ROUND 4 - 03.04.25
Battle in the bog
Rain and more rain!
There’s hardly been a fine day all season and multiple matches have been postponed across the Zone because of the sodden state of the fields. The first round of junior games scheduled for Bangalow on Friday night was called off, which proved to be a good decision when the heavens opened once again just when the matches were due to start. The overnight rain left Shultz Oval very wet and it wasn’t until 10.00am on Saturday that the call was made to go ahead with the second grade and first grade games in the afternoon against the Ballina Seahorses.
For a while the weather looked a little brighter as the sun made a brief appearance but just before kick off in the second-grade game the clouds rolled in and there was yet another torrential downpour. This was going to be a mud bath.
The early stages of the second-grade match were an arm-wrestle, but there was a sense that the Rebels were just starting to get on top after about 15 minutes when sustained pressure led to a penalty goal that was well taken by Will Hawkins. Sadly, it wasn’t long after that when a Ballina player was injured in a tackle, colliding with the big Darcy Hilton’s knee and the head of one of his own players. There was immediate concern about a possible spinal injury, so all the protocols were followed, and an ambulance was called. The match had to be abandoned.
The initial view of the on-ground medical staff was that the player will be OK, and we certainly hope that will be the case.
That put the crowd into an unusually sombre mood for the start of the first-grade game, but that soon changed as the two teams began an intense, physical battle for supremacy in the difficult conditions. It had the look and feel of trench warfare. Both sides tried head-on assaults only to be repelled by solid defence. Both sides tried tactical kicks which were well-handled by their opponents despite the slippery ball. It was an engrossing, exhausting encounter.
First points came to the Rebels from the boot of Jay Manson who slotted a penalty goal in the 19th minute, after missing one from a similar position a little earlier. Ballina came charging back, using their (very) big men to advantage in the deteriorating conditions to eventually free up some space out wide for their winger to get over the line. Then the Rebels returned fire, getting into range for another successful penalty shot. Once more Ballina responded with a try to their winger not long before half-time. 14-6 to Ballina at half time.
In the second half the back-and-forth battle continued, and the field got boggier and boggier. Ballina managed a penalty goal to stretch their lead to 17-6, before the Rebels started a long period camped inside the opposition’s 22. Wave after wave of Rebel attack was held back by outstanding defence. Despite being greatly outweighed, our scrum repeatedly pushed the bigger Ballina pack around, forcing a number of penalties but never quite getting over the line. As the players started to disappear into the mud, something had to give. Finally, the Rebels were rewarded with a penalty try after repeated scrum infringements by Ballina whose discipline was starting to fray.
But they certainly weren’t ready to roll over. They are undefeated this season for a reason. A lapse in concentration and a defensive error from the Rebels gifted Ballina another try on one of the few occasions that play went inside our 22 in the second half. Then it was back into the trenches again, with the Rebels mounting another prolonged period of close quarters attack on the Ballina line. Captain Benji Clarke, who played himself to a standstill, even managed to cross the try-line but the referee ruled a knock on.
When the final whistle blew, Ballina’s stoic defence had held solid against everything our boys could throw at them and the match ended at 24-13 to the visitors.
It is fair to say that the conditions didn’t suit our style of play, but on the day Ballina were better at converting their opportunities into points and their defence was impenetrable. The Rebels will be pleased to have the bye next week to recover from the battle. Hopefully the sun will finally come out and we’ll have a dry track to play a catch up game for Reserve Grade against Lismore on 15 May.
Written by David Phillips
