A vastly improved showing on the field did not convert into points on the scoreboard for the mighty Goondiwindi Boars as they crashed to a 44-12 defeat at the hands of the Pittsworth Danes at Gilbert Oval on Sunday.
The Boars nearly made a dream start to the game with star centre Craig McKenzie intercepting the ball on his own goal line and running 95m before being tackled just short of the try-line. On a dry track Craig would have planted the ball under the black dot.
The Danes then showed the Gilbert Oval crowd why they are the number two team on the TRL ladder with a two-try rampage in the 16th and 19th minute to take a 12-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. The crowd on the hill were starting to ask “by how many?”.
An improved defensive display in the next 10 minutes saw the Boars stem the flow of tries, and in fact had the Danes back- peddling during this period and forced them into several handling errors. This was especially true when they were under the heavy defensive barrage from renowned hard-men Brendan Rice and Michael Taylor.
Copy-book defence from Thomas Crocker, Adam Rodolossi and Karl Tomkins also had the Danes in disarray in attack and when presented with the ball, the Boars showed plenty of flair in attack with Jordan Jenkins, Matt Poirier and the electrifying Matt Galvin always dangerous with the ball in hand.
With the game a half-an-hour old, the Boars were deep in Danes territory when a flurry of passes on the last tackle saw the ball land in the hands of Craig McKenzie, who tested his luck with a deft chip and chase, and with a fortuitous bounce, regathered the ball and scored an amazing try to have the Boars trailing 12-6.
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The Boars’ improved defensive display continued for the rest of the half, but a lapse in concentration in the shadows of halftime saw the Danes score against the run of play and a dejected Boars outfit headed to the sheds for oranges down 18-6.
The second half began with the Danes attacking machine clicking into overdrive and they posted five unanswered tries by the 75th minute to lead the Boars 44-6 before a late try to Craig McKenzie added a hint of respectability to the final score-line of 44-12 in favour of the Pittsworth Danes.
Once again the scoreboard did not truly reflect the closeness of the contest and the Boars showed a marked improvement in all facets of play under the expert tuition of new coach Tony Mitchell who comes to Goondiwindi with a wealth of experience.
For the Boars, none performed better than centre Matt Poirier who was everywhere in both attack and defence, and his partnership with Craig McKenzie will reap huge benefits for the Boars in the second round of the TRL premiership.
Reserv e Grade.
The Adam Wilson coached Reserve Grade team suffered a 42-6 defeat at the hands of the Pittsworth Danes on Sunday and remain anchored at the foot of the TRL ladder.
The “Reggies” played far superior football than in past outings but a lack of ability to convert half chances into tries proved their undoing as they had ample opportunities to register points.
Once again the “Reggies” were led up front by the ageless veteran Peter Vuchovik and he was well supported by Tim Rabbit, Andrew Rice, Anthony Williams and Owen Smith in the engine room.
The crowd in attendance were treated to the surprise comeback of Boars’ legend Kayne “Whopper” Spicer who added much needed starch to the Boars’ defence and leadership in attack.
The backs were best served by Wil McIntosh, Brad Frost, Ben McCosker and the flying winger Robbie “Na-Na” Hanna.
Under 18.
Super coach Cyril Mayberry will be flogging his young charges on the training paddock this week after their wanning fitness saw them squander a chance to snatch victory against Pittsworth on Sunday.
The young Boars were well and truly in the game down 18-16 in the 50th minute of play, but a lack of fitness saw them concede 4 tries in the closing 10 minutes to leave the final score at 40-16 to the Danes.
Down 12-0 early in the game, the young Boars played exceptional football to draw level at 12-12 by halftime after tries to Grant Woods and Joss Cleal.
Grant Woods bamboozled the Danes defence close to the line with a side-step so huge it took him into another postcode before diving over the try-line and Joss Cleal showed enough deft skills in scoring his try that he no doubt drew the attention of his Uncle Crusher who was on the sidelines scouting out talent for the Manly Sea Eagles.
Aaron Rodolossi rounded out the scoring for the young Boars with a well deserved try and best players for the Boars were Joseph Frey, Reg McIntosh, Corey Martyn and Jarred Emslie.
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