CRUEL DOWNER
RUGBY LEAGUE: The Western Mustangs suffered a heartbreaking blow in the Mal Meninga Cup at the weekend, going down 3428 to the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
In what has become characteristic of the U18s season, the Mustangs again found themselves chasing points from behind.
Patrick McGinn, fresh off a hat-trick in last weekend’s victory over Northern Pride, opened the scoring after five minutes.
From that point on, it was all Sunshine Coast, as they piled on four tries in the space of 14 minutes to take a commanding 22-4 advantage.
Jack Sullivan and Alex Brighton crossed before half-time to cut the margin to eight at the break.
The Mustangs were able to cut the lead back to two points after Declan Buckley crossed in the 59th minute, however a late try to the visitors put the game beyond doubt.
Coach Brendan Wilson said the team was continuing to work on their slow starts, which put them under the pump early.
“I’m happy with the effort,” Wilson said.
“We’re slow starters, and while we’re working on it, it’s just not working out at the moment.
“We need to concentrate a bit more sometimes. They had a few sets, and it was hard to stop their roll on. The next set after points you need to up the ante in defence, and we haven’t got that in our game just yet.
“We’re able to get ourselves back in the game, but at this level you can’t be giving away 18 points start to good teams.
“In saying that our ball control and completion rate was a lot better, and we were able to play an attractive brand of footy once we got into the grind.”
The Mustangs had a late chance to equalise when down by two with less than five minutes remaining, however opted to push for the win, a move backed by Wilson.
“It’s hard to make those decisions being such a short season, and we need to make sure we get
those wins,” he said.
“We had the momentum on our side at the time, and you have to back the decision to be positive.”
Wilson said Dylan Brassell and Connor Williams were among the standouts, as was hooker Braith Ashurst, who crossed for a crucial second half try.
U20S FAIL TO CONTAIN FALCON SWOOP
In the U20s Hastings Deering Colts, the Mustangs were unable to get their 2019 account under way, falling 46-16 to the Falcons.
The visitors powered their way to an early advantage, leading 16-0 inside the opening 13 minutes, and taking a decisive 24-0 lead into the sheds at half-time.
Not to go down without a fight, the Mustangs scored two quick tries to bring the scoreline back to 24-10, however that was as close as they were able to get, as the Sunshine Coast relegated them to their third successive loss to start the season.
Both sides will get the chance to bounce back on Saturday when they take on the Easts Tigers at Langlands Park.