Plenty to crow about in triumph
ATHERTON mentor Graham Clark is convinced “the penny has finally dropped” for his finals-bound Roosters following their 32-16 home win over Kangaroos at the weekend, with several young stars finally delivering on their promise.
After two consecutive losses to Yarrabah and MossmanPort Douglas, the secondplaced Roosters entered this weekend’s clash needing to show their finals credentials against the talent-laden Roos at Tom McGeehan Oval on Saturday night.
Reece Munster and Nigel Woodleigh responded to the challenge in emphatic fashion, both posting hat-tricks in the win, while promising front rower James Coyle stamped his presence on the match early.
“It was a really good club win. I feel like our young fellas are learning what it takes,” Clark said after the match.
“James is an under-19s kid who stepped up and played 70 minutes for us last night and everyone had a real dig.
“Ned Blackman and Jermaine Pedro were outstanding for us as well.
“I think Roos tried very hard. They’re fighting to stay in the five, so it was a tough, entertaining game.”
With Pride regular Bradley Stephen starting at fullback and young playmaker Lachlan Biondi-Odo playing his first match at halfback, Kangaroos had the talent to challenge the injury-riddled Roosters, getting to within six points of the home team in the second half before falling away.
“We started slowly and Atherton got early points on us,” Kangaroos coach Michael White said.
“We showed a lot of courage to get back into the game but made some crucial errors defensively in the end.
“They led 22-6 at half time, so we did well to back into the game. We didn’t kick a conversion though, which is something we need to work on.”
“Lachlan looked very good to me. He’s got the ability and can be a real leader for us. He’s developing and just needs to learn and listen from here.
“We’ve got a number of Pride Under 20 players that come in and out of our team from week to week but that’s not an excuse. We’ve got a good enough core group to do the job.”
Clark said he admired the great strides Roos had made under White this season.
“You can see he’s a very good teacher,” he said.
“He’s taken a group of young kids from around his area and brought them together really well.”
Kangaroos face Cairns Brothers this Sunday at home in a crucial match for their finals aspirations.
WE SHOWED A LOT OF COURAGE TO GET BACK INTO THE GAME BUT MADE SOME CRUCIAL ERRORS DEFENSIVELY IN THE END
editorial@cairnspost.com.au facebook.com/TheCairnsPost www.cairnspost.com.au twitter.com/TheCairnsPost