ROOSTERS SHOCK YARRABAH
ATHERTON looks set to have the biggest say in the run to the CDRL finals after claiming Yarrabah’s scalp and backrower Tyson Burchell says there’s more to come.
The Roosters frustrated the Seahawks out of the game on Saturday night, turning the screws early in the second half to run out victors 28-18.
Both teams were sloppy in the first half but the home side felt they had the momentum going into the break and Burchell said they made the most of it.
“It would have been the second or third set when they dropped the ball and we got a penalty, and we just went up the middle and ended up scoring a try out wide.
“We defended really well from there actually. They just kept dropping it and we got them frustrated I think.”
Burchell said the young side learnt plenty of lessons from their narrow loss at Yarrabah earlier in the year and added discipline and fit players since then, culminating in the 10point win.
“We just got a bit of go-forward and we didn’t try to go too wide too early, just go straight before we go wide,” he said.
Burchell said the big difference in the past month was attitude, which has led to three wins in their past four games.
They are all timely results, with the Roosters on the look- out for a new coach for 2018 in what will be the club’s 100th season.
While some teams are feeling the pinch at the back end of the season, the Roosters are rejuvenated and Burchell said while finals were out of the question, they were ready to cause some havoc among the title contenders.
Atherton could harm Tully’s finals hopes next week and will finish with Innisfail Brothers.
“We’ve got a couple of the top teams coming up and we should be able to give them a shake-up,” Burchell said.
Southern Suburbs beat Mossman/Port Douglas 46-22 and Mareeba beat Edmonton 48-20 in CDRL A-grade results on Friday night.
The Gladiators’ win keeps them two points from Innisfail Brothers, but they would have to rely on the leaders losing at least two of their remaining games to make a play for top spot.
Suburbs are still mathematically in the hunt but face the top three teams on the run home.