NSW Country Rugby Union

                      Cockatoos Falter Against Subbies

In a match which could be best described as one of “missed opportunities” the GrainCorp NSW Country Cockatoos have been defeated 18 – 16 by NSW Suburban.

The annual fixture was played as the main curtain raiser to the Waratahs v Lions SupeRugby match at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday, 21 May 2011.

The Cockatoos were dealt a body blow in the first five minutes of the match when star goal kicking fullback David Kennedy limped from the field with a knee injury which will see him sidelined for up to six weeks.

Kennedy’s departure was a major loss as the replacement kickers only managed to land two goals from five attempts, with the misses proving costly when the closeness of the score is taken into account.

Subbies opened the match brightly when after four minutes of play five-eight Dan Kelly ran through some feeble defence to score a converted try to take them out to a 7 nil lead.

The gap was closed to 7 – 3 several minutes later with five-eight Ben Damen slotting a close range penalty goal when Subbies were penalised at the breakdown.

As has been the case in previous clashes the match was a physical encounter with both sets of forwards keen to establish their authority and heavy hits were the order of the day.

The Cockatoos started to gain momentum and after dominating possession and field position Ben Damen in the fifteenth minute found a chink in the Subbies defence, and when caught short of the line was driven over to score a try which saw the Cockatoos take the lead 8 – 7.

The Cockatoos were on a roll and started to make numerous inroads into the Subbies half and quarter, but a series of unforced errors, turnovers and miss directed kicks took the pressure off Subbies and continually invited them back into the match.

Another short range Ben Damen penalty goal in the twenty fourth minute saw the Cockatoos extend their lead to 11 – 7, but the continuation of unforced errors stalled any further scoring opportunities.

Subbies Dan Kelly kicked a penalty goal just on half time to close the gap to 11 – 10 which proved to be the half time score, a scoreline which was disappointing to the Cockatoos given the amount of possession and field position they had enjoyed.

The second half saw Subbies go on the front foot and they had the Cockatoos pinned in their own half for the first twenty minutes of the half.  The Cockatoos were making heavy weather of trying to work the play out of their half when they gained possession, with turnovers and ill directed kicks handing the ball back to Subbies.

Subbies were finally rewarded in the sixty third minute when No 8 Adam Choice found himself on the end of a short blindside raid to score an unconverted try to take them to a 15 – 11 lead.

Subbies score sparked the Cockatoos into action and in the sixty ninth minute winger Chris Jack charged onto a pass and surged over in the corner for an unconverted try to take back the lead 16 – 15.

The remaining ten minutes was a slug fest with both teams desperate to post points, but the defence on both sides was equal to the task.  With six minutes left on the clock Subbie hit the lead 18 – 16 via a Dan Kelly penalty goal, which set the scene for a hectic final five minutes.

The Cockatoos had the better of this period, but several scoring opportunities went begging due to poor decisions being made, and Subbies held onto win.

Best players for the Cockatoos were Lock Lachlan Brown, Flanker Ben Colley and fill in Fullback Jay Strachan.

The win saw Subbies claim the inaugural Maher-Ross Cup which had been struck to acknowledge the long service provided by Laurie Maher (Country) and Ian Ross (Subbies) to their respective Unions.


NSW Suburban: 18 (2 Tries, Conversion & 2 Penalty Goals)

Defeated

GrainCorp NSW Country Cockatoos: 16 (Ben Damen & Chris Jack Tries, Ben Damen 2 Penalty Goals)