ROOSTERS CROW IN THE WET
ATHERTON Roosters have survived an Ivanhoes barrage to emerge battered and bruised but victorious in a gritty 10-6 effort in cold and miserable conditions at Tom McGeehan Oval.
Graham Clark beamed with pride from the sidelines on Saturday night after being forced to call up seven players for the match, including 17-year-old Connor Griffin who guided the Roosters all night from dummy half.
The plucky Roosters denied repeated attempts from the Knights to bash their way over the tryline in the first half.
“From a technical point it was a pretty average performance but the ticker that comes out of a game like that gives you tremendous satisfaction,” Clark said.
“We didn’t show a lot in attack but it was a wet, slippery night. Our effort in defence though was outstanding.
“We lost James, my youngest son, early too. So we were down probably one of our better players right from the start. The boys made some bad reads but scrambled and covered for each other. I reckon Ivanhoes had about 65 per cent of the ball and almost all of it down their end.”
With six players expected to return next week, Clark will have some hard decisions to make ahead of their blockbuster clash against Mareeba Gladiators next weekend.
“The side will change next week but I don’t play favourites,” he said. “I pick on performance and some of the older blokes may just have to wear it for a week or two.
“Connor did a great defensive job and he served us well. We kept it simple. We had a few dropped balls but that’s to be expected in the conditions.
“Mareeba’s our arch-rival. We’re taking on a side that traditionally gets up for us. We know they’re further down the ladder but we can’t get complacent.”
Ivanhoes co-coach Noel Slade said despite losing he felt like his troops played the better game.
“We were pretty gutted in the dressing sheds,” Slade said.
“We had our halves, Dallas Skardon, Ben Reid out and Rhylee Herd hurt himself early.
“The effort the boys put in was unbelievable.
“Zac Bannister’s been one of our form frontrowers and he had the week off as well.
“I felt like we were the better side, especially in the second half but Roosters finished well.”
The night was particularly special for Clark, whose son Graham Jr played in the early game for the Northern Pride against Townsville Blackhawks.
“I was really proud of Graham’s effort. His reading in defence against Justin O’Neill and (Kalifa) Faifai Loa was great,” he said.