EXPRESS SPORT PORT Gladiators fall to Yarrabah at home
Bulls players Damien Wildman and Jamie Carroll celbrate after a goal on Saturday night.
Bulls 2, Leichhardt nil
THERE was a warm fuzzy feeling when the full time whistle blew at Lindsay Australia Stadium on Saturday night when the Bulls took on the Leichhardt Lions. Languishing in the bottom half of the table, supporters were waiting for the team to finally click into gear and play the full ninety minutes. There was a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction because, for the first time since the start of the season, the bulls played the way their coach knew they could. They played with heart and battled against a team which, on paper, was a superior outfit. Spurred on by a very vocal crowd, the Mareeba players responded and put in a grand defensive and attacking performance to win 2- 0 on the night. The Lions completely dominated the first 20 minutes, but the bulls held firm in defence and took the opportunity to break at pace and were rewarded with a penalty which was confidently slotted in by Jamie Carroll.
The Bulls went in the half time break 1-0 up and were well prepared for the onslaught of the second half, but again the bulls showed “Ticker” and supported each other causing some frustration amongst the Leichhardt players. In his first start for the premiers, Damien “Stretch” Wildman proved a hand full for the Lions defence with his pace and sheer presence enough to intimidate the opposition. He showed just how much it meant for him to score when he celebrated after he broke down the middle and struck a sublime shot passed the helpless keeper. Coach Perry said, everything went right tonight, it was well deserved, luck was on our side. “We are putting the hard yards in at training; if you play the way you train things will start to happen,” “A great defensive effort from the boys and Stretch, well what can I say, he manages to deliver for whichever team he plays for, he adds another dimension to our play, and he had a brilliant game
tonight as they all did.” The only down side to the match was an injury to star man Bronson Koppen which will be assessed during the coming days but the three week break should see all players return for the match against the Comets on June 1. In other matches the men’s reserves played out a mouthwatering 3-3 draw against Leichhardt keeping them close to the top of the table. The Ladies premiers also played out a 3-3 draw showing they can mix it with the best and are getting better as the season rolls on. Luch Avolio’s youth team had a comfortable and dominating 2-0 win which keeps them in touch with the leaders. “The Boys are starting to gel and find their feet in front of goal” said Coach Avolio. On Friday night the Bulls men’s second division went down 3-1 at Port Douglas and the Fillies had a 3-2 loss to Marlin Coast Rangers.
THE Mareeba Gladiators were yet again on the end of a lobsided scoreline after they went down 38-14 to a willing Yarrabah Seahawks side at Davies Park on Saturday night. The home side’s notoriously slow starts for the season continued as Yarrabah quickly jumped out to a 12-0 lead inside ten minutes off the back of some brilliant play from their halfback. From there it was to and fro for the remainder of the first half, as both sides managed to score two tries to set up a 22-10 scoreline at the main break. The Gladiators’ two tries in the first stanza went to winger Josh Adu-Dwanna and veteran hooker Tom Hughes, the latter of which was a fantastic solo effort that saw Hughes probe out of dummy-half and recover his own grubber for a crucial fourpointer. Despite showing promise in the first half, the Gladiators’ second half resembled much of their performance against Mossman a fortnight prior, where their defensive lapses proved costly and they leaked plenty of points when fatigue set in. Tom Hughes was the standin captain for the night as Trent Barnard was out with injury, and while he was disappointed with the loss, he spoke with relative optimism about his side’s performance. “Tonight was definitely an improvement from Mossman,
Mareeba Gladiators front-rower Luke Badge gains metres against the Yarrabah defence.
we put in for a lot of minutes tonight,” he said. “I thought our go-forward was good, however we had a few defensive lapses and if you give a team like Yarrabah a sniff they’ll take it and make you pay. “There’s obviously still a few areas we need to work on, particularly defensively, however as I said I think tonight’s performance was better and I feel we’re heading in the right direction.” The Gladiators were missing a few key players on the night, and Hughes praised those who stepped up in their absence. “We had a few Reserve Grade
boys who filled in and they went really well,” he said. “They gave it their all and that’s what the green and gold is about, so I’m impressed and really happy from that perspective. “Ultimately now it’s just about getting back to training, moving forward and hopefully we will see further improvement over the next few weeks.” In the other senior fixtures on Saturday night, Reserve Grade and the U18s went down while the Ladies secured a win. The Gladiators’ next fixture is this Sunday against Kangaroos at Vico Oval, Cairns.
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The Express, Wednesday, May 15, 2019 PAGE 27