Round 13 of the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition saw the Young Yabbies hosting the West Wyalong Weevils at Cranfield Oval. Game day turned out to be a traditional Winters day this week with some cool weather, huge gusts of wind and even some showers!
Despite the Weevils being at the bottom of the table, this game was never expected to be an easy one, with the Yabbies expecting the Weevils to turn up in force!
Whilst the weather wasn’t too conducive to being a spectator, there was a reasonable crowd there to cheer on the Yabbies for their second last game of the season. Whilst it was cold on the sidelines, the battle on the field was very much heated!
The first 15 minutes saw both teams hitting brick walls in defence with the play never straying too far into either half.
The Yabbies started to build momentum and were the first to strike with quick hands out to Owen Griffiths who drew the defence well in order to put Nick Schiller into space. Nick was well supported by Hugh McInerney who crashed over the line for the first try of the match. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 7-0 West Wyalong
The Weevils started to build pressure deep in the Yabbies half, but the Yabbies deence was holding strong. In the final minute of the half the Weevils finally found an opportunity when Alex Maher changed direction, being fed the ball Stirling Ross, to cross the line for the first try for West Wyalong. Conversion successful by Nick Preston.
Young 7-7 West Wyalong
Half Time
Young 7-7 West Wyalong
After the scores being locked at half time, the game was very much still open slather for whichever team decided they wanted it more. I’m sure there were some choice words in both camps about how the second half should start and the short break definitely reinvigorated some of the players.
The Yabbies proved to be the most hungry though, with Matt Reid crashing over the line only a few minutes into the half from a ruck move that has proven to be successful throughout his playing career. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 14-7 West Wyalong
Only a matter of minutes later the Yabbies found themselves back in the Weevils half and some quick hands through the backs saw Hugh McInerney find an opportunity out wide to show off his pace, crossing the line for the Yabbies’ third try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 19-7 West Wyalong
The next major offense launch from within the Yabbies half when the Yabbies’ ultimate seagull Rowan Daley was handed pristine ball in space by Hagon Williams. Rowan decided to give a display of his pace running nearly 60m before finally being confronted by the Weevils fullback. A screaming Dan Parker in support on the inside caught the ball from Rowan’s offload and crashed over the line for the Yabbies’ fourth try. Conversion unsuccessful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 24-7 West Wyalong
The battle continued in the middle of the field, with some hard hits and impressive defence. Then some quick ball out to the backs saw Tom Kent create an opportunity for himself, running more than 50m to score in the corner for the Yabbies’ fifth try. Conversion unsuccessful by Owen Griffiths
Young 29-7 West Wyalong
The Yabbies found themselves deep in the Weevils’ half again and some solid runs off the back of the ruck and off the scrumhalf Ned saw the Yabbies really testing out the Weevils’ defence. After a continual build up of pressure, the Weevils’ gave away a penalty 5 metres out from their line. Hagon Williams threw his hand up to take the run, with Weevils getting a hold of his legs, but his sheer strength and momentum allowing him to reach out place the ball over the line for the Yabbies’ sixth try of the match. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 36-7 West Wyalong
The Weevils’ never gave up though, with some strong attacking plays enabling them to make their way in the Yabbies’ half. Off the back of a scrum deep in the Yabbies half, some quick hands to the Weevils’ flyhalf saw him place a well-weighted grubber kick through that was collected by Ted Hall as he crashed over the line for the Weevils’ second try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful by Nick Preston.
Young 36-12 West Wyalong
Full Time Result Young 36-12 West Wyalong
Coach Ned Mullany was really pleased with the boys efforts, with the injured Club Captain Brendan Shoard taking the field to lead the Yabbiemen through their team song in front of the clubhouse.
Coach Ned commented “We’ve done our job, we set out today to get a Win with a Bonus Point in order to try and keep our finals hopes alive and we did that. This week we were lucky enough to be on the other side of a team losing concentration for a short period, which has what has been one of our biggest issues this year. Full credit to the boys, it was a hard slog out there and the scoreline really wasn’t a reflection of how it felt on the field. I guarantee there will be some very sore bodies tomorrow!”
Points Scorers:
Young
Tries Hugh McInerney (2), Matt Reid, Dan Parker, Tom Kent, Hagon Williams
Conversions 3/6 – Owen Griffiths
West Wyalong
Tries Alex Maher, Ted Hall
Conversions 1/2 – Nick Preston
Best & Fairest Points:
3 – Dan Cormie
2 – Tom Hurley
1 – Hugh McInerney
Players Player – Matt Reid
Whilst the Yabbies had done their part to keep their finals hopes alive, unfortunately the Condobolin Rams had found a way to get their hands on 2 Bonus Points which assures them a finals berth with their competition points at 37 and the Yabbies able to get a maximum of 36.
Whilst that signals that next weekend will be the end of the Yabbies’ season, it certainly won’t be a throwaway game with the Yabbies keen to get over the Tuskers and win back the coveted Adam McGregor Memorial Shield in front of a home crowd! So, make sure your plans for next weekend involve being at Cranfield to cheer on your Yabbies’ in their last game of the season against an old foe, the Temora Tuskers. More details on the match to come with the release of the team announcement.
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