Cross Conference Rivalries Stoked
A disappointing opening for North Coast clubs in the C.ex Group Cross Conference Competition saw Northern Rivers clubs claim three wins from the four matches played.
Sawtell Toormina Saints flew the flag for the North Coast League, recording a strong away win over the Lismore Swans. The Saints weren’t able to put their strongest line-up on the park, but still had enough quality in players like Luke Matthews, Callum and Lachie Day, Hamish Bird, Jake Cosmai, and Jed Ellis-Cluff to claim the four premiership points. It wasn’t one way traffic though for the Saints, who had to overcome a 20 point deficit at the first break. They did this by holding the Swans to just one behind in the second quarter and were never headed from that point on, running out winners by 55 points.
The returning Mark Couzens contributed three majors, as did both Lachie Draper-Bell and Dan Pritchard, whilst Jed Ellis-Cluff and Malcolm Trotter both chimed in with two majors.
This was exactly the response that coaches Jim Angel and Luke Matthews were looking for after last week’s loss. An immediate return to the winners’ circle sees the Saints climb above Coffs Breakers into top spot on the ladder.
Sawtell Toormina Saints 15.13.103 defeated Lismore Swans 7.6.48
The Breakers unbeaten start to the season ended on the road at the hands of the Ballina Bombers. The Bombers big bodied players are very good on the small confines of their own oval, but their task was made much easier by the Breakers side being almost unrecognisable from the team that acquitted itself so well the previous week, with 14 changes forced upon the club due to a lack of availability. Unsurprisingly, the Breakers started slowly, scoring a solitary point in the first quarter and were never in the running from that point on. Their best efforts were in the third quarter where they shared the spoils with the Bombers, but for much of the match they looked overawed and intimidated, ultimately suffering a 34 point loss.
Mackinlay Pearce, Nic von Schill, Royce Close, and Fraser Duryea each kicked one goal for the Breakers in a match that was marked by poor goalkicking by both clubs.
Ballina Bombers 9.16.70 defeated Coffs Breakers 4.12.36
Port Magpies were narrowly beaten at home by the much travelled Tweed Coast Tigers. There’s no such thing as a good loss but the Magpies last two performances will have given coach Anthony Beasley real heart that the club can turn it’s form around quickly and go on a run as soon as they get that elusive first win. The Magpies put out their strongest team so far this season with Jesse Schmidt, Scott Dalton, and Kyle Lynch returning to the team after missing last week, whilst Craig Dicker was back in town and made his first appearance of the season.
This match see-sawed, with the lead changing numerous times, including different leaders at the first three breaks. Port had their noses in front at the main break by five points, then trailed by 8 at the last change, but could only muster one goal in the last term to go down by 15 points.
Lynch led the way with three goals for the home side, and got good support from both Schmidt and Liam Dunlop who each slotted two.
Tweed not only overcame a 10 hour road trip, but also the loss of a player to a shoulder injury that required hospitalisation and surgery, and will be a force this season.
Tweed Coast Tigers 10.14.74 defeated Port Macquarie Magpies 9.5.59
In the other battle between Tigers and Magpies, Grafton Tigers were humbled by the Byron Magpies who marked themselves as the standout team across both Leagues. Make no mistake, this is not a return to the recent dark days of the Grafton Tigers who fought hard and gave a real effort through to the final siren.
Byron are a class outfit – fit, confident, well drilled, and with plenty of depth. Any team that wants to get close to them needs to be at full strength and that wasn’t the Tigers who were missing Hamish Ellem, Daniel Lang, and Benny Holder from last week’s winning line-up, then lost Pat Curtain early in the second half to a nasty gash above the eye.
The Tigers competed well in the middle and down back but Byron had too many players who were able to make second, third, and fourth efforts and the Tigers just couldn’t go with them. When they won the ball in the middle the Tigers struggled to hit targets going forward and were invariably punished on the transition. Whilst they were disappointed with the result they know that the effort was there. If this can be replicated, and a little more composure shown when executing skills, the Tigers will win more games this season.
Byron Magpies 30.23.203 defeated Grafton Tigers 0.2.2
Next week the North Coast competition resumes with Breakers hosting Grafton at Coffs Coast Sport & Leisure Park, and Sawtell facing Port Macquarie at Richardson Park, Sawtell. Both matches get underway at 2:20pm.
