dargan plays late to the line, beautifully done really, to release Tuha on his left and create the 3-on-2. Tuha to Davis who passes immediately to Jennings. George pins his ears back for the goal line from 18m out but is cut down barely 3m short! Great cover defence from the Dogs.

Simple set from the Dogs in reply as they kick early and find touch 30m out from Wenty’s line.

Oh wow, superb vision from Dargan! He picks out the fullback cheating towards his edge and signals a set play to Honeti. A wickedly spinning banana kick goes back to the posts and Tuha slides through to take it on the full before slamming it down next to the posts! Gorgeous play there.

 

Try scored by Honeti Tuha. Conversion successful by Nathan Davis.

Wenty lead 12-6

29min gone

 

The Dogs aim up in defence early in this set but the Magpies shift the ball cleverly down their left to generate the metres needed to get to halfway. The kick goes up, a raking effort down the right from Robson, that the winger for the Dogs barely pulls in before he throws a long pass to his winger. A few tackles later the Dogs drop the ball cold and HERE WE GO! THE BIG MAN IS ON! Willis Meehan is on folks.

Anti-climatic start though as Wenty manage to avoid giving him a hit up for two tackles before the Dogs concede a penalty. He gets his first carry for the Magpies eventually as he runs from 10m out and gets a metre or two short of the line. Wenty load up for a massive back line shift from there though however it goes terribly wrong. The big pass out the back falls between Dargan and Tuha and the Dogs sweep on it. Tuha tackles the initial runner but he offloads to support and although Jennings and Aukafolua give honest pursuit they can’t bring him in. Massive turning point in the game there.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Canterbury lock the scores up at 12-all

35min gone

 

A late penalty in the next set for the Dogs. Hand on the ball is the call. Testing period for the home team now in the shadow of half time.

The Dogs come down their right initially but quickly look to centre the ball. Fake out to the left before coming back to their right but they throw a long, loopy pass that Nathan Davis pretty much walks into. Easy interception there but he drops it cold. Play on and the Dogs take advantage of the broken field play, running the ball to our try line before Davis gets back in cover to try and clean up the mess he made. Tackle is completed but we are short on our left, which is where the Dogs go, and their backrower is accosted by defenders and driven close to touch but reaches out and gets the ball down. The Dogs land what could be a body blow on the Magpies.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Canterbury lead 18-12

39min gone

 

One last set for the Dogs as they work it up to halfway and roll the ball over the sideline and it is mrked on Wenty’s 20m line. Wenty set the scrum with 7sec on the clock. Set piece time?

Nope. Wenty just spin it right and take the tackle. That brings the curtains on the first half.

 

Half Time

Canterbury Bulldogs 18 lead the Wentworthville Magpies 12

 

Second Half

 

Wenty to receive the ball. The home team are chasing a 6pt margin.

Tuha feeds it to a flying Meehan. Crowd audibly groans at the sound of impact. Huge run and a great shot too. A second run later in the set for the big man now too! He shows some footwork to beat two defenders before looking to offload. The ball gets raked back by a defender but they were offside from the PTB. Penalty to Wenty.

Gafa and Stromquist up first. Wide left to Woods who is taken by three defenders. Dargan comes back to Nelson who beats a defender with footwork before he is taken. Quick shift to the right now. Dargan out the back to Tuha and there is a clean overlap for the fullback and Gafa. Easy try surely but Tuha nearly makes a meal of it. He dummies and tries to step past the initial defender, sort of doing so, but the cover defence nearly gets him before he gets the ball down while in contact.

 

Try scored by Honeti Tuha. Conversion successful by Nathan Davis.

Wenty lock the score up at 18-all

44min gone

 

Another powerful charge from Meehan as he carries defenders for no short distance. Niukore and Stromquist storm forwards in his wake and then Dargan weaves a deft kick into the corner. A committed kick chase pins the fullback on his own line. Great start to the half.

The Dogs aren’t asking a lot of Meehan in defence fortunately.

Great defensive by Wenty though and the Dogs have to kick from deep in their half. Tuha takes a heart-in-mouth half volley catch and Wenty go from there.

Crazy period of play follows. Dane Aukafolau makes a strong charge but telegraphs his offload and it is picked off. The Dogs shift to their right and make a break before throwing a loopy pass inside that Cody Nelson scoops up before it is reefed out of his hands but the Dogs playing loses it forwards before diving to catch it! What the hell is going on!

More craziness! Gafa takes an intercept as the Dogs look to attack our right side and he sets off down field. He hasn’t got the wheels to go the distance as he is pulled down 25m short. A clearly offside marker tries to interfere with the pass from the following PTB but the ref plays on, is he playing advantage? Who knows? Wenty go to their left edge. Dargan to Davis who draws and passes to Jennings. Jennings looks to slam the ball down in the corner through contact but I think he has dropped it! The officials disagree though! They are pointing to the spot!

 

Try scored by George Jennings. Conversion unsuccessful by Nathan Davis.

Wenty lead 22-18

52min gone

 

End to end stuff for the Magpies as a strong run from Niukore opens a path for Tuha from dummy half. The hot-footed fullback makes 30m with his carry and Dargan looks to kick to his left from there. The Dogs come down with the ball but are pinned in their red zone – alas a penalty undoes all the pressure. That also signals and end to Meehan’s first stint for Parra/Wenty. The big man obviously needs a lot of conditioning but there were some ominous touches!

As I type that the Dogs make an error and we pack for a scrum 10m into Wenty’s half. Aukafolau makes a great, surging carry on the first tackle and Wenty look to work left from there. Hospital ball for Woods who does extremely well to hold onto the pill and then Dargan looks to roll the ball in-goals but it kicks on and a 20m restart is the result.

The Dogs work it into Wenty’s half with the benefit of the extra tackle. They swing down their left where Atini Gafa makes an excellent read and tackle but their halfback rolls in an excellent angled grubber to force a line drop out. Big set incoming.

Lots of second phase ball for the Dogs this set. Wenty hold on and following a burrow over attempt from a short ball the Dogs lose the ball! The ref has ruled the knock on was in the field of play so we come out for a scrum 10m out.

Jennings up first before Aukaoflau is driven back by multiple defenders. Gafa on the third and then Stone uses his feet at the line to make a really useful gain. Dargan rifles off a brilliant kick under real pressure that breaks the ankles of the fullback and sees the Dogs have to go back to their goal line to retrieve it! And now an error from the Dogs in the PTB! Massive opportunity for Wenty here.

One left and then back to the posts before Dargan foes right to Robson who cuts out to Gafa. The winger wisely comes back infield. Marata takes the ball next and passes before the line to Stone who uses his feet once more and gets through the front line. He thinks about reaching out to score before offloading to Stromquist but the ball is batted back and dived on by the Dogs. Good play from both teams there.

Wenty look to be getting on top once more in their next set but an errant pass from dummy half to Robson is correctly pulled up on halfway.

Another set for the Dogs, an early reset of the count really when a pass from the visitors catches the hand of a defender. No advantage so we set another scrum. Trouble now. The Dogs pick up a soft penalty in the ruck and tap and go but De Luis can’t help himself but take out the runner from an offside position. Easy sin binning.

The Dogs looked to have coughed up the ball shortly after though when their dummy half takes too long to pass and gets his arm knocked before dropping the ball but bizarrely the knock on call goes against Wenty. Lots of favourable calls for the Dogs here.

Oh holy dooley! Talk about against the run of play! The Dogs spin it to their right and look for a long cutout ball to their winger. It goes high over his head and he bats it up to try and catch it on the second attempt. The freshly injected Scott Schulte has other plans though as he flies onto it and sets off down the sideline fending away from two defenders. They keep coming at him and look to have corralled him just over halfway but a flying Nathan Davis lurks on the inside and Schulte finds his man with a pin point offload! Davis streams away to score under the posts and the Magpies have scored with 12-men!

 

Try scored by Nathan Davis. Conversion successful by Nathan Davis.

Wenty lead 28-18

68min gone

 

Excellent set Wenty as they drive deep into Canterbury’s half. Robson sends up a bomb that is taken just in the field of play and the kick chase doesn’t let the Wenty half down. The Dogs grind their way out their red zone before fortune shines on the visitors. They shift the ball down their left edge but a pass hits the ground between runners. It takes a kind bounce for Reimis Smith who steps inside the sliding Robson and pours through into the backfield with two supporting runners. He gets super greedy though and tries to beat Tuha by himself leading to a tackle. Tuha actually strips the ball off of him but because there was a second player in the tackle for a split second at the start it is called up for a penalty.

The Dogs finally make good on all the run of play from the whistle blower as their backrower (#12) slices through to the right of the posts. Game is very much on here.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Canterbury trail 24-28

72min gone

 

2min until De Luis is back on. Massive set of defence here. The Dogs come through the middle in the opening tackles of this set before going to their right where they find space. Gee this is going to hurt. Unlike before where Reimis Smith butchered the play at the fullback, this time around the right edge winger for the Dogs expertly picks out his inside runner from a cover defender and the Dogs go on to score under the posts. What a swing in the game.

 

Try scored by the Canterbury Bulldogs. Conversion successful.

Canterbury lead 30-28

75min gone

 

Short kickoff attempt from Wenty but the Dogs reel it in after a second attempt. THe Dogs work from left to right. Meehan is coming back on as the Magpies look for every bit of offensive impetus they can get.

The Dogs roll it in behind from 30m out on the last and Tuha zips onto it. Jennnings has a run before Schulte takes the third carry of the set. Wide right to Aukafolau who is well tackled and IT IS Willis Meehan who provides the difference for Wenty! The monstrous prop strides onto a carry and makes a half break before offloading to support and drawing an error from a defender as he bats the ball down. Scrum on halfway with 3min to play.

Aukafolau up first. Stormquist goes next as he comes back to the middle. Robson to Dargan to Schulte on the left now. Meehan winds up again but it taken in a strong tackle this time around. Nelson to Robson to Marata who is cut down in a great tackle and that brings up the last. Which unfortunately sees Cody Nelson have a brain fade. He runs to the line before realising it is the last just before contact and panics, flinging an offload to Marata that is intercepted. What the bloody hell?

No nonsense from the Dogs in reply. As you would expect really. They work downfield and find touch 10m out. 70sec for a miracle here.

Gafa goes first. Niukore on the third and the all or nothing plays comes on the fourth when we play to our left. Robson to Dargan to Davis and it looks like the run and pass might be on but Davis chips ahead and it is taken by the Canterbury fullback on the full. That should pretty much bring an end to a heart-breaking loss but time is blown off for the fullback who stays down.

25sec left to play and the Dogs just ruck it out to bring an end to the game.

 

Full Time

Canterbury Bulldogs 30 DEF Wentworthville Magpies 28

 

Final Word

 

What a tough loss. The brainsnap from Kurt De Luis leading to his sin binning proved devastatingly costly. Wenty are still very much in the hunt for the post-season but cracking the Top 4 is now going to take some luck. Hard to give out points today. Lots of solid efforts but no one really put their hand up to take the game when it was there.

 

TCT Best On Field

3. Marata Niukore

2. Matt Woods

1. Ray Stone

 

Final Word