Round 2 vs Norths Match Report
by Ben Mitchell
Round 2: GPS vs Norths Saturday April 17th, Hugh Courtney Oval
A confident GPS side head to Hugh Courtney Oval looking to make it 2 for 2 to start the young season. However, the Norths Eagles will prove to be a tough opponent at home, donning the retro striped 80’s kit in hopes of winning their first match of the season.
GPS found themselves on the attacking lineout after Norths conceded an offside penalty deep in their 22, setting them up for a potential scoring opportunity. The Gallopers drove a rolling maul toward the line, with Freddy Burke falling just short of the line. This didn’t slow the GPS attack down however, as the ball shortly found AJ Alatimu in the middle of the pitch, who launched a missile cut-out pass to left winger Maaloga Konelio, beating the Eagles winger and fullback to score the first try.
Norths showed tremendous resilience after the Gallopers 7th minute try, as the Eagles quickly won the ball back off their kick-off, and strung together several progressive phases. They found themselves in a similar position to GPS, with an attacking five metre lineout. The Eagles rolling maul didn’t quite reach the line, but a powerful pick and drive from Captain Paulo Leleisiuao beat the tackle attempt of Gallopers flanker Matt Gicquel to send him over the line for a try. Once the conversion was slotted by fly half Jacob Prideaux, the score was knotted 7-7, after 14 minutes of action.
From this point until the end of the first half, the GPS forward pack took complete control of the game. They were pushing back the Norths pack constantly, forcing them to concede a number of penalties. The relentlessness of the Gallopers scrum finally reaped it’s reward late in the first half, as Eagles loosehead prop Dane Zander saw yellow from referee Brett Cronan, losing patience for the front rower’s continual angling at the scrum.
Despite the dominance of the GPS scrum and the extra man advantage, the score remained even at the half-time hooter. This was due to both teams being plagued with butterfingers during the first half, as most line-breaks and attacking opportunities went begging with knock-ons.
Both teams approached the second half with the same objective, to gain control in a scrappy game so far. They exchanged blows early in the half, as Eagles fly half Jacob Prideaux sent several deep kicks down the field to gain his team territory, whilst the GPS back line were determined to gain metres on the ground. The early stampede by the Gallopers paid dividends in the 44th minute, as a knock-on by Norths winger Veresa Mataitini gifted Captain Michael Richards with the ball in full stride to the line, cruising over for his second try of the season.
Norths fired back immediately after giving up such an easy try, maintaining the majority of territory and possession up until the 61st minute, where they found themselves 5 metres out with an attacking lineout. After a number of phases from the lineout, reserve Eagles half back Lachlan Howell spotted a gap in the GPS defence at the ruck, diving over for a much needed try. The Gallopers were given another slap on the wrist, as too successive penalties led to reserve Nick Richards receiving a yellow card after the score, giving Norths an extra man advantage and a 14-12 lead.
GPS knew they had to dig deep to escape with a win, and that’s just what they did. Off another authoritative Gallopers scrum, half back Josh Vuta fired a pass to fast moving AJ Alatimu, who steamrolled his opposite number Prideaux and several other Eagles over the line for a try, swinging the lead back to GPS 19-14 with 13 minutes to play.
Norths right winger Shai Wiperi got sent to the sidelines with a yellow card shortly after the Gallopers score, with his no arms tackle on AJ Alatimu. The win seemed within reach now for GPS, as Nick Richards was returning from his stint in the sin bin, stealing the extra man advantage back from Norths.
Gallopers controlled the tempo of the game from here, seeking a line-break but knowing a mistake could cost them greatly. They drew a penalty just outside of the Eagles 22, setting up sharp shooting fullback Jason Hofmeyr with the kick to seal a GPS win. He kicked the ball beautifully off the tee and it sailed over for 3, putting the game on ice. When the final whistle blew the score read GPS 22, defeating a resilient Norths outfit 14.
In a hard fought scrappy win such as this one, special mention must go to the GPS men in the engine room, as the front row of Jethro Felemi, Matt Mafi and Fred Burke, alongside locks Tuaina Tualima and Oliver Bartlett led the Gallopers forward pack to massive scrum wins, especially in the first half. Once the ball found its way out of the scrum and into open space, inside flanker Ratu Vio and outside centre Chris Kuridrani were electric with the pill, bouncing Norths defenders off them and gaining plenty of metres after contact with each touch.
GPS will be eyeing off an impressive 3-0 start next week when they hit the road again to take on the reigning champions Easts Tigers. If you’ve got nothing planned for your Saturday afternoon, make the drive to Coorparoo and urge your Gallopers men to three wins on the trot!