Round 5 Match Reports
Under10s On a damp night Ballina took on a very physical Evans Head side that are the benchmark of the U10 Competition this season. Ballina, while being a little ruffled by the Evans Head defence, never stopped trying and played a great game with continued improvement across the park in terms of tackling, ball movement and ball retention. It was a fine effort which was rewarded by Jarrod scoring the final try of the game which Hamish duly converted. All the boys are improving with Zach, Ryley, Dre, Heath and Malik taking on the bigger and more physical forwards all day. Alecki, Hamish, Haydon, Kyuss and Jarrod Run with gusto and determination while also tackling well. The coaches are happy with each player’s improvement and hope they keep their positive outlook to their rugby going.
Under13s The Under 13s played Grafton in a game that finished in cold and wet conditions. Grafton have struggled a bit this year and the 13s were grateful for Grafton’s dedication in making the long trek up with only 13 players. To Grafton’s credit they put in right to the final whistle in what turned out to be a one sided affair in favour of our boys. Ballina loaned a couple of players to Grafton and those boys all put in 100% effort for the Redmen.
From the kick off, Ballina played with an intensity that has been building since the season started. Attacking from our own try line, the first try after two minutes set the tone, with Ballina scoring a total of five tries from plays starting within our own 22.
The team tackled their hearts out, again showing improvement from last week, and vindicating the decision to train in the wet on Wednesday night.
Matt scored 5 tries with 3 of these starting within his own 22 and kept well away from the sideline (which has been his achilles heel for the last few weeks). Brad scored 3 tries, and for someone who had never played before this season, has picked up the game exceptionally well.
Special mention needs to go to Kenny, Dion and Darcy who all played for Evans Head (who were short on players) in the Under 12s and then backed up for the Under 13s.
With 10 players who have never played rugby before this season, the guys are finally hitting their straps and all signs are great for the rest of the season with an amazing rise in the standard of play from the team. A special mention needs to go to Guy, Travis and Jake’s mothers who forgot to bring the champagne to celebrate the first win of the year.
