Round 6
Aspley Broncos 16 l. Easts Tigers 22

2007 Wizard Queensland Cup Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Australia > Queensland > State/Metropolitan Level Competition: Wizard Queensland Cup

Tigers and Broncos Fight out Thriller
Mon April 23, 2007
Source: www.qrl.com.au

The bounce of the ball was all that kept an undermanned Aspley from stealing a draw against Easts on Saturday, as the Broncos and Tigers played out a 22-16 thriller at Bishop Park.

While giantkiller Easts was well deserving of victory, the game could have ended much differently had a Rodney Davies chip kick sat up the right way just seconds before fulltime.

Instead Davies' kick took a freakish bounce backwards, denying the young speedster a crowd-pleasing equaliser after he broke free down the touchline, before booting the ball around the fullback

Showing rapid signs of improvement this season, Davies also applied himself tenaciously in defence, an area considered a weakness by his critics.

His fortunes in the game were in stark contrast to those of fellow winger Tame Tupou, who had a largely forgettable game compounded by a stint in the sin bin.

Indeed Tupou was lucky not to spark an all-in brawl after throwing a haymaker at Easts rival Mark Cantoni in the 60th minute. For his efforts, referee Gavin Morris saw fit to give him a stint to cool his heels. Tupou wore some unsportsmanlike abuse from the crowd, made worse when he returned to the field and almost immediately dropped a vital Brent McConnell pass in open space.

Aspley had its back to the wall from the outset, losing Dave Taylor, Darius Boyd, Michael Ennis and Joel Moon due to NRL commitments and injury.

The Broncos conceded first points with a soft solo try to Easts half Dane Campbell in the opening exchanges and, from there, trailed all game long.

Fresh from a win against Redcliffe, Easts led 10-4 at halftime and could have extended that advantage even further had John Tamanika held a bomb after he leapt high two minutes from the break.

While Andrew Lomu and Clifford Manua continued to make indents around the ruck, the Tigers were otherwise supremely impressive in defence. Pint-sized in comparison, Tigers utility Justin McKay epitomised the Easts resolve, stinging NRL forward Nick Kenny with a bellringer of a tackle. Underrated brothers Damian and Cameron Durnford also stepped up to the plate, meeting their more fancied opponents eye-to-eye in the centre of the park.

Fittingly, after wearing Tupou's fist on his face, backrower Cantoni was the man to score the try which sealed the game. It came after hooker Trent Young streaked down field and then found Dane Campbell, who hot-potatoed the ball to Cantoni on an angle in the 65th minute.

That made the score 22-10 and, although schoolkid Troyden Edwards set up a good try for Brent McConnell soon after, Aspley could not quite bridge the gap.

In Round 7 Aspley will meet Norths at Bishop Park on Saturday for the 2pm ABC Match of the Round. Easts hosts Souths Logan the same day at 3pm at Langlands Park.

EASTS 22 (Dane Campbell 2, Marcus Jensen, Mark Cantoni tries; Matt Lockyer 3 goals) d ASPLEY 16 (Brent McConnell, Ben Green, Andrew Lomu tries; Brent McConnell 2 goals) at Bishop Park.

Report sent by: www.qrl.com.au

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