Post by bazal on Nov 4, 2018 23:55:00 GMT
If there were any hard feelings at North QLD over the coaches decision to spend the first third of the season sinking piss in Europe, it didn't show when the players and coach finally met back up in sullen Rochdale.
The Devils have shown glimpses of their best form at times, but injuries have cruelled any consistent momentum they may have hoped to gather at the beginning of the year and, although they welcomed back a smattering of their top players, North QLD were still heavy outsiders with a major chunk of salary staying home in Australia.
Missing were in form halfback Blake Green, forward leader Nathan Brown, and sharp-shooting kicker Kerrod Holland, along with BJ Leilua, whilst a host of other top squad players returned through the Cairns RSC side in a bid to find form and fitness and sole remaining half Michael Morgan played on through a knee injury.
Perhaps more vexing for fans before kick-off were some seemingly odd selection re-shuffles. Many welcomed the return of work-horse prop Alex Twal, but the move to play wing/centre Bureta Faraimo at fullback and shift superstar Billy Slater to the wing had many scratching their heads, and the selection of boom 19 year old Kurtis Dark and centre Konrad Hurrell in the second row over experience players such as Tepai Moeroa, Manu Ma'u and Ben Garcia seemed more than a little bizarre, especially with bruising forward Martin Taupau lurking outside Hurrell on the edge.
On paper, it looked like a mountain, particularly in the halves where an injured Morgan and jack of all trades Clint Gutherson matched up against rep stars Matt Moylan and Daly Cherry-Evans. It was the sort of match the Dolphins of old would have probably lost comfortably, especially in recent years, but this side is different.
They started fast, dominating possession and creating opportunities right from the first set, where the forwards rumbled downfield with ease before a Morgan chip-kick almost came off for a flying Gutherson. Rochdale held on, but they couldn't do the same in the tenth minute after fullback Tom Trbojevic was thrown into touch by Daniel Alvaro, stripped for numbers on the right edge by a great Gutherson pass which gave an evergreen Billy Slater all the room he needed to burn his opposite winger and dot down in the corner. Youngster Dark missed the kick, but the visitors were riding high early.
Rochdale were shell-shocked by the pace of the game, and it showed again two minutes later when Alex Twal split them open straight up the middle, putting Clint Gutherson straight under the posts and giving Dark an easy kick for a 10-0 lead. The home side rallied somewhat, holding out a few more raids and gradually managing to even up possession, but the visitors kicked up a gear again and when Martin Taupau monstered his way over the line after 32 minutes it was 16-0, a scoreline no one saw coming.
The halftime break came at just the wrong time for the rampant Devils, breaking up their momentum and giving Rochdale some much needed respite. The home side showed their own class not long after the resumption, with a slick try to the underrated Boyd Cordner in the 44th minute and another to centre Ash Handley after a Matt Duffie line break in the 51st reducing the deficit to 4 points. When Wade Graham charged over off a DCE short ball in the 58th minute, Moylan slotted his third conversion for a two point lead and put the game back on the home side's bat.
Now in front, Rochdale looked much more composed than they had in the first half, holding out the visitors raids and calmly controlling field position. The Devils refused to go away, though, and an Oliver Holmes knock on with barely five minutes to play gave them a huge opportunity. Once again, it was the work in the forwards that really shone, with an offload and a pass at the line from the big boppers allowing Gutherson to once again find Slater in some space and put him over in the corner. Youngster Dark looked cool under pressure as he slotted the kick from the touch-line, giving the visitors a 4 point lead once again and ensuring, at least, that Moylan would need to show the same composure should Rochdale cross again.
The Devils weren't content to just hold on, though, upping the ante as they had in the first half and forcing the home side to defend their line desperately. Gutherson put over one point with two minutes on the clock, more to take the draw out of the equation than anything else as the scoreline moved along to 23-18.
Rochdale needed a miracle play, but the kick off went slightly too far and Billy Slater eluded the defence to almost sneak away down the sideline. Desperation play and holding on too long in the tackle turned into frustration as the home side decided to get rowdy, and the ensuing penalty and kick for touch gave the Devils the match with only 60 seconds on the clock. To rub salt in the wounds, Kurtis Dark completed a brilliant starting debut by sending Manu Ma'u over for a last minute try, the conversion on the buzzer giving the unfancied visitors a 29-18 win and keeping them around the upper end of the ladder.
Most pleasing for the Devils will be the performances of the players who may have been considered puzzling selections, particularly Slater, who claimed Man of the Match honours on the wing. Run-on debutant Dark put in a stellar performance and kicked 5/6 goals to boot, and Manu Ma'u relished his later injection into the game to round out the POTY points.
With more key players starting to return from injury over the next couple of weeks, wins like this one are gold, and North QLD will be hopeful they can find the same sort of consistency they did in the middle of last season and once again make a play for a top of the table finish.
The Devils have shown glimpses of their best form at times, but injuries have cruelled any consistent momentum they may have hoped to gather at the beginning of the year and, although they welcomed back a smattering of their top players, North QLD were still heavy outsiders with a major chunk of salary staying home in Australia.
Missing were in form halfback Blake Green, forward leader Nathan Brown, and sharp-shooting kicker Kerrod Holland, along with BJ Leilua, whilst a host of other top squad players returned through the Cairns RSC side in a bid to find form and fitness and sole remaining half Michael Morgan played on through a knee injury.
Perhaps more vexing for fans before kick-off were some seemingly odd selection re-shuffles. Many welcomed the return of work-horse prop Alex Twal, but the move to play wing/centre Bureta Faraimo at fullback and shift superstar Billy Slater to the wing had many scratching their heads, and the selection of boom 19 year old Kurtis Dark and centre Konrad Hurrell in the second row over experience players such as Tepai Moeroa, Manu Ma'u and Ben Garcia seemed more than a little bizarre, especially with bruising forward Martin Taupau lurking outside Hurrell on the edge.
On paper, it looked like a mountain, particularly in the halves where an injured Morgan and jack of all trades Clint Gutherson matched up against rep stars Matt Moylan and Daly Cherry-Evans. It was the sort of match the Dolphins of old would have probably lost comfortably, especially in recent years, but this side is different.
They started fast, dominating possession and creating opportunities right from the first set, where the forwards rumbled downfield with ease before a Morgan chip-kick almost came off for a flying Gutherson. Rochdale held on, but they couldn't do the same in the tenth minute after fullback Tom Trbojevic was thrown into touch by Daniel Alvaro, stripped for numbers on the right edge by a great Gutherson pass which gave an evergreen Billy Slater all the room he needed to burn his opposite winger and dot down in the corner. Youngster Dark missed the kick, but the visitors were riding high early.
Rochdale were shell-shocked by the pace of the game, and it showed again two minutes later when Alex Twal split them open straight up the middle, putting Clint Gutherson straight under the posts and giving Dark an easy kick for a 10-0 lead. The home side rallied somewhat, holding out a few more raids and gradually managing to even up possession, but the visitors kicked up a gear again and when Martin Taupau monstered his way over the line after 32 minutes it was 16-0, a scoreline no one saw coming.
The halftime break came at just the wrong time for the rampant Devils, breaking up their momentum and giving Rochdale some much needed respite. The home side showed their own class not long after the resumption, with a slick try to the underrated Boyd Cordner in the 44th minute and another to centre Ash Handley after a Matt Duffie line break in the 51st reducing the deficit to 4 points. When Wade Graham charged over off a DCE short ball in the 58th minute, Moylan slotted his third conversion for a two point lead and put the game back on the home side's bat.
Now in front, Rochdale looked much more composed than they had in the first half, holding out the visitors raids and calmly controlling field position. The Devils refused to go away, though, and an Oliver Holmes knock on with barely five minutes to play gave them a huge opportunity. Once again, it was the work in the forwards that really shone, with an offload and a pass at the line from the big boppers allowing Gutherson to once again find Slater in some space and put him over in the corner. Youngster Dark looked cool under pressure as he slotted the kick from the touch-line, giving the visitors a 4 point lead once again and ensuring, at least, that Moylan would need to show the same composure should Rochdale cross again.
The Devils weren't content to just hold on, though, upping the ante as they had in the first half and forcing the home side to defend their line desperately. Gutherson put over one point with two minutes on the clock, more to take the draw out of the equation than anything else as the scoreline moved along to 23-18.
Rochdale needed a miracle play, but the kick off went slightly too far and Billy Slater eluded the defence to almost sneak away down the sideline. Desperation play and holding on too long in the tackle turned into frustration as the home side decided to get rowdy, and the ensuing penalty and kick for touch gave the Devils the match with only 60 seconds on the clock. To rub salt in the wounds, Kurtis Dark completed a brilliant starting debut by sending Manu Ma'u over for a last minute try, the conversion on the buzzer giving the unfancied visitors a 29-18 win and keeping them around the upper end of the ladder.
Most pleasing for the Devils will be the performances of the players who may have been considered puzzling selections, particularly Slater, who claimed Man of the Match honours on the wing. Run-on debutant Dark put in a stellar performance and kicked 5/6 goals to boot, and Manu Ma'u relished his later injection into the game to round out the POTY points.
With more key players starting to return from injury over the next couple of weeks, wins like this one are gold, and North QLD will be hopeful they can find the same sort of consistency they did in the middle of last season and once again make a play for a top of the table finish.
