Match Report – 4 June 2010
| Under 8s Bangalow – V – Ballina |
The Mighty Under 8’s have hit a new level of skill in both their attack and defense.
The 8’s took on a solid Ballina outfit, at their home ground and in front of a vocal crowd, the Bangalow boys excelled.
The scoring was quick by both sides as Ballina were keen to show what they had learnt since our last encounter. Three tries each in the first half and the air thick with tension.
Once again Will stood out with his quick steps and dummy passes. The most improved player for my money was Keelin who called for the ball when we were attacking the line almost crossing for his first ever try. Don’t worry Keelin it will happen.
Ben played a great game and was attentive the whole game. Callum made some good breaks and ran at the line on most occasions he got the ball. I was impressed with Zahi and his side stepping. Angus and Finn joined in when not distracted by the moment. When you are just starting out in Rugby it is an effort to stay focused for an entire game. All the boys were stocked with their performance and I was proud of the steps forward they are making with passing, catching, tagging and general fair play.
Well won boys!
| Under 12s vs Ballina |
The Bungalow under 12’s put in a much improved effort against a bigger & faster Ballina side, losing by 28-0.
There were strong performances by many of our players including some powerhouse running by Patrick Salina & courageous tackling by Tom Gibson & Isaac McCliskie-Miles who both regularly brought down players nearly twice their size with copy book tackles around the legs.
We were unlucky not to score when Fin McElroy was ankle tapped after making a strong run.
The team was strengthened with the addition of new player Jordi Magnus who stood out with both his defense & attacking skills.
It was good to see Angus Swanson get more involved, & Charlie Sic’s defense & positional play are improving each week.
The team is improving, but it is important that we keep up the positive team spirit & avoid any negative comments.
Training is on this Tuesday at 4.30pm. Please can everyone be there.
| U14s vs Lennox |
The depleted under 14 playing roster continued with Davis Jensen, Jaiden Jones, Jasper Hancock, Oscar Innes and Lewis Erskine all out with injury or illness, and Carl Karlholm away overseas. That left a bare 15 players to run on against Lennox Heads who are at the top of the table with Lismore. Under 13 player Rupert Swinton had to step up to be our fourth hooker in almost as many weeks, despite his lack of experience in the position. Matt Burvill was back having recovered from his encounter with a pine cone in the school grounds (weird but true!).
The team was on the back foot early, but determined defence held Lennox out and the tide started to turn our way. We had a momentary lapse of concentration and allowed them to dive over from a quick tap, but coming in to half time we were camped in their 22, pressing on the line with aggressive phase play from the forwards. We were unlucky not to score. The second half was similar, with opportunities to both sides and one more opportunistic Lennox try to give them a 12 – 0 win at full time.
It was a real achievement to hold Lennox to such a low score given our missing players, and we left the match confident that we can reverse the result next time. Highlights for Bangalow were the dominance of the forwards in the loose play, and the solid defence of the backs against a team that is used to scoring multiple tries every game. Doug Jarvis looked sharp running the ball from 5/8th and Justice Hamnett fired up with some powerful drives from the base of the rucks and mauls.