Discipline brings Oakey unstuck

RUGBY LEAGUE: A second-half explosion has lifted the Warwick Cowboys back into the winner’s circle with a 54-20 win over Oakey at Father Ranger Oval on Saturday night.

After leading by eight at the break, three quick tries lifted the home side and put away their illdisciplined rivals in the space of 18 minutes.

Four Oakey players were sent to the sin bin at the back end of each half, and Roger Bartholomew was sent off in the closing stages of the second half.

Warwick coach Phil Economidis said his side maintained their composure during the match.

“We were more disciplined in the second half. Oakey kept compounding the situation with blokes in the bin, hence there was a fairly substantial penalty count which we capitalised on,” Economidis said.

“In the end it was a case of actually getting two many opportunities. We scored some great tries due to the fact we were getting so many, but we pushed a lot of passes in scoring positions.

“It was a win we needed to stay entrenched in the top five because some other teams are starting to breathe down our necks.”

The Cowboys did it without regular hooker Ben Sullivan who was away with the Central Crows, and it was his younger brother Harry that stepped up to the plate and scored a double.

“Harry was great. he scored a couple of tries and got through the whole 80 minutes,” he said.

Forward Darren Pettiford continued his hot run of form with player of the match honours, while Economidis was rapt in the performance of one of his star centres.

“Joe Fuimaono was at his destructive best. He has only just come back from injury,” he said.

“I don’t want too much lead up play. I want him to get clean, early ball with a bit of space to work his magic.

“He’s just a handful to tackle. He can step, swerve or he’ll run over the top of you.”

In an even first half, Oakey’s Roger Bartholomew got proceedings underway in the seventh minute, prior to three quick tries from Warwick to take a 12-point lead.

Jordan Boney and Josh Robinson managed to cross the stripe prior to the half as the Bears trailed by 12 heading into the break.