Round 12 of the Oilsplus South West Rugby Competition saw the Young Yabbies travel over to Harden to take on the Red Devils at Roberts Park. The weather really turned it on for the day, making it a cracking day to have been on the sidelines!
This game was always pegged to be a hard slog for both sides, with Harden looking to show their dominance as to why they’re sitting 2nd on the ladder and Young eager to get back at Harden after going down in a nail-biter in Round 5 at Cranfield Oval.
The Yabbies won the toss and elected to kick off. Harden quickly found themselves deep in the Yabbies half. Some quick hands at the ruck saw the Yabbies win back the ball, with an exit kick going awry and heading towards centre field. Ben Lenehan scooped up the kick and saw empty space in front of him, and he used his pace to quickly use up that space and crossed the line for the first try of the match only a few minutes into the game. Conversion successful by Ben Lenehan.
Young 0-7 Harden
The Yabbies had been caught napping, but they were adamant to change that. Harden had gotten an early edge and they weren’t too keen to let it go. If you weren’t there, you could hear the hits from the sideline. The Red Devils found themselves back in the Yabbies half, making metres with some strong running. The Yabbies defended well, but some quick ball out to the Red Devil’s back line saw Tom Lenehan finding a hole in the Yabbies defence, crashing over for the second try of the match. Conversion unsuccessful by Ben Lenehan.
Young 0-12 Harden
After a sluggish start, the Yabbies decided to come out firing. Some strong runs by the forward pack had the Yabbies cross back over the halfway line. Quick ball from Ned to Jesh Smith on the blind side saw him suck in the defence and provide an offload to Rowan Daley. Rowan had space in front of him and showed that he can really motor when he wants to, running the 30+m to beat the defence and cross the line for the Yabbies’ first try. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 7-12 Harden
All that within the first 15 minutes… this looked like it could be a high scoring game, with quite the spectacle for the spectators on the sidelines. The remaining 25 minutes of the half didn’t see any more action on the scoreboard, but plenty of action on the paddock. Both teams exhibiting some fantastic, hard-hitting rugby both in attack and defence.
Half Time
Young 7-12 Harden
The Second Half saw both teams coming out firing again, but neither side could crack through. The first 15 minutes were a scoreless slog fest that would have been entertaining to watch.
Finally, some quick ball from the Yabbies saw James Schiller launch an assault from deep in their own half, making his way up over halfway. Some good communication and support from his brother Nick saw James provide him with clean, crisp ball and a field full of empty space in front of him. Nick chewed up those metres quickly to score the Yabbies’ second try. Conversion successful by Owen Griffiths.
Young 14-12 Harden
With the Yabbies’ starting to get their tails up, the Red Devils decided they wanted to be the next to strike. Some hard-hitting rugby from the Red Devils saw them find themselves deep in Yabbies’ territory when some clean ball through the backs saw Ben Lenehan spot an opportunity out wide to crash over the line for Harden’s third try. Conversion unsuccessful by Ben Lenehan.
Young 14-17 Harden
With 25 minutes of the Second Half down, some fresh legs on both sides took the field, hoping to find a way to get the edge. The Red Devils launched an assault from within their own half. They then spent the next 5 minutes camped less than 10m out from the Yabbies’ line, but the Yabbies’ defence held strong. Finally, some quick ball to the backs saw Ben Lenehan spot a hole to slide over for Harden’s fourth try. Conversion successful by Ben Lenehan.
Young 14-24 Harden
With less than 10 minutes left in the game, it was now or nothing for the Yabbies’. The energy lift in that last 10 minutes ensured both teams came off blowing, but neither team would take or give an inch.
Full Time Result Young 14-24 Harden
Coach Ned Mullany commented, “I feel like a bit of a broken record these past few weeks, because we haven’t had the results we wanted on the scoreboard but I really can’t fault anyone in the squad. There’s been a few games this year that have been ‘the one that got away’ due to a 10-15 minute lapse in concentration, and this was definitely one of them. I feel like we dominated the set piece, had some really strong runners and really strong defence, but we just lacked a bit in terms of execution when we were in attack. Onwards and upwards though, we’ve got another two cracking local derbies to be played at Cranfield Oval to finish the season, so we’ll just look ahead to those games, you won’t want to miss them.”
Points Scorers:
Young
Tries Rowan Daley, Nick Schiller
Conversions 2/2 – Owen Griffiths
Harden
Tries Tom Lenehan, Ben Lenehan (3)
Conversions 2/4 – Ben Lenehan
Best & Fairest Points:
3 – Jesh “Yeshman” Smith
2 – Rowan “Quick Tap” Daley
1 – Matt “Reidy” Reid
Players Player – Owen “Schooner” Griffiths
Next weekend, the Yabbiemen play host to the West Wyalong Weevils who will be venturing to Cranfield Oval for the first time in many years! With only 2 games left in the normal season, make sure you’re down at Cranfield Oval to cheer on your Yabbies as they push for a spot in the Finals. More details on the match to come with the release of the team announcement.
If you want to follow live scores for the Yabbies games or check out the results from any Rugby games - Local comps, International or Super Rugby - get on and download the Rugby Xplorer app from https://www.rugby.com.au/rugby%20xplorer
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