24/07/2010 Hunters vs St ives

1st Grade

Old Boys celebrate Back To Boronia in style

No less then seven games of rugby were played over two ovals at Boronia Park on Saturday. Hillies old and new gathered on the Hill to part take in and watch a great day of rugby, as Hillies celebrated their Back to Boronia day and after seeing 4 out 6 Grades winning, there could be more to celebrate come the end of the season.

1st Grade once again had to re-shuffle mid week after three injuries during last weeks win over Waverley. Sam Henry, Cam Van Oirshot and James Lindfield are all sidelined for a number of weeks. Ben Bates came back into the centres, Colman Taylor into flank and Dave Weston back into the front row.
There was a minutes silence before the game for the late CAT Peter Wincote, and the large crowd paid their respects.

The first ten minutes of the game saw St. Ives bring the game to Hillies, coming close after breaking the line only to be stopped by Matt Lane's try saving tackle. Hillies soaked up the pressure and more then matched the pick and go forwards game of St. Ives. But gradually Hillies got more and more into the game and eventually crossed the line through No. 8 Alex Light, right in front of the old boys corner. Great work from winger Dan Casa, who placed a kick into the path of Duncan Taylor crossing for the 2nd and then No. 9 Dave Marshall crossed for the 3rd after good work from Nick Roach and Jordan Butler. Hillies went into half time leading 19-0.

The opening ten minutes of the 2nd half however did not go to plan. Light was binned for an infringement near the Hillies try line, and St. Ives had their best period of the game, crossing the line twice to narrow the score 19-12. Although a little shaky, Hunters Hill managed to recover and worked their way back up the field. Bruce Purcell was on top form, spreading the play well to the quick back three, as well as clearing well under pressure.
Two second half tries from Dan Casa, plus one a piece for both Butler and Weston, with kicks converted from Burzin Mehta and Purcell, meant Hillies came off the park 47-12 winners.

3rd grade

Hillies 3rd grade ground out another win against St Ives on Saturday.

Still rueing the loss in the first round, the Hillies side was determined to make amends and keep their slim hopes of a finals berth alive.

The match was dominated by the forwards, with the bigger and more experienced St Ives pack testing the Hillies pack out in all facets of forwards play. As has been the case all year, the boys dug deep and outclassed their opposition to set a platform for the backs to attack from.

Viren (Drums) Fernando, fresh from an overseas break, stepped into the halfback role and controlled the play well. New signing Nick Brady was solid at fullback and the defence of Cyrus Church , Jarrod Thatcher and Nick (Dr Seuss) Salmon shut down any St Ives attacking raids.

The first real chance for Hillies in opposition territory saw the St Ives pack infringe at the ruck and the penalty goal option was taken for Hillies to go up 3-0, which remained the margin going into halftime.

Big winger Max Pisu (Inca) came on after halftime and immediately made an impact, chasing down a kick and brushing off a couple of defenders to score Hillies first try, converted by Luke McLennan for a 10-0 lead

A second try came thanks to a quick thinking Tim Dodds, who took a quick tap from a penalty 5 metres out from the St Ives line, capitalising on their disorganised defence and extending Hillies lead to 17-0 which would remain the score until fulltime.

The St Ives side rallied in the closing minutes of the game, camping on the Hillies line but they could not crack the rock solid defence that gave 3rd grade their first clean sheet of the season.

Player points:
3 - Jarrod Thatcher
2 - Luke MacLennan
1 - Max Pisu (Inca)

This weekend sees a matchup against lowly ranked Newport. There can be no room for complacency as 3rd grade must keep winning and snatch a couple of bonus points along the way to be any chance of playing in the semis. It's all hands on deck!

4th Grade

Hunters Hill 46 St Ives 0

While St Ives are not having the best of seasons, our display nevertheless, was quite remarkable. Our support play was simply outstanding, whether out wide or in close. Ball runners enjoyed the luxury of having team mates queuing up for the pass, over the entire course of both halves. Our mistake rate was negligible, with just about every pass hitting the intended mark.

Our forwards dictated the contest as usual and with the benefit of a very experienced and competent referee, we rarely lost a contest for the ball. Our set piece was solid and following Marty's injury we are fortunate to have Bally so easily able to move from the flank and manage proceedings at 2.

It's not usual that we single someone out in such a brilliant team performance, but Michael Murphy's try saving, front on tackle of the very large St Ives prop was memorable. Tackle of the year Mike !

Simeli Latilevu celebrated his 100th game with a try and powerful performance as the fourths stormed to a 46-0 victory. Other try scorers were prop Glen Paterson (2), Andrew Ball, Richie Colley, Michael Murphy, Patrick Feige and Luke Borg with Anthony Lagan booting three conversions.

The top end of the Richardson Cup is cluttered with teams looking to make the semi finals and after this match we sit in 3rd place. The business end of the season is definitely here and how well we ultimately do is dependent on your commitment to training and your focus on your own role within the team. Now is the time to make that extra effort by not just being at training on Thursday, but by attending training/fitness sessions on Tuesday.

Colts

Early in the match against a well drilled and competitive St Ives the Colts were a little off song and struggled to make their mark on the game.  When the Colts finally clicked into gear they looked to be the better side.

Frustrated Coach, Mal Fraser, voicing his concern on the side line combined with Assistance Coach, Matt Porter to offer some words of wisdom at half time.  Further input from Captain, Scott Woodward, and other team members ensured that Colts pulled themselves together and played a much better game in the second half to come away convincing winners 17 – 8.

With only 4 games to play, two of them against Newport, we need to have a good result next weekend to propel us to a top two semi final position.

Point Scorers:
Tries to Dam MacDonald, Alex Lloyd and Cosmo Jones
Goals – 1 conversion to Mike Kellaway

Best and Fairest:  3  Latu Havea;  2  Paul Metusla;  1  Paul Ah Lam

Referees Points:  3 Alex Lloyd and 1 Mike Kellaway

Go the Colts.

Angry
Manager

CATs v DADs Army - 24-7-2010.

Golden oldies rugby at it's finest. The CATs with a mix of youth and experience, took on the DADs Army in the third annual match on Back to Boronia Day.  Running rugby was the name of the game and the players didn't disappoint the large crowd of family and friends. The traditional Scratcha was finely executed and had the DADs and the crowd laughing before a ball had been kicked. The match was played a steady pace with the DADs making most of the running in the first half.

The DADs showed some spectacular handling skills and some may get the call up to play for the seniors in the coming weeks. Two long range tries to DADs had the crowd cheering but the CATs hit back with a couple of long range of their own to level the scores. Half time was welcomed as the lungs were burning under the somewhat balmy conditions, along with the port which was savoured.

The second half was a tight battle, with both teams attacking but both defences holding up well, a couple of tries each had the crowd constantly entertained and the rotating of players on the field kept both coaches busy. A lot of laughing and no kicking made for a very entertaining and fun match to watch as well as being played in exactly the right spirit.

A thank you to all the players and to Allan Southcombe who refereed the match superbly to allow such a great spectacle. Talk of a rematch soon was mentioned but players will need a few weeks to recover. A great event as part of a great day for the club.

Next Weekend

This weekend sees Hillies 2nd, 3rd, 4th Grades and Colts play a make-up game against Newport away. Then face Oatley away on the 7th August for what will be the biggest game of the year so far. Hillies currently sit 86 points behind Barker Old Boys in the club championship table.