thehattrickrabbit
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NSW Under-18s beat QLD Wednesday, 24th June 2009
New South Wales produced a near perfect second half to outmuscle
Queensland 24-6 in the Under 18s encounter at ANZ Stadium.
Ahead 10-6 at the half-time break, the Blues dominated the final 35
minutes and could have easily scored a further four tries.
?Our aggression and attitude in the first 20 minutes broke their
spirit. We bruised them in the opening stages and it showed in the
second half,? said winning New South Wales coach Joe Grima.
It was Queensland that scored the first try of the night when Michael
Morgan beat three defenders to barge over next to the posts in the
12th minute.
A Maroons knock-on close to their own try line gave the Blues good
field position. From the ensuing scrum, full-back William Hopoate did
well to get the ball to Nathan Massey, who stepped inside and burrowed
over to score.
New South Wales hit the front for the first time in the game when
Josh Portlock, son of former Eastern Suburbs and North Sydney
full-back Wayne Portlock, raced onto a pass from Albert Kelly to crash
over in the 21st minute.
?We didn?t have enough smart players to put them away by half-time. I
told the players that we had to put pressure on Jordan Rankin and make
sure that we put some collision in our tackles,? said Grima.
New South Wales had three chances to score in the opening minutes of
the second half but failed to capitalise on the opportunities.
They finally broke through in the 44th minute when Portlock spun
around from close range to score.
Soon after, Portlock almost registered his hat-trick when he lost the
ball in the process of putting the ball over the try line.
Queensland were unable to gain any ground with New South Wales
producing some massive hits that put a stop to many Maroons raids.
Blues half-back Chad Townsend kicked a 54th minute penalty goal and
then landed a sideline conversion when winger Joseph Roqoko scored in
the corner.
?By the third day in camp, I just knew we had what it takes to win.
This is a special group and many of them will go on to greater
things,? said Grima.
Co-captain Cameron King was outstanding for the Blues while
lock-forward Dale Finucane played the full game and recorded 42 tackles.
Others to shine for the winners included Lachlan Burr, Kelly and Portlock.
New South Wales 24 (Josh Portlock 2, Nathan Massey, Joseph Roqoko
tries; Chad Townsend 4 goals) d. Queensland 6 (Michael Morgan try;
Jordan Rankin goal) at Telstra Stadium. Referee: Robert Bowen.
http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/article.php?id=697
New South Wales produced a near perfect second half to outmuscle
Queensland 24-6 in the Under 18s encounter at ANZ Stadium.
Ahead 10-6 at the half-time break, the Blues dominated the final 35
minutes and could have easily scored a further four tries.
?Our aggression and attitude in the first 20 minutes broke their
spirit. We bruised them in the opening stages and it showed in the
second half,? said winning New South Wales coach Joe Grima.
It was Queensland that scored the first try of the night when Michael
Morgan beat three defenders to barge over next to the posts in the
12th minute.
A Maroons knock-on close to their own try line gave the Blues good
field position. From the ensuing scrum, full-back William Hopoate did
well to get the ball to Nathan Massey, who stepped inside and burrowed
over to score.
New South Wales hit the front for the first time in the game when
Josh Portlock, son of former Eastern Suburbs and North Sydney
full-back Wayne Portlock, raced onto a pass from Albert Kelly to crash
over in the 21st minute.
?We didn?t have enough smart players to put them away by half-time. I
told the players that we had to put pressure on Jordan Rankin and make
sure that we put some collision in our tackles,? said Grima.
New South Wales had three chances to score in the opening minutes of
the second half but failed to capitalise on the opportunities.
They finally broke through in the 44th minute when Portlock spun
around from close range to score.
Soon after, Portlock almost registered his hat-trick when he lost the
ball in the process of putting the ball over the try line.
Queensland were unable to gain any ground with New South Wales
producing some massive hits that put a stop to many Maroons raids.
Blues half-back Chad Townsend kicked a 54th minute penalty goal and
then landed a sideline conversion when winger Joseph Roqoko scored in
the corner.
?By the third day in camp, I just knew we had what it takes to win.
This is a special group and many of them will go on to greater
things,? said Grima.
Co-captain Cameron King was outstanding for the Blues while
lock-forward Dale Finucane played the full game and recorded 42 tackles.
Others to shine for the winners included Lachlan Burr, Kelly and Portlock.
New South Wales 24 (Josh Portlock 2, Nathan Massey, Joseph Roqoko
tries; Chad Townsend 4 goals) d. Queensland 6 (Michael Morgan try;
Jordan Rankin goal) at Telstra Stadium. Referee: Robert Bowen.
http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/article.php?id=697
