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A Week is a long time in Rugby

Round 5 of Gippsland Rugby League was played at Mobil Park last Sunday in near perfect conditions, after 4 Rounds the Panthers were in cruise control and Churchill were dead set certainties to miss the finals

By Mark Strini - 29th May 2001 - Back to News

Round 5 of Gippsland Rugby League was played at Mobil Park Morwell last Sunday and in perfect conditions for League, the 4 teams put on a fantastic spectacle for the supporters, and it proved that a week can be a long time in Rugby League. The build up to this weeks Round, by current form, was far from excitable. The Panthers had all but belted every team in the competition to date, and with Morwell getting a real touch up from the Brumbies last week, they looked to be really struggling for form. East Gippsland were improving at every obstacle and with the Gladiators boasting a large array of youth and a decisive lack of experience, the drawcard appeared to be very, very predictable. How wrong could we be!!!!!!!!!

The opener saw East Gippsland struggle for the early part of its match against Churchill. The Gladiators presented themselves with some handy return players and they took right up to there heavily fancied rivals, but there inability to complete the solid early work ensured the scoreboard remained motionless. East Gippsland settled in as the match progressed and through disciplined sets in attack, and equally disciplined defence, they began to get on top of Churchill, and although it took a lot longer than expected, the tries came and as the half wore, they only got stronger. The Gladiators spent much of the half defending, mainly due to its own unforced errors, and the resultant possession that was enjoyed by the Brumbies saw them go into half time 16 – 0 ahead and probably should have done better than the scoreboard indicated. To the Gladiators credit, they battled through the half with some good attacking waves, but only to be foiled by pressure defence and careless errors.

The second half however was a different story. Churchill came out like a team possessed and they were not about to lie down a cop another hiding. East Gippsland came out with all guns blazing but the sleeping giants arose. In an amazing turnaround, the Gladiators took the match by the scruff and the attacking machine of old returned. With ball in hand, Churchill all but routed the Brumby defence with strong running all over park, and after the first try went down, the confidence rose like there was no tomorrow. Unanswered tries from Churchill saw the scoreboard motoring along and although the Brumbies managed one of their own, East Gippsland had all but stopped with Churchill levelling it up at 20 all with time to go. The remainder of the match was a beauty with East Gippsland managing to get its nose back in front on several occasions, but the Gladiators had all the answers. In a stirring finale, where there was even confusion in the time keepers box, it was the Gladiators who had staged a remarkable turnaround, to have there nose in front 32 – 30 when the final bell rang, in an absolute cliff hanger. Churchill had recorded its first win for the year.

The second game was between Traralgon and the old enemy in Morwell, and whilst there showdowns over the years have been renowned epic encounters, the red hot Panthers were not expected to be troubled by the out of sorts Miners. That was until the 5 minute mark of the match when a shell shocked Traralgon team were behind the posts already down 10 – 0. As expected though, the Panthers came back and came back hard. They threw everything at the Miners and what developed was one of the most gruelling matches in memory. With the forwards trading blows all afternoon, it was the Panther backline that got on top. One could be forgiven for some of the Panther tries, as it was not necessarily poor defence on the Miners behalf, but some absolutely brilliant play from the Panthers who pulled out all the stops, and some the most skilful ball play ever seen in Gippsland, and sure enough, the tries came.

Morwell refused to surrender however, and when it was there turn in possession, they too were making big yards up the middle, and it was this nothing fancy, but disciplined, attack that continued there tally ticking over. By the main break, it was all but locked up and a Traralgon try on half time saw the reigning premiers take a slender 2 point lead coming into the second half in a very entertaining battle.

The spirited rivalry between these two clubs was even more evident in the second half, and it was Panthers who came out looking the better early on. The Miners showed some amazing desperation in defence to hold out the rampant Panthers, who for the first time all season, were actually being threatened with the possibility of a loss. The Panthers got the first break of the half and the signs looked ominous for the Miners. The Panther machine was full of run but Morwell managed to hold off the onslaught. The tide began to turn for the Miners when their forward pack began to take control up the middle. Some damaging runs by the forwards opened up the Panther defence and the big breaks and subsequent roll ons had the Panthers back pedalling. Matching the Panthers try for try, the underdogs actually frustrated Traralgon almost into submission, and when a Miner forward crashed his way over the line under the posts, frustration’s boiled over in the Traralgon camp and the resultant Penalty try (8 point try) gave the Miners an 8 point buffer late in the game. The remaining 10 minutes was remarkable. The desperation shown by both teams, particularly in defence was a treat to watch, and most of the clashes late in the game could only be described as ‘brutal’ as both teams tried anything and everything in search of any form of ascendancy. The Panthers managed to crack the Miner line for one last occasion, but as the ball went down, the final bell rang for the Panthers, and the successful conversion still saw them 2 points in arrears in a magnificent contest. The Miners took the match 36 – 34 in thriller.

The results of this Round have turned the competition upside down, but the Panthers still remain on top of the ladder for now.

  Win Loss Draw Pnts For Pts Agnst

Percent

 Points
Traralgon 4 1 0 248 120 206.67 8
Morwell 3 2 0 184 170 108.24 6
East Gipps 2 3 0 180 140 128.57 4
Churchill 1 4 0 94 276 34.06 0

* Churchill had 2 premiership points deducted from them due to there round 1 forfeit.

After the results of last week, this weeks Round of matches should be beauties. The hosting Morwell Miners take on the new found Gladiators at 1pm, and both of these teams will be desperate to back up last weeks win with another, and the stakes are high for both teams. The late game at 3pm will see two teams, who up until last week, were the form sides go head to head. Both the Panthers and the Brumbies will be reeling at last weeks upset losses and one of these teams will be faced with going down 2 weeks running. This incentive alone will ensure a fantastic contest.

Maryvale Reserve Morwell will be the place to be this Sunday starting at 1pm.

Yours in Rugby League - Mark Strini - President.


Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: grl@gippslander.com



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