THE Scone Thoroughbreds First Grade went down to the Aberdeen Tigers in the major semi final on Saturday 24:16 after they were behind 8:6 at halftime.
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Aberdeen mounted all the pressure in the opening stanza and crossed when attacking the line in the first ten minutes.
There was no further score for 25 minutes when a shot at penalty was too good to refuse and they added the extras. Tim Smith however crossed with 5 minutes to go from a scrum which, Jarrod Wicks converted for the half time score.
Scone came back on the field confident after their first half effort, however the restart could not have been worse when a drop ball from the kick off, gave the Tigers a scrum close to their line and they crossed in the next set. The conversion was missed however they put on another two tries in the following ten minutes or so to have a 24:6 lead.
Scone were not about to throw in the towel however and they managed two tries of their own with Justin Apthorpe crossing, and Tim Smith getting his second, after spectacularly retrieving his own kick. He only just missed another chance soon after. Jake Watts converted one of the tries.
Coach Aaron Watts was obviously disappointed with the result.
“We had our chances but mistakes once again cost us dearly,” he said.
“Credit to the boys – they came back in the back end of the second half and showed plenty of spirit.
“We will be ready for next week’s match up with the Rams.”
The Scone Reserve Grade a convincing win in a very torrid affair against the Aberdeen Tigers who had finished top of the table.
Two tigers and one Thoroughbred were sent off while both teams also had a player in the sin bin during the match.
Jake Collision scored after ten minutes following a long break by Ryan Hawskshaw. Jake Watts converted for the early lead, however Aberdeen responded quickly after a Scone error at the kick off. Hayden Topliss was next to go over for the Thoroughbreds with 20 to go to take the lead to 10:4. The next ten minutes saw a player from Aberdeen, and minutes later, a player from Scone having some sin bin time – however there were no additional points scored in the first half.
The second half saw Codie McCarthy then Joe Adams crossing for the Blue and white to give a 22:4 lead with Watts converting both. The next 5 minutes or so saw two Aberdeen players off in separate incidents and a Scone tries to Tom Vincent and Nick Watson. Scone had a commanding lead of 32:4 however with 7 minutes to go, a Scone player received his marching orders then Aberdeen crossed for a late try for the final result of 32:10.
Coach Jade Smith was pleased with the win.
“Getting to the grand final is a terrific result of the players – however there is plenty of work to do,” he said.
“We have to look at our discipline to ensure we don’t find ourselves in these situations again.”
The Under 18’s had the lead 10:6 at halftime following tries to Zac Haworth in the first minutes of the game and Zac Fulton in the 15th minute. The team restarted with confidence and Ben Fechner started the second half with great confidence, carrying defenders over the line and extending the lead to 14:6.
The Singleton team rallied however and dominated the rest of the match, running in four converted tries to take the lead, 30:14. Nathan Clerke capitalised on a restart error by the Greyhounds to cross for a late try which he converted for the final 20:30 score line
Coach Chris Brennan was disappointed with the result after a promising start.
“It looked like we had their measure but then let then back into the game and they dominated us,” he said.
“We are a young team and still learning – big match next week and we will be ready for the Rams.”
The Ladies League Tag Ladies started the day off perfectly for the Thoroughbreds with a a decisive 28:10 victory. They got off to a ‘rocky’ start however when Merriwa crossed after a mistake from the kick off and taking the lead 6:0. There was little between the teams in the first half and Sofie Casson crossed for her first with with 5 minutes to go to narrow the half time gap 4:6.
Casson was over again soon after the restart which converted by Sam Elphick, giving Scone the lead for the first time 10:6. A Merriwa player was sent to the sin bin and Scone made the most of the advantage with tries to Samantha Elphick and Hannah Rando and Nicky Schliffke. Merriwa crossed again with 5 to go but Rebecca Ann Hill also crossed in the final minutes. One conversion each to Elphick and Georgia Watts for the final result
Coach Josh Adams was very happy for the girls.
“This team has worked hard all year and I think they deserve this win,” he said.
“We won’t be complacent however and will be working hard between now and the grand final.”
