Royal-free zone as Roos bound home
MEGHAN Markle may have tied the knot with Prince Harry but Kangaroos coach Michael White remained blissfully ignorant, watching his side march to victory in a convincing 40-12 win over Ivanhoes on Saturday night at Vico Oval.
Surprisingly, White’s charges trailed 12-10 at half-time before storming away with the win, with substitute hooker Ty Millard scoring the opening try of the second half to give the Roos the lead and the all-important momentum.
But as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex departed St George’s Chapel and paraded through the streets of Windsor, powerhouse prop Mick Serafino lifted, providing 80 minutes of bash and crash, while veteran Harry Ambrym showed his class at halfback.
“I was happy the footy was on rather than having to watch the royal wedding,” White said yesterday.
“It certainly wasn’t something I was rushing home to watch. It was nice to actually have a royal-free zone.”
With their minds firmly focused on footy, White said the Roos were able work their way into the game after some poor discipline cost them early.
“We gave away too many penalties and defended a fair bit early on,” White said.
“We gave Ivanhoes too many opportunities and fatigued ourselves, I thought. The first half was too stop-start.
“I thought in the second half we were more patient and got into a groove out there on the park.”
Ivanhoes front-rower Ben Reid said the loss was especially disappointing after such a strong start.
“We just didn’t come out in the second half,” Reid said.
“There was too much dropball, not enough completions, ill discipline and silly penalties
“No-one came out and did their job but we’re a young side that’s still learning, so I think we can improve.”
On a difficult night, fullback Rye Young was a standout, Reid said.
“He’s a real up-comer,” he said. “Rye had a couple of line breaks and his defensive work was pretty impressive, given how much pressure he was under.”
Since taking over at the start of the season, White said the Kangaroos had continued to improve.
“I’m really enjoy the group,” he said.
“The most pleasing thing for me was keeping them scoreless in the second half.
“Without being disrespectful I thought we could put some points on Ivanhoes. I think we have a lot of potential within our group.
“I thought that was our first really dominant performance of the season.”
I WAS HAPPY THE FOOTY WAS ON RATHER THAN HAVING TO WATCH THE ROYAL WEDDING. IT CERTAINLY WASN’T SOMETHING I WAS RUSHING HOME TO WATCH
RESERVE GRADE Southern Suburbs 28 d Atherton 6 Yarrabah 46 d Mareeba 6 Tully 20 d Mossman-Port Douglas 12 Ivanhoes 32 d Kangaroos 20 Brothers 34 d Edmonton 6 UNDER 19