Round 18: Curtin University v Wanneroo at Edinburgh Oval 21st August 2021

TEAM

1 Andre Roux

2 Scott Cornell

3 James Brown

4 Luke Callan

5 Setefano Launiuvua

6 Luke Burnett

7 Darcy Hinkley

8 Brayden Karangaroa

9 Jared Deacon

10 Ethan Riley (C)

11 Sylvo Iro

12 Porikapa Tukaki

13 Grason Makara

14 Justin Talemaira

15 Jordan Grattan

BENCH:

16 Rueben Baker

17 Cory Hardie

18 Jordan Templeton

19 Brad Campell

20 Mark Cornell

21 Ollie Callan

22 Andrew King

25 Mauie Te Tana

Today sees Rueben Baker make his premier grade debut – at the ripe old age of 16. Absolutely amazing.

Not only is Reuben stepping up, he is stepping up at prop which is one of the most challenging, technical and testing positions in rugby. Well done and congratulations Reuben. The whole club is proud of you.

Today’s opponents, Curtin University, have had a season from hell and lost 17 out of 17 games. To their credit they are still toughing it out and fronting up, but it’s reasonable to assume that Wanneroo have sufficient firepower in their squad to get a positive result without too much drama.

GAME:

The game opened with both teams making unforced errors. Eventually Curtin got a scrum feed on Wanneroo’s five metre line and tried to run the ball, but the Dogs niggardly defence forced them to kick for touch. Luke Callan, Setefano (Rob) Launiuvau and Brayden Karangaroa made consecutive runs from the line out and their punishing hit ups earned the Roo Dogs a penalty that captain Ethan kicked to the corner for another line out.

Luke Burnett took possession and went for the try line but he got tackled into touch just short. Curtin’s throw in was pinched by Luke Callan and sent out to Porikapa (P) Tukaki. His run sucked defenders in before he passed the ball to Grason Makara, who danced around a couple of players to score. Jordan Grattan converted.

Curtin 0 – Wanneroo 7

After the restart, veteran Sylvanus Iro ‘AKA The Horse or Sylvo’ had a gallop up the left wing. Fast support by Darcy Hinkley was continued on by Grason, who made ground before being tackled into touch. Luke Callan spoiled Curtin’s line out ball again and Jared Deacon whizzed it out to his backs. They ran well but turned the ball over in the tackle and Curtin hoofed it to the halfway where the Dogs got pinged for hands in the ruck. Wanneroo had a couple more good opportunities, but simple errors let Curtin off the hook. The students got caught offside when Grason had a run at them, enabling Ethan to opt for a line out. He kicked the line out ball into Curtin’s red zone and they kicked it back, but this time Ethan ran it. As the defence rushed him, he put a beautifully angled grubber kick behind them for Grason, who was onto it in a flash. Seeing the cover coming, he didn’t try to pick it up, just toed it over the try line and scored. Mr Reliable (Jordan) added the bonus points.

Curtin 0 – Wanneroo 14

Curtin’s drop out was perfect. High enough and close enough for their forwards to attack the ball. But they didn’t seem interested and gave a penalty away instead. The Dogs had a run, but lost the ball in the tackle and Curtin got the scrum feed. Their No 8 ran strongly from the base and was well supported by his pack who set a ruck. Wanneroo got penalised for coming in on the angle and Curtin used a line out to have a go at the Dogs try line. They toiled gallantly for seven consecutive phases but couldn’t make inroad and ultimately coughed up a penalty that Ethan kicked for a line out. Brayden went high and gave the ball off the top to Jared, who passed it out. The Horse, ‘P’ and Grason all ran incisively getting in behind Curtin’s back line where Grason laid the ball back in the tackle. Jared gave it to Jordan who ran it before putting a little chip behind the defence. The dogs pack did their job perfectly and Luke Callan finished off their work with a try. Jordan did his magic again while El Supremo water boy, Nathan Tahu, provided rehydration to the troops (Nathan asked for a mention).

Curtin 0 – Wanneroo 21

The drop out ball was fumbled by the Dogs and the mistake was compounded when the forwards subsequently played ‘pat a cake’ with it. Brayden redeemed them with a power drive that cost Curtin a penalty to halt. The resulting line out was a comedy of errors. The ball sailed over the back of the line while the lifters & jumpers looked on while scratching the dangly parts of their anatomy. After a short period of indecision the Dogs got back on track and applied sustained pressure on Curtin that forced them to carry the ball back over their own try line and touch down. Wanneroo got the five metre scrum feed, pummelled Curtin’s set piece and got a penalty into the bargain. Ethan took a quick tap & go and stepped round one would be tackler before being garrotted by the next. He ignored the inconvenience and scored a fine individual try that Jordan converted.

Curtin 0 – Wanneroo 28

Curtin’s drop out was another beauty, but this time the ball was secured by Luke Callan. His backs ran it but they made a faux pas that enabled Curtin’s scrum half to get the ball and have a go at the green line. As they closed in on him, he grubbered the ball behind them, chased and regathered it before flicking it to his Fly Half. He passed it on rapidly and Curtin scored a good try out wide just before half time. The conversion missed.

HALF TIME: Curtin 5 – Wanneroo 28

The second half saw Reuben Baker replace Andre Roux for his debut and Mark Cornell replaced Rob. Both sides had attacking opportunities that fizzled out because of mistakes. Wanneroo then got a line out from which Jared sent the ball out to his backs for another attack. ‘P’ made a break that shredded Curtin’s first line of defence before he cut in and scored under the posts. Jordan converted the try.

Curtin 5 – Wanneroo 35

The game continued to seesaw between good and not so good. Wanneroo wasted an opportunity when they lost another ball in the tackle, but Curtin weren’t any better and didn’t capitalise on their gain. A Wanneroo scrum ball was sent out to replacement Andrew King who drove it on before he fed ‘P’ on the burst. His momentum came to a juddering halt, courtesy of a massive hit by a Curtin prop. But ‘P’ is strong, and he kept the ball alive, enabling Wanneroo to take the play into Curtin’s 22 where the home team got penalised for hands in the ruck. Ethan kicked for a line out. Luke Callan won the ball and had a run that Curtin really struggled to contain. Luke linked up with his backs and their positive running was finished off by Jordan who went over for a try. He converted his own try.

Curtin 5 – Wanneroo 42

The game resumed with Mark Cornell, Kingy and Reuben all creating opportunities that went unrewarded.

Curtin ran the ball from a scrum inside the Dogs half and created a momentary gap that got them in behind the defence. The green cover defenders pressured the ball carrier into kicking it behind the Dog’s posts. Sylvo ran it back into the field of play and somewhere along the line a Curtin player was penalised for punching Jordan. Ethan sent the penalty kick downfield for a line out.

Jared passed the line out ball to Ethan and he fed Kingy who ran hard before feeding Brayden on the burst. He made it to Curtin’s 22 before being brought down and Wanneroo continued the attack up the left wing before running out of space. Ollie Callan replaced his brother Luke and immediately followed Luke’s lead by pinching Curtin’s line out throw. The ball went through hands across the back line and Curtin managed to hold the Dogs at bay until Mauie took possession. He smashed, crashed, bashed and battered his way over the line for a try. Jordan stepped up again and the points increased.

Curtin 5 – Wanneroo 49

Curtin weren’t in the same class as Wanneroo, but they wouldn’t lie down. They made consecutive attacks that created multiple phases of play, but they just couldn’t crack the Dogs defensive wall. The ref rewarded their efforts with a couple of penalties, the second of which was inside the Dogs 22. They took a quick tap & go that got them to within a metre of the try line. They charged forward time after time but couldn’t break through.

Mauie came off the line, enveloped a ball carrier and mangled him. Unfortunately, he chose to lie on the ground and cuddle what was left of the poor bloke, so the ref gave him a ten minute breather and awarded Curtin a penalty. They took another quick tap & go and got buried under an avalanche of tackles by the Dogs. Then the ref saw something that I didn’t and awarded Curtin a penalty try. I couldn’t help but think their bravery was deserving of some sort of reward.

Curtin 12 – Wanneroo 49

Wanneroo had their dander up now and launched into Curtin, driving them backwards. The Dogs ran the ball into the home 22 before spinning it out to their midfield. And who was out there, doing his Sean Fitzpatrick seagull impersonation? None other than our happy hooker, Scott Cornell. He got the ball with three defenders in front of him, any one of whom should have closed him down, but Scott pulled off the play of the day with a ‘show and go’ that was so outrageous it completely flummoxed them. He wound up his award winning performance with a flourish when he cut inside them and planted the ball under the posts for a try. Jordan kicked his eighth conversion to finish with 21 points for the day.

Curtin 12 – Wanneroo 56

The game continued with great heart and unstinting effort by both teams, but without any further score.

Curtin were outgunned, outplayed and outscored today and also throughout their previous 17 games this season.

But their dedication, commitment and refusal to capitulate epitomises what the spirit of rugby is all about.

Thank you, Curtin, you earned the Roo Dogs respect.

FINAL SCORE: Curtin 12 – Wanneroo 56

Now for the finals:

The semi-finals are currently scheduled for Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th September. With the finals scheduled for Saturday 11th September. But that was before the AB’s cancelled their Bledisloe Cup game against Australia in Perth on 28th August. I assume the dates will stay unchanged.

Congratulations and thank you to all involved with Wanneroo Rugby (seniors and juniors) this season.

You have been fabulous and I wish you all the best for the finals series.

Unfortunately, I’ll be away for the semi’s but back in time to see you all collecting trophy’s at the grand finals.

Bill Watt