RESULTS:
SAINTS 26 drew with
CRONULLA 26
Crowd: 15, 226
MATCH
SUMMARY & REPORT:
ROUND 14:
CLASSIC LOCAL DERBY A DRAW!!!
SAINTS 26 v CRONULLA 26
THE TINGHA CONNECTION
NATHAN & PRESTON
RUN THE SHOW
TRENT &
RIDDELL ON REPORT FOR HEAD HIGHS
Sydney Football Stadium, FRI 25
MAY, 7. 30pm: In a match which had no clear winner at any time, Saints
have stormed home to snatched a draw right on full time. The highlight
of the match was the thrills and spills provided by Tingha lads, Preston
Campbell and Nathan Blacklock.
Although from the same home turf,
both players were on opposing teams tonight and they lifted magnificently
to the occasion with Nathan scoring 2 tries and Preston scoring one try.
Nathan Blacklock now goes further
ahead on the try scoring ladder with 14 tries in 2001 and is on target
to become the leading try scorer for 3 years running. Nathan's claims on
a Blue's jumper are getting too hard to ignore. He scored his first try
under the posts leaving defenders in his wake and had Cronulla 2nd rower,
Nathan
Long, hanging off his back. (see pic below)
The half time score was 8-all and
Saints looked the better team but Cronulla came out firing in the 2nd half
and
looked to have the
match won after over powering the Saints pack and scoring back to back
tries.
It was a classic match from the
local rivals with plenty of niggle and a little bit of controversy. At
one point, Cronulla's Chris Beattie was penalised after he served
Wayne
Bartrim with a left upper cut while in possession.
There are some concerns for the
Dragons with both Trent Barrett and Mark Riddell being placed
on report for head high tackles.
Although out gunned up front, the
Dragons had the edge in the backs and can be thankfull for the persistence
of the smaller men and in particular a deft short kick off from Wayne
Bartrim which gave Saints possession late in the match which led to
tonight's 26-all draw. |
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BY
THE CLOCK:
10 min: Try Grose. After Saints dominated field
possession, Cronulla score against run of play. Conversion Campbell. Cronulla
6-0
17 min: Barrett place on report for head high
on Ryan. Barrett will be charged later and will miss one match.
24 min: Try Blacklock. Treacy makes a 30 m run
and is tackled. Blacklock finds himself bursting up the middle from close
range. He carries 2nd rower Long over the line to score under the posts.
Conversion Bartrim. 6-all
25 min: Cronulla's Chris Beattie comes as an interchange
player and head slams Ryles. The incident goes without notice from the
ref. A minute later, Beattie is seen niggling and then he is penalised
for offside. Beattie looks too keen to get stuck in for our liking.
27 min: Chris Beattie king hits Wayne Bartrim
and knocks him senseless. Close inspection can see no reason for the attack
which seemed to happen after Beattie was heavily tackled by Bartrim and
Hart. We tried to see if any Dragon's player provoked the attack but it
was clear that Beattie just lashed out. He then tries to hide in the backline
as play continues but was reported by the touch judge. Saints get the penalty
as Beattie heard saying, "...but I didn't mean to hit him..." the Cronulla
forward is not placed on report but will be charged later and suspended
for one match. Bartrim had to leave the field. It what appears as a glitch
in the rules, Bartrim's departure will count as an interchange because
Beattie was not sent off or put on report. The incident has Saint's fans
in an uproar.
29 min: Penalty goal Riddell. Cronulla penalised
for offside. Saints 8-6
38 min: Penalty goal Ferris. Saints are penalised
for obstructing kicker / chaser. 8-all
39 min: A number of handling errors and the half
time siren sounds. Cronulla are almost scoring in the corner but cannot
beat the cover defence or the touch judges flag and it's no try.
HALF TIME: 8-all
48 min: Try Preston Campbell. Following repeat
sets, Campbell shows his class and scores under posts for Cronulla. Conversion
Ferris. Cronulla 14-8
50 min: Riddell placed on report for head high
on Stevens. Riddell's clean record will see him avoid suspension. Penalty
kick fails to find touch and Saints return back with Ainscough making good
yards.
Saints' Willie Peters grubbers and chases but is taken
out by Pierce who steps into Peters. No action from ref.
52 min: Try Best. In just a few tackles, Cronulla
run the ball the full 80 metres through Beattie and Campbell. The cover
is unable to re-group in time and following a Preston Campbell grubber,
Best scores. Conversion attempt by Ferris hits uprights and misses but
Cronulla look to have a winning lead. Cronulla 18-8
55 min: Barrett puts Roberts in to the clear and
he runs some 40 metres before being pulled down just short of the line.
Saints have a huge overlap and it's just a matter of passing the ball.
Jason Stevens, in an offside position knocks the ball down and Saints'
McGregor is denied a definite try. Cronulla are penalised but Stevens
is not sin binned.
57 min: Try McGregor. From the penalty, Saints
take a tap. Barrett sets up play for McGregor to put on a big step to score
under the posts. Conversion Bartrim. Cronulla 18-14
62 min: Try Mostyn. Mellor steps past Peters who
is painfully out of position in the centres and whilst in open space, the
Cronulla three quarter finds his fullback. There is little cover defence
and the Cronulla team celebrate what looks to be a death blow to the Dragons.
Conversion Campbell. Cronulla 24-14
70 min: Try Roberts. Saints attack from close
range and Cronulla don't mark up. The try is score wide of the posts. Conversion
Bartrim. A pressure kick into the cold of the night. Cronulla 24-20
76 min: Penalty goal Campbell. Thompson penalised
for not getting off the tackled player quick enough. Cronulla cannot lose
from here. Cronulla 26-20
77 min: From the kick off, Bartrim beautifully
feigns a deep kick and then scoops up a short ball which makes 15 metres.
There are plenty of Dragons players on hand and Saints get possession.
Peters, Barrett, Hart and Blacklock are evident as Saints throw themselves
into the attack. A try goes begging when Thompson fails to pass to an unmarked
Gasnier and Roberts (Roberts by now is playing on the wing and Blacklock
has assumed the fullback spot, as pre-arranged). A grubber in goal leads
to a Cronulla line drop out. However, on a touch judge report, Saints get
a penalty after it is ruled that Nathan Long went in with a high elbow
on Trent Barrett.
79 min: Try Blacklock - 14 tries in 14
rounds. Saints take the tap and following a few moves towards the left
side Saints find themselves playing the ball with only moments left in
the match. Trent Barrett and Nathan Blacklock combine. Barrett puts in
the grubber and Blacklock after calling the play, runs through unopposed.
Conversion Blacklock (given the honours). 26-all
FULL TIME: 26-all
SOTV
BEST PLAYERS: SOON
Nathan Blacklock (3pts) Became too hard to stop
in the end and played like a forward when the forwards were lacking. His
switch to fullback to give Amos Roberts a rest didn't hinder Tingha for
a moment. Scored 2 more tries for a season tally of 14 and holds a handy
lead as the competition's best. Kicked a conversion as well.
Amos Roberts (2pts) Put his body on the line in
defence and backed up all day. His one on one tackle which brought down
a rampaging Beattie was inspirational.
Andrew Hart (1pt) As far as we could see, Hart
was the only forward not out of his depth tonight. A few big names and
a few upstarts allowed themselves to be intimidated by the likes of Stevens,
Long and that thug Beattie.
Not far away: Barrett, Peters, Bartrim.
MATCH
& CROWD PICS:
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Jamie Ainscough
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Darren Treacy
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Chris Beattie comes on (interchange) in the 24th min.
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His 1st effort is to head slam Ryles. The incident goes
without notice, despite Bartrim's protest.
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Minutes later, Beattie is at it again, raising a knee
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He is tackled heavily by Barto and Hart
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Beattie plays the ball and gets up to with fists clenched
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Beattie has hold of Bartrim who is backing away
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Beattie lands a left punch
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Bartrim has been knocked out
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Play continues and Beattie retreats
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Beattie attempts to disappear but touchie is comimg on
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Beattie is still walking backwards & trying to hide.
Bartrim is struggling on the deck.
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Chris Beattie tells anyone who is prepared to listen
that he didn't mean it
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Bartrim leaves the field and does not return until the
2nd half
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Barrett finds Blackock in support
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Tingha in the open
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Paul McGregor on his way to the tryline
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Amos Roberts gets around his opposite
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Amos crosses to score
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Amos gets a four pointer
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The onlookers are delighted
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Barto perfectly weights a short kick off
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Tingha appeals for noise from the Army
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REF
REPORT:
Paul Simpkins put in a moderate performance when it came
to technical matters such as the bounce of the ball. he seemed to get it
right when the ball was being deflected. Saints supporters booed a couple
of his decisions but replays show that he got the handling errors pretty
well right.
We do have a problem with his handling of the Chris Beattie
incident. After Beattie delivered a king hit on Wayne Bartrim, Beattie
was not placed on report but Bartrim had to leave the field. Under the
rules, Bartrim's leaving was counted as an interchange. If Beattie was
sin binned or placed on report, Saints would have not lost an interchange.
The refs need to be aware of this.
In a match full of niggle, Simpkins seemed turn a blind
eye to a number of incidents. This was understandable in what was a typical
local derby.
Overall rating: 6 out of 10
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