Yass Magpies notched up their second win of the season last Saturday against the Canberra Scholars to the tune of 30-20.
In cold and windy conditions at Boomanulla Oval it was apparent the team who better controlled the ball was going to come out victors.
Yass allowed the opposition to get on the board early with a try, however the Magpies were not fazed as they continued to consolidate and stick to their pattern of play.
Richie Allan was up to his usual magic and was instrumental in sending Jono Butt over for the Magpies first try of the day. With Chris Rawlinson’s successful conversion, Yass held a slender 6-4 lead.
The Magpies’ forward pack, in particular Marcus Wikaira, Rob Terrill and Ant Broers continued to stick it to the Scholars’ big men. The game was beginning to turn into a real slog with both packs mercilessly ripping into each other.
It wasn’t a sight for the faint hearted.
Corey Parker’s bursting runs up the middle kept the opposition weary of the big man, while working hard to bring him down.
Solid work from the forward pack allowed lock Cody Timoti room to move off the fringes. The in-form back-rower sent flying winger Dane Snowden over for a great four pointer, giving Yass a 10-4 advantage.
Only a few minutes later Yass was in again following clever lead up play from centre Tim Warden, who spun the ball out to classy centre and partner in crime Jono Butt. The 20-year-old slammed the ball down for his first try of the day and took the visitors to a 14-4 lead at the break.
Yass kicked off the second half and to the delight of the travelling supporters the Scholars knocked on.
The Magpies capitalised in the next set on the back of some controlled possession and ball play, particularly from Matt Lawrence, who beat three defenders before getting the final pass away to try-scorer Luke Jorgensen. The early second half try gave the visitors a 14-point buffer, 18-4.
To the Scholars credit they hit back straight away. A lapse in concentration from Yass and some poor defence helped the Canberra Scholars reduce the margin to eight and adjust the score to 18-10 in the Magpies’ favour.
Only a few sets later big Marcus Wikaira burst through three defenders to score under the posts and give the Magpies their fifth try of the day. Rawlinson converted to push the lead out to 24-10.
Once again, Scholars hit straight back with an unconverted try to reduce the deficit to 10.
A slight glitch in the Yass defensive line again provided the Scholars with a try-scoring opportunity. They were good enough to score their fourth try and in the space of ten minutes had clawed their way back into the contest.
At this stage many Yass supporters feared the Magpies were in danger of blowing the match.
However, they remained calm and refused to lie down. The players dug deep; they had worked too hard to come away with a loss.
A first class 40/20 from Richie Allan seven minutes from full time was the catalyst for Dane Snowden to score his second try of the day and with a Richie Allan conversion, Yass held an unassailable 30-20 lead.
Captain/coach Brenden Solomon was happy to come with the two competition points. “A win is a win. We went there and came away with the two points. That’s all I can ask,” he said. “We definitely could have put them to the sword… we made it a big tough on ourselves at times, but we got there.”
In conclusion, the Magpies played particularly well in patches and by the same
token were a bit rusty in others.
One could assume the lay off last week had an effect on the team’s momentum. It was pleasing to see the return from injury of Rob Terrill. His combination with Marcus Wikaira off the bench could help shape the Magpies as one of the strongest packs in the competition.
Jono Butt continues to shine as do the other two youngsters in the side Matt Lawrence and Dane Snowden.
Peter Quinn continues to impress with his efforts and commitment to the team. The club is fortunate to have him on board again this season.
Best on the day were Marcus Wikaira, Peter Quinn, Jono Butt and Corey Parker.
This Saturday the Yass Magpies head to Kippax to take on the West Belconnen Warriors. Yass is in search of its third win on the trot, while the Warriors are seething after a round four loss.
***
Yass Magpies 30 [J Butt 2, D Snowden 2, L Jorgenson, M Wikaira tries; C Rawlinson, R Allan conversions] defeated Canberra Scholars 20.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter