25/07/2009 Revenge vs Brothers

Revenge was sweet for Hunters Hill Rugby's 1st Grade side as they downed arch-rivals Brothers 24-10 at Boronia Park on the weekend. Following a diabolical performance that saw the Black and Whites go down 24-28 in May, the four tries to two result was sweet relief for a side looking to fine tune their game in the last month of the regular season.

Fielding a modified line-up in light of four key absences including inspirational skipper Dave Weston, Hunters Hill saw the game as an excellent opportunity to showcase the depth that has seen the club take a clear lead on the club championship table.  This depth was demonstrated early as bustling replacement number 7 Alex Vertoudakis crashed over for the first try.

With stand-in Skipper and No.8 Alex Light employing a powerful running game around the fringes, Hillies began to dominate territory and further first half tries to Jordan Butler and Sam Henry ensured they would take a lead into halftime.

While the second half proved less productive for the Hillies, they continued to apply pressure to the Brothers line, particularly through the scheming efforts of scrum-half Stuart Woodbridge. That pressure would finally tell with the game-sealing try to new fullback Chase Mason who sprinted under the posts at the 60 minute mark.

The bonus point win leaves Hunters Hill in a clear second place from which to attack the 4th placed Epping Rams at a neutral venue this weekend.

In the lower grades, Hunters Hill again showed their class in racking up 3 decisive victories.

The Seconds were ruthless in a 51-0 demolition of Brothers, with Michael Kellaway enjoying his switch to fly-half and Nathan Michael crossing for a hat-trick. Third Grade maintained their undefeated run in 2009 with a 29-5 win that included Kane Nicholson grabbing 3 tries of his own. Fourth Grade avenged the 5 all draw of Round Six with a tenacious 14-11 win, giant second rower Tom Kellaway popping up on the wing at the death to race away for the match-winning try. In the only defeat of the day, Hunters Hill Fifth Grade were brave in a 7-5 loss to Forest with Dustin Stephans crossing for the home side's points.