Round 10 vs Souths Match Report
by Ben Mitchell
Round 10 – GPS vs Souths
Saturday 12th June, Chipsy Wood Oval
GPS begin the second half of their season on the road against the Souths Magpies, who they bested 29-11 in round 1. The Magpies will be looking to put up more of a fight against this Gallopers side, as the 7-1 record proves GPS are one of the premiere teams in the competition.
Souths came out with conviction in the early going, as prop Andrew Romano peeled off the rolling maul and ran through Josh Vuta to score the first try. Fullback Luke Samoa converted the points and put the Magpies forward 0-7 after 9 minutes of action.
The Gallopers responded immediately to the Magpies score, executing a set piece perfectly from the attacking scrum. 15 metres out, the ball found Jason Hofmeyr near the wing, who launched a pass out to uncovered winger Maaloga Konelio, running in untouched for a try in the corner. Hofmeyr unfortunately couldn’t convert a difficult kick, GPS still trailing 5-7 after 12 minutes.
GPS weren’t done there, as they earnt an attacking lineout only minutes later in the same corner of the first try. Hooker Maile Ngauamo quickly got the ball in, but the Gallopers met no resistance in the rolling maul, so flanker Ratu Vio rumbled forward. Vio delivered the offload to lock Tuaina Tualima, who placed the ball down for another try. Hofmeyr, in virtually the same sport as the conversion prior, made no mistake with the kick, retaining the lead for GPS 12-7 after 15 minutes.
The remainder of the first half was uneventful in comparison to the first 15 minutes. Luke Samoa slotted two penalties for Souths in the 19th and 36th minute to put his team up 12-13. Magpies hooker Theo Fourie saw Yellow in the 39th minute for a high tackle, concussing himself in the process. Hofmeyr hit the upright on the penalty kick, and the score remained unchanged 12-13 heading into half time.
The Gallopers came out running to kick off the second half. An early scrum near midfield gave GPS another opportunity to draw up a set play. The ball found centre Teti Tela, who easily beat his defender with a goose step, and was off to the races. He linked up with centre partner Chris Kuridrani, who chewed up a lot of ground and drew in defenders before dishing a timely offload to flanker Matt Gicquel, putting the finishing touches on a well-worked try. Hofmeyr nailed the conversion, and put the Gallopers up 19-13 after 42 minutes of play.
GPS were on the charge again with an attacking lineout 10 out from the line. Several rucks ensued where the Gallopers inched closer to a score with pick and drives. Josh Vuta wanted to get in the mix, securing the ball and throwing an enticing dummy that froze the Magpies defence, diving under tacklers for the try. Vuta is adept at throwing those dummies, previously scoring 2 tries this season in similar fashion. Hofmeyr converted the try and pushed the GPS lead out 26-13 in the 50th minute.
As per usual, coach Shane Arnold made an entire front row interchange in the 53rd minute, and in the words of commentator Dallan Murphy, GPS have “two starting premier grade front rowers in rolling rotation.” The fresh forwards would flex their muscles in the 60th minute, as they strung together three dominant scrums 5 metres out to earn the penalty try. Captain Michael Richards was unfortunate not to claim the honours himself, as Duncan Male believed he knocked the ball on before placing it down, which he didn’t. Either way, the Gallopers walked away with another 7 points, taking their lead to 33-13 with 19 minutes remaining.
Souths, although giving up three unanswered tries, weren’t going to go down without a fight. They pushed their way down the field pretty quickly after the penalty try, arriving 5 metres out from the line. Centre Michael Siaki broke the advantage line of the GPS defence, and once tackled, popped an offload up to running partner Liam Fletcher who dove over in the left corner for a try. Luke Samoa converted a difficult kick on the sideline, and brought Souths back to a 33-20 deficit with 16 minutes to play.
Even with a comfortable lead, GPS didn’t take their foot of the gas pedal. They held possession of an attacking scrum 15 metres out, a favourable position to be in. Michael Richards pounced out the back and threw a dummy that faked three defenders to find a huge gap to exploit. He offloaded the ball to Matt Gicquel who just missed scoring his second. A few pick and drives later, Tuaina Tualima bowled his way through two defenders to score his second try. Hofmeyr kicked the conversion, putting the Gallopers up 40-20 with 11 minutes left.
GPS had one last crack for points, with an attacking lineout 10 metres out. The target was Michael Richards, who caught it cleanly, and the rolling maul was launched. They bulldozed their way through a defeated Souths defence, reserve hooker Matt Mafi falling over the line for an easy try. Reserve half back Cullin Cooper-Jones made a difficult conversion look routine, extending the Gallopers lead out 47-20 with 6 minutes remaining. The score would stay unchanged when the final whistle blew, GPS coming out victorious 47-20 over the Souths Magpies.
It may seem like a broken record playing, but the GPS forwards were once again instrumental in the win, with the dominance of the second half scrum essentially setting up the 5 tries that followed. Alongside this, Jason Hofmeyr was able to gain massive territory from these penalties, granting the Gallopers great position for rolling mauls. Josh Vuta was excellent finding the right receivers from the ruck, setting his backs up in favourable running lanes to attack.
GPS return home next week to take on the Norths Eagles, hoping to build off the momentum of three straight wins and make it 4 in a row. They won’t be able to do it without passionate fans supporting them however, so get down to Yoku road and back your Gallopers side to another win!