Belrose 20 Chester Hill 4
Saturday, 12 May 2007
In contrast to the last two matches where Belrose conceded 14 tries, their round 8 match against the mid table Chester Hill Rhinos was a tight affair with both sides putting emphasis on their defence. In a hard and sometimes brutal clash, the Belrose Eagles continued their unbeaten run with a 20-4 victory. Determined to focus on defence, the Eagles looked less then impregnable in the opening minutes where two missed tackes gave the Rhinos some ascendency, but from then onwards the Roses line was barely threatened. The heavy dew made handling difficult and three or four Belrose scoring opportunities were squandered early before Matt Forrest ran into a gap to score beneath the sticks after 11 minutes. This 6-0 advantage was to be the end of the scoring for the half as both sides took to each other with some solid hitting. James Mortimer was assisted from the field in 'Disneyland' followed shortly after by the try scorer Matt Forrest seeing the same stars. The Rhinos seemed to be enjoying the majority of the possession and the better of the field position but the Eagles line held firm until the half time whistle.
Coach Camroux was happy with the effort, particulary in defence, but asked for the attackers to go through the line and look for tip-ons in order to create some space for the speedsters out wide.
He only had to wait 5 minutes for his Eagles to deliver. Some good go forward created by the big boys gifted some space to the flying Tom Joseph who carted the ball forward 40 metres to within a whisker of the line. From the ensuing ruck the ball was swept wide to the left, including a miracle 30 metre Richie Plummer torpedo, for Michael Takau to stroll over unopposed in the corner. Belrose 10-0.
The Eagles were looking much the better side now, but a Rhinos try which came from an apparent knock-on where all players stopped, put them back into the contest with 20 minutes to go. Belrose 10-4
The final quarter was when the toughness of this game began to take its toll with both teams using the interchange bench frenetically. The Eagles tightened their grip on the match when Tim Mortimer, now playing half back after Plummer exited with a neck injury, slipped a gem of a ball to Todd Barrow who scored wide out. Belrose 14-4.
The crowd, almost ghoulishly, were enjoying the sideline theatre as trainers, players and finally the doctor reduced a Shannon Cameron finger dislocation as Tim Mortimer decided to put a try on of his own under the posts with a lightning dart through the tiring Rhinos line. The Todd Barrow conversion gave Berlose a winning 20-4 scoreline.
This was a very tough encounter where the Roses had to work hard for every point. It must have been pleasing for the coach to see the much improved defence.
Best for Belrose were the non-stop Steve Carew, the versatile Tim Mortimer and skipper Nathan Hollingsworth. Richie Plummer was central to everything and Tom Joseph continues to show his speed and strength down the flanks.
The team now has a 10 day break to nurse the lumps and bumps before they take on the Mounties on Sunday 20th May 3pm at Lionel Watts.
Belrose 20 (Forrest, Takau, Barrow, Mortimer tries Plummer Barrow goals) d Chester Hill 4 (1t)
source: Belrose website
Saturday, 12 May 2007
Coach Camroux was happy with the effort, particulary in defence, but asked for the attackers to go through the line and look for tip-ons in order to create some space for the speedsters out wide.
He only had to wait 5 minutes for his Eagles to deliver. Some good go forward created by the big boys gifted some space to the flying Tom Joseph who carted the ball forward 40 metres to within a whisker of the line. From the ensuing ruck the ball was swept wide to the left, including a miracle 30 metre Richie Plummer torpedo, for Michael Takau to stroll over unopposed in the corner. Belrose 10-0.
The Eagles were looking much the better side now, but a Rhinos try which came from an apparent knock-on where all players stopped, put them back into the contest with 20 minutes to go. Belrose 10-4
The final quarter was when the toughness of this game began to take its toll with both teams using the interchange bench frenetically. The Eagles tightened their grip on the match when Tim Mortimer, now playing half back after Plummer exited with a neck injury, slipped a gem of a ball to Todd Barrow who scored wide out. Belrose 14-4.
The crowd, almost ghoulishly, were enjoying the sideline theatre as trainers, players and finally the doctor reduced a Shannon Cameron finger dislocation as Tim Mortimer decided to put a try on of his own under the posts with a lightning dart through the tiring Rhinos line. The Todd Barrow conversion gave Berlose a winning 20-4 scoreline.
This was a very tough encounter where the Roses had to work hard for every point. It must have been pleasing for the coach to see the much improved defence.
Best for Belrose were the non-stop Steve Carew, the versatile Tim Mortimer and skipper Nathan Hollingsworth. Richie Plummer was central to everything and Tom Joseph continues to show his speed and strength down the flanks.
The team now has a 10 day break to nurse the lumps and bumps before they take on the Mounties on Sunday 20th May 3pm at Lionel Watts.
Belrose 20 (Forrest, Takau, Barrow, Mortimer tries Plummer Barrow goals) d Chester Hill 4 (1t)
source: Belrose website
