Final stand denies Bulls comeback bid
GRIFFITH Uni Colleges held out the fired-up Nerang Bulls for 15 breathless minutes to return to Heeb St with the best win of its undefeated season.
It was a defensive performance for the ages to hold the Bulls scoreless in the second half, including a frantic final stand after forging ahead 22-15 with a 61st minute rumble by prop Lesi Semi.
Nerang launched every missile in its arsenal trying to break through the Colleges wall but were repelled at every turn in a rematch of the 2020 grand final. Despite a winning streak 23 matches the Knights of
stranglehold on GCDRU first grade supremacy is looking shakier by the week.
After three-and-a-half seasons setting the pace in local rugby Colleges’ rivals give every impression of finally catching up.
“I think the competition is the closest it’s been in a while,” head coach Johnny Ngauamo said.
“You can’t discount the Palm Beach Currumbins and Bonds and teams like that because come the second round they’ll get better – and we didn’t beat those teams by much the first time.
“They’ll learn from that and come back so now we’ve just got to lift.”
With the rest of the competition
closing the gap between themselves and his frontrunners, Ngauamo said it was up to his team to continue raising their standards.
“I always remind the boys to keep your feet firmly on the ground because when you keep winning you relax a little bit and get carried away,” he said.
“After our first game this season where Nerang came close to beating us, this is probably our best win.
“We needed that, a good, hard game going into the second half of the season.”
Colleges and Nerang traded tries to enter the halftime break with the visitors ahead 17-15, a missed conversion from Nerang winger Josh
Whitley the only between them.
A rolling maul try finished off by Knights prop Semi midway through the second half kicked off a nailbiting conclusion as Nerang fought in vain to tie the match.
In a battle for fourth place on the table at Palm Beach Currumbin, Bond Pirates hit the lead 14-13 in the 68th minute only to be left emptyhanded come full-time, as a penalty goal to Gators centre Jamian Iroa and a try to flanker Vernon Brunning in the dying minutes instead sent the Pirates plummeting down the table to sixth.
At Gold Coast Eagles, untimely injuries cost the home side any chance of the season’s difference
grandest upset against Helensvale.
Tries to outside backs Matt Hager and Carl Gooch had the Eagles firmly in the hunt at the 50-minute mark, trailing an understrength Hogs team 19-14.
The floodgates opened late as injuries forced the Eagles down to 13 men.
That was all the advantage Helensvale needed, punching home three tries in the final 10 minutes to blow out the scoreline to 43-14.
At Surfers, Coomera paid the price for a poor first half in defence to lose 30-6.
The Crushers held Surfers to five points in the second half but could not score a point of their own.