10/07/2010 Hunters vs hornsby

Hillies still in the Hunt

Hunters Hill continued in their quest for Division 1 rugby after another big day on Saturday.

1st Grade

1st Grade gained a hold of a spot in the top 4 and will look to cement a semi-final place in the coming weeks, surely going down to a mouth watering clash with Oatley in a couple of weeks. They will need to take hold of that game better then they did against Waverley on Saturday if they are to prove worthy of that top 4 finish. Although Hillies scored a total of seven tries, they leaked in points at the back far to easily.

Jordan Butler continued his impressive scoring form by adding two more to his tally on Saturday. The 'very-loss' forward has been defences head aches over the past few weeks with his ball running,scoring two against Waverley and setting up a third for Matty Lane. Although Hillies went into half time leading, they were not dominating at the break downs, and Waverley were not going to let up, as they proved in the 2nd Half. Injuries to James Lindfield and Burzin Mehta along with sin bins for substitute Colman Taylor and Butler did not help the cause. But with the some ferocious tackling from Nick Giacomini and Cam Van Oirschot, some good bossing from No. 9 Dave Marshall, and some huge boots from No. 10 Bruce Purcell, Hillies managed to hold onto a lead. With Waverley getting tired, Hunters added to their points tally with a great solo try from winger Dan Casa, a break from centre Duncan Taylor and substitute La La Havea. In the end the score line was a flattering 43-26, and with St. Ives looking to cause a major upset this Saturday, Hillies will need to be up to the task.

2nd Grade

Huntershill 40 Waverly 0

2nd grade were again disrupted through the week with some forced changes due to injuries and illness. This saw somewhat of a reshuffle in the forwards which saw the return of Matt McRae to blindside, Dave "Harpoon"
Weston back from injury to prop and Brian Walker from a long layoff to prop aswell.

The first half was a scrappy affair with both teams finding it tough with some interpretations from the man with the whistle. Rob Gray scored the first of his 2 meat pies with an incisive run through a gap 1 pass off the ruck. As we have done through most of the year, we dominated territory off the back of our set piece. The scrum infringements were confusing but looked like the only way Waverly were going to get a break. A second try was scored heading into the break and converted to have the boys from Boronia up 14-0.

The 2nd half started with Waverly camping themselves on our line after a charge down only for the Black and White army to repel wave after wave of attack which eventually saw Waverly make an error. From there the lads grinded they're way back into Waverly territory and within quick succession put 2 tries on the board to have us take yet another bonus point win. We finished the game off in fashion with a further 2 tries to Lala "Beyonce" Havea and to the returning Dave "Harpoon" Weston to cap off an impressive 40-nil win over a tough Waverly outfit.

Best on the day were Lala Havea who was strong through the middle both with the ball and in defense, scoring 2 tries, Rob Gray who grabbed yet another double in what was again a dominant display from the crafty five-eight and lastly Jesse "Crouching Tiger" Croucher who was his usually self. An absolute pest at the breakdown, strong in the lineouts and was a titan in defense. Some notable mentions go to Michael "Quinney" Quin for his hit on the Waverly 10 and subsequently got a yellow card for apparently forgetting to use his arms, the returning front row of Dave Weston and Brian Walker and also to skipper Jules Arndt who again led this team superbly onto Victory. A thankyou must also go out to the guy's who backed up to reserve, Tim Dodds, Tim Vertoudakis, Cyrus Church and Joel Firth.

This week sees a mouth watering top of the table clash against St Ives who pretty much gave us a lesson last time round with a 14-5 win at home against what I thought was a cocky, complacent black and white outfit.
Lessons were learnt last time and it would be the perfect time just before the finals to send a message to these guy's. Preparation is everything so we need to make sure we leave no stone unturned.

Colts

The colts enjoyed another bonus point win against Waverly with 11 tries scored leaving the colts in 2nd place outright in the league... try scorers were yours truly with 3, Johnny "I'm pretty sure I'm black" Ah Lam, Paul Ah Lam, SDVC Kellaway, Cosmo (former Loreal model), Tr (shes not my girlfriend), Shanley (I've lost my bag) and other people I think they are called forwards (except Scott Woodward who didn't score at all)...
Everybody kind of chipped in with the kicking a bit other than Johnnys shocking attempt at a dropkick. Another good win and bring on St Ives next week. Marky Jones will defo text you about it anyway. Also this report will make more sense than his shocking attempt at it last week.

Yours truly David "how'd u like them tatoes" Nutty P.S. Mal has agreed to get into a suit and what not if we win this comp so lets keep it going

3rd Grade

Hillies 3rd grade bounced back into the winner's circle with a 26-5 win over Waverley.

With a few players arriving late courtesy of the non-existent parking, the preparation was not exactly ideal. The first half was a see-sawing affair, with both teams playing good territory but failing to capitalise on their opportunities.

The forward pack worked well as a unit, led by flankers Jarred Thatcher & Kit Baigent, and Garret "Harris" Bourke returning fresh from Ireland and full of Guinness goodness.

Flanker turned fullback Luke McLennan made some damaging runs through the Waverley defence. Bustling winger Max Pisu pulled of some big hits in defence and was equally damaging in attack. Zane Thomas always looked dangerous with the ball in hand, giving good service to the backline.

It was Dom Curran who opened the scoring for Hillies with a quick dart from the back of a maul through a yawning gap to score under the sticks. To their credit, Waverley struck back though shortly after with a try, courtesy of some Hillies complacency.

Another try under the sticks, this time to Zane Thomas, came somewhat against the run of play and Hillies went into Halftime up 14-5.

The second half was a tight encounter with Waverley looking like they might edge back into the game courtesy of some Hillies mistakes. However, the defence once again proved solid with the Waverley attack shut down everytime a half chance popped up.

The side maintained composure and after a number of penalties inside the Waverley half, Nick Salmon scored in the corner to secure victory.

After the kick, the ref signalled 1 minute to go. The call went out for the bonus point try and from the kickoff Hillies backed themselves spinning it from one side to the other and back again, taking it the length of the field in a great team effort for Dom Curran to score his second try.

4th Grade

Waverley 21 Hunters Hill 0

The match against the competition leaders, undefeated in 35 matches, promised to provide a barometer for where we are as a team .While the score might indicate otherwise, we performed exceptionally well in some really key areas. The high work rate and sound technique of our forwards again frustrated the much bigger Waverley eight. Our defence in the close quarter channels in particular, was excellent.

Waverley are blessed with some great outside backs and we paid for the decision to give them room without pressure. They were quick, ran great lines, had a high quality of catch and pass and consistently supported each other. We needed to maintain a tight and simple approach, but let ourselves down by ignoring that strategy.

Marty Merrick suffered a neck injury during the game, which halted proceedings some 10 minutes early. It's times like these that we appreciate the presence of Alastair, who managed Marty's condition wonderfully until the ambulance arrived. I'm pleased to report that Mr Merrick is OK and was back home on Saturday night, having been cleared of any serious injury. Not a good week for 4ths on the injury front, with Coops having admitted himself to hospital during the week and now out for the season.

We look forward to meeting Waverley again