Defence helps Crushers halt Brothers’ run of victories

HERBERT River have ended Brothers’ unbeaten run in the TDRL this season with an impressive 34- 12 victory in Ingham yesterday afternoon.

The Crushers produced an exceptional defensive display as they held a 20- 0 halftime lead over the reigning premiers before snuffing out a potential comeback early in the second half.

“I thought it was one of our best games for the year defensively and in attack we were strong,” Crushers president Joe Pennisi said.

“Everything they threw at us we repelled and our mistake rate was very low.”

Meanwhile, Centrals recovered from a poor start to beat Western Lions 28- 18 at Jack Manski Oval on Saturday night.

The Tigers found themselves trailing 18- 0 after just 15 minutes before piling on 28 unanswered points, with Cowboys legend Matt Bowen playing a starring role in the halves.

“We’re very happy with the win. It took a lot of resilience to beat that side because they’re a very good team,” Centrals coaching co- ordinator Cameron Miller said.

“They came out strong and they were big and powerful, but to our boys’ credit we kept our composure and we thought we’d get them.

“I thought Matty Bowen was very good. He’s playing for us a lot more now and just his experience and the calibre of player he is.”

The Tigers have a tough fortnight coming up against powerhouses Herbert River and Brothers, but Miller felt they were in a good position.

“They’re consistently up there as the best in the competition so we’ll give them the respect they deserve, but we believe in ourselves and we’ll just put our best foot forward,” he said.