Roosters Fight Hard in Tough Conditions

Heavy rain in Ingham last Friday night made the going tough for the A-grade match between the Roosters and the Herbert River Crushers last Saturday.

The ground was very heavy and muddy in places, especially after a reserve-grade match between Herbert River and Bowen was played beforehand.

Despite the adverse conditions, the smaller Burdekin team handled the situation well, going down in the dying stages 18 to 14.

The locals actually led the River 10 to 6 at the break after Kali Nauque and Nemia Nawave had scored tries, with Dylan Doak converting one.

Burdekin had also been denied two tries in this period, with the referee ruling “held up” over the line.

A devastating blow for the Roosters came when flying centre Jesse Yallop was forced to leave the field with a hamstring injury.

Yallop was judged the player of the match at Ladies Day in Ayr the week before and is regarded as one of the best and fastest centres in the competition.

He had taken an intercept and was on his way to the try line when the incident happened.

With Yallop taking no further part in the match, coach Steve Lansley was left with only 15 players when one had trouble and failed to play.

That made the Burdekin side’s effort all the better, with fewer replacements on the heavy ground.
The River used their size and extra replacements in the second half to come back and take the match, even though the last try looked as though it came from a blocking move.

In the second half, fullback Adam Camer topped off a good match by scoring a try off Jye Olsen.
The Crushers had bombed Camer right through, but he held firm and was one of the best on ground.

The game was mainly played in the forwards, and here Terrence Mosby and Colby Thompson stood out with hard runs and great defence, backed up by Lachlan Shepherd, Ethan Hagarty and Hayde Munro.

Munro was again a hard worker and was unlucky not to get a try from a loose ball.

One of the best forwards on ground was big front rower Tate Brombal.

Being the biggest Roosters forward, Brombal was targeted but never faltered.

Coach Steve said he was happy with the way his team performed but would have liked a different result.
He said his team played their hearts out, but the conditions didn’t suit their speed, and the luck didn’t go their way.

Burdekin: tries by Kali Nauque, Nemia Nawave, Adam Camer; goal by Dylan Doak.

Both the Roosters reserves and the Burdekin River ladies teams had byes.

In other results:
A Grade: Norths beat Charters Towers 30–24; Souths beat Western Lions 44–4; Brothers beat Centrals 32–6.
Reserve Grade: Charters Towers beat Norths 40–22; Herbert River beat Bowen 38–16; Souths beat Western Lions 36–16; Brothers beat Centrals 52–6.
Women: Norths beat Charters Towers 16–12; Brothers beat Centrals 20–6. Burdekin River, Western Lions and Bowen had byes.

This weekend, Charters Towers will host the Burdekin in three grades. Souths will play Norths. Herbert River and Centrals have byes in A Grade, but Herbert River plays Bowen in Bowen in Reserve Grade.

The Roosters travel to Charters Towers on Saturday, with the women to play at 1.30, the reserves at 3.00 and the A-grade at 4.30.
Should the full squad of women go west, they should record a good win over the Lady Miners, with players like Martina Monday, Toni Daisy, Paige Horvat, Abby King and Rebecca Pace in good form.
The reserves should get a win, but that could depend on who is wanted for the A-grade team.

In A-grade, Braedyn Cotter is expected back this week, with Aiden Arisa and Cailosi Baroka also set to strengthen the pack.
The coach will have to find a five-eighth, with Joel Mason suspended and Dylan Doak away.
This game is very important and is virtually a must-win.

Contributed with thanks to Brian Carnes

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