22/05/2010 Hunters vs Oatley

4 Trys not enough for a win

Hunters Hill 1st Grade played out a frustrating game of rugby at Boronia Park on Saturday. When the final whistle blew, all the players could only look at each other in disbelief at the fact that they had lost the game, despite scoring the more tries and having the majority of the ball in the 2nd half.

If Hillies have any ambition to make the top four this year, they will have to prevent teams from scoring, especially in the manner the tries were conceded at the weekend. Defense has been a key weakness this year, and although Hillies have players who will always score tries, it seems the need to prevent teams scoring is becoming vital to the sides progress. The game did not start well, with Oatley crossing the line first after some poor defensive marking from the home side. This is not the only time that Hillies have conceded first this season, and like those other times, Hillies worked their way back into the game. Some great play by centre La La Haveau set up the returning Dave Bonner to score in the corner. Oatley scored again, before Dean Thomson scored for Hillies. With both kicks missed, the score at half time read 12-10 to Oatley.

Some poor defensive play from Hillies led to Oatley crossing the line again early in the 2nd half, meaning Hunters Hill had it all to do. They had a fair go, attacking the Oatley line for long periods, before finally crossing through some lovely ball through hand, with Colman Taylor scoring once again in the corner. With a comeback on the cards, the Oatley No. 10 put the result beyond a doubt with two sublime drop goals and a penalty. Hillies kept on fighting, and managed one more try through No. 10 David Marshall, but it would be to little to late. Although Hillies picked up two bonus points, they will look back at this as a winnable game which got away from them. Final score, Oatley 26- Hillies 20.

2nd Grade however gave a masterclass in try scoring, managing a 64-0 win. Oatley caved under the quality of the Hillies attacking options, with captain Jordan Butler scoring three, No. 9 Luke Bird scoring a double, and Adrian Harvey, James Lindfield, Alex Vertoudakis, Bruce Purcell and Will Carew all grabbing a try. The result leaves 2nd Grade 3 points clear at the top of the ladder.

3rd Grade suffered another close loss, going down 12-8. A try from Nick Salmon and penalty from Duncan Taylor grabbing the points. 4th Grade managed a 10-7 win, with tries from Liam Cooper and Pat Feige. 4th Grade currently sit at 3rd.

The Colts gave a great performance and came out 17-10 winners. Tries from Daniel McDonald, Jonathan Ah Lam and Tristan Reid gave the Colts a vital win before the game was called off early due to an Oatley player getting injured. 5th Grade went down 52-0 against the Convicts, but they never gave up. Highlights were Steve Ross-Bryan, Ian Newton and Nathan James.