SG BALL REDS RECORD FIRST WIN
Story & Photo By : WA REDS
The WA Reds have opened their 2010 campaign with a win over last year’s finalists the Balmain Tigers at ME Bank Stadium last Sunday.
Both sides began well in the sweltering conditions with the Tigers having the majority of the ball which tested the Reds defence.
The Reds defended well until the 16th minute when the Tigers barged over to score after having possession for consecutive sets following handling errors by the Reds.
In the 26th minute the Reds attacked the Tigers line down the short side through captain Joe Napoletano who ran with vigour attracting two defenders before offloading to Curtis Rona who dove over to record the Reds first points of the match.
Confidence was gained from their first points and on their next visit to the Tigers half of the field hooker Tom Lidden barged over their try
South Perth product Daniel Westerduin was next to score after second rower Curtis Rona showed good feet to draw two defenders to pass to Westerduin who streaked down the sideline to score minutes before half time. The Reds went into the break leading 14 to 4.
Again each side began well with a tough fifteen minute period where both sides struggled for dominance of the game.
It was the Reds that prevailed scoring again after hooker Tom Lidden received the ball in broken play and directed a nice pass to a strong running Curtis Rona who busted through the Tigers defensive line offloading to Greg Ranga who showed good feet to score.
Balmain were back on the attack and received a penalty deep in the reds half of the field.
They capitalised on the opportunity through their hooker who darted from dummy half and sold a nice dummy to a Reds defender to cross the try line and score.
With 15 minutes remaining in their first S.G. Ball fixture the Reds would score again on two occasions. Strong running prop Josh Pedersen broke through the Tigers defensive line to run 20 metres before offloading to Jesse Prasad who then offloaded to a flying Adam Quinlan who scored beneath posts.
Dean Ferris would set up the Reds final four pointer after offloading a nice ball to Greg Ranga who showed good vision to move to the ball towards Curtis Rona who rolled over the line to score his second try of the day.
Coach Andrew Korn was impressed with his players courage and commitment throughout the game, “they really took it to Balmain and we played well in patches”.
“We certainly need to improve our completion rate and were very lucky that Balmain suffered from the same problem”.
“The players all now realise that although we had a win we have a lot of improving to do, our work off the ball and completion rate needs to improve dramatically if we are to win again”.
WA Reds 28 defeated Balmain Tigers 8
Tries: Curtis Rona 2, Adam Quinlan, Greg Ranga, Daniel Westernduin & Tom Lidden.
Conversions: Curtis Rona & Eddie Proudler.
