Eastern Blues 11 13 79 def Christchurch Bulldogs 9 6 60
In customary fashion the Blues struck early to put a 39-point lead between them and their opposition by half time. Missing their stars in Bowden and Thomas, the Blues still had control of the game early thanks to old heads in Harvey, Davies, Hopkins and Browne. The Bulldogs were lethargic and had no game plan. Things changed dramatically in the third quarter when a player count levelled against the Bulldogs stung them into action, enabling them to pile on 7 of the next 10-goals. They moved the ball quickly and directly to goal, rebounding from defense. The Blues showed signs og tiring, but their early lead proved handy, allowing them to hold on to a 19-point win. Solid contributors for the Bulldogs were Langridge, Smith, Kilday and Steele.
University Cougars 12 10 82 def Mid-Canterbury Eagles 9 10 64
The Eagles started slowly against the wounded Cougars, smarting from their loss the week before to the unlikely Bulldogs. The Cougars moved the ball quickly through the mid-field and had winners in Harris and Deceuvas, generating 9-scoring shots in the opening term. From then on, however, the Cougars lost their dominance and the Eagles grew in confidence with each passing quarter. Their engine room players in Chung and Smith wrested control of the mid-field and tall forwards Allen and Whitehead stretched the Cougar's defense. Desperate times caled for desperate action and the last quarter saw the Cougars throw everything at the Eagles, led by Hendry, Long and Rae. Both teams had 5-scoring shots in the last term, but the Cougars were more accurate in front of goal, booting 4-goals to the Eagles solitary goal. the Eagles are definite improvers and any side that takes them for granted will do so at their peril.
Canterbury Cobras 10 13 73 def Otago Riot 6 5 41
The Riot almost created the same when they trailed by only 6-points at the last change. One would have thought that the Cobras would have been the team to tire in the last quarter, but thier superior match conditioning proved too much for the Riot, allowing them to pull away in te last quarter for a comfortable 32-point win. In similar fashion to the earlier two games, the challengers allowed their opponents build a handy early lead, only to peg them back by three quarter time. There were enough Riot players who had the skill to match it wth the Cobras, led by BOG, Chris Bailey, and ably supported by Jaques, Hanff and captain Nathan Rose. It was great to see players from the different Canterbury teams gelling into a cohesive unit, ceating a blend of youth and experience, led by Ethan Harding and Rick Van Olphen of the young brigade and Chicken Lanyon and Steve Langridge of the elder statesmen.
Last Modified on 15/10/2008 21:32