Tension as Bond falter

FORMER Wallabies lock Kane Douglas went from Norths’ villain to hero to help condemn Bond University to a 38-29 loss that would send tensions through the roof.

As Bond trudged off after their ninth loss of the season, players including Vitori Buatava and Scott Daruda were subjected to some harsh words from the “supporter’’ area.

Daruda, a former Queensland Reds and Western Force representative, was visibly rattled by the tirade.

Bond coach Sean Hedger declined to comment on the matter but the incident left a sour note on an afternoon that had promised so much.

The home side capitalised on a Douglas brainsnap – he was yellow-carded in the eighth minute for a shoulder charge – to open the scoring via flanker Callum McDonald.

A try to Hayden Sargeant and some neat Mitch Third goalkicking ensured they would take a 17-5 advantage into the break.

But Norths hit back with a try that had Bond players up in arms about a possible obstruction and from there it was oneway traffic.

They soon levelled the scores when Douglas produced a magical offload to put Duncan Paia’aua over.

Bond summoned several last-ditch defensive efforts courtesy of Hayden Sargeant, Fred Keil and Mitch Third and with Alex Mafi (arm) and Oscar Dennis (suspected broken cheekbone) suffering game-ending injuries, Sargeant and Daruda played on despite being noticeably restricted.

But even that desperation combined with a mini-resistance could not prevent another defeat, a post-siren intercept try rubbing salt into the wounds.

“We played well in the first half. They got that really controversial try at the start of the second half, that’s what knocked us out … and then we kicked away too much possession,” Hedger said.

No.8 Zach Moimoi, a former Melbourne Storm under-20s rugby league player, was among Bond’s best in his starting debut.

The result put second-last Norths 11 points ahead of lastplaced Bond on the ladder.