Dooley’s 90m run helps rev up crowd

THE curtain-raiser was never going to take away from the main event but Ivanhoes Under 19s five-eighth Jack Dooley did his best to warm up the crowd ahead of the NRL clash between the Cowboys and the Rabbitohs.

The jovial teenager’s 90metre run along the sideline in the Knights’ 24-12 win over the Atherton Roosters at Barlow Park yesterday afternoon brought several spectators to their feet before he offloaded to a teammate for a memorable try.

Dooley, grinning from earto-ear as he streaked across the field, fell to his haunches just before the siren and stayed there for an extended period, having run so fast he made himself sick.

“He threw up straight after,” dad and coach Paul Dooley said post-match laughing. “I hope they cleaned it up. “When he started running, I don’t know what happened. I think he was just waiting for his hammy to go again. It was pretty funny.

“He certainly finished the game with an exclamation mark.”

The match almost didn’t happen with several Atherton players stuck on the Kuranda Range after a caravan tipped over, blocking the road.

Still the young Roosters led 12-6 at halftime but looked fatigued after the break.

“They had no ball to warmup with or any kit. They did a great job to pretty much run straight out on to the field,” Dooley said.

“I think we started off a bit slow. The boys were pretty excited about the whole event. They settled down at halftime and stopped looking at the superstars on the sideline.”

Several players from both teams had played in the CDRL reserves and senior games the night before.

“We both had about three or four kids back up,” Dooley said. “It was a great effort.” In the reserve grade match, Atherton prevailed 20-8.