VB NSW Cup Match Report Mounties v Illawarra Saturday 15th June 2013 WIN Stadium Mounties have suffered another agonising defeat in the VB NSW Cup with a close loss to Illawarra at WIN stadium on Saturday. With both teams needing a win to stay in contention with the top 8 the early exchanges were tight with little being given away however in the 12th minute a mistake by Mounties allowed Illawarra to regain possession and they quickly spread the ball to the right side for Daniel Vidot to score and make it 6-0. Mounties did not let the try get to them and within minutes Jake Foster was over when he pounced on a perfectly timed Sam Williams grubber kick next to the posts to make it 6-6 and five minutes later Mounties hit the lead when Louis Vaiotu finished off slick backline move to extend the lead to 10-6 after Williams conversion was pushed back by the howling wind. Mounties looked in control at this point and with seconds on the clock a Cutters chip kick was spilled by Mounties winger Shannon Chapman and regathered by Bronx Goodwin who passed infield for Damien Cook who placed a second kick for Adam Quinlan who scored adjacent to the posts and the Cutters had the half time lead 12-10. Illawarra extended their lead straight after the break when the kickoff found Mounties pushed into touch and from the ensuing scrum Runciman found the line and the Cutters led 18-10. Mounties would not lie down and in the next passage of play a downtown kick was chased by Jarrad Kennedy to the line and he made a crunching tackle which forced the ball loose and he then picked it up and scored to make it 18-16. The Cutters then got on the board again in the 53rd minute to make it 22-16 whoever within minutes Jarrad Kennedy had his second try and the score was locked up at 22-22. In the 62nd minute Jamie Soward showed good pace when he performed a one on one strip and raced the length of the field to put the Cutters in front 26-22 and after some end to end play the Cutters were gifted the win in the 74th minute when they were awarded a try from an blatant obstruction to go ahead 32-22. Mounties were not going to give it away that easy and from the kickoff they regathered the ball and Joe Picker capped of a great game by crashing over next to the posts and with the kick at goal declined the score was 32-26. The final minutes were a mad scramble of possession however Mounties could not capitalize and the Cutters claimed victory. In the Ron Massey Cup Mounties suffered their first defeat of the competition going down to The Entrance 16-12 in a tough game. Missing four key players in Mitch Cahalane, Grant Lahey and Shannon Chapman who played NSW Cup and Wayne Dargan who was injured, Mounties got a great start to the match when Billy King crossed in the opening minutes to make it 6-0. The Entrance hit back in the 25th minute to level the scores until the 31st minute when Reece Goldsmith dived over to put Mounties in front 10-6 and it remained that score until the break. Mounties had to withstand an onslaught in the opening stanza of the second half until the 58th minute when Dave Farkas slotted a penalty goal to put Mounties in front 12-6 however The Entrance hit back soon after to make it 12-10 and five minutes later took the lead 16-12 when they scored a converted try. Mounties dug deep in the final minutes and looked to have scored a winning try when Reece Goldsmith broke the line and drew the fullback however the pass was called forward and The Entrance ran the clock down to win. In the Sydney Shield an injury depleted Mounties fielded five C grade players in taking on competition heavy weights Belrose and went down 22-16 in a confidence boosting game at Lionel Watts Reserve Belrose. Mounties held the home team in the early stages and it was 6-4 to Belrose at the quarter game mark before the team went to half time locked up at 10 all. At three quarter time it was 16 all in what was a tough initiation to the senior grade for the young Mounties men and they did well to hang in with their much more experienced opponents who eventually prevailed 22-16 after scoring in the final minutes to claim the win. After a tough three week road trip for all grades, the club returns home next week when all three grades take on Wentworthville at Mounties Sports Complex on Saturday with Sydney Shield kicking off at 11:30am, the main game commencing at 3pm.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:17:44 +0000