Gladiators Fall Short By 6 In Valiant Effort
January 11, 2010 by
Filed under Redneck
Scorers: Snowstorm Gladiators: Tries- Jack Corfield (1) Conversions -Taine Pisi (1) Penalties- Taine Pisi (1)
The crowds were set for a thriller at Arctic Fortress between 2 pretty evenly matched sides. This was going to test the players strength and fitness as both sides would go at it hard. It was the Gladiators who started stronger with a brilliant pass from Flyhalf Taine Pisi to winger Jack Corfield to open the scoring in the 3rd minute. A tough battle took place in the middle of the park before Waverley fullback Bayo Grantham slotted a penalty goal.
A heated exchange took place between Faka’sofilau and Organ but nothing too dangerous happened. There were only 3 more points scored in the half with the Gladiators leading 7-6 at the break. Grantham was on song with the boot, connecting with his third penalty of the match in the 49th minute. Daryl Bradbury came in for Gennaro Ventura at Inside Centre in the 52nd minute, which was a blow to the Gladiators game plan.
The Gladiators took the lead shortly after, and we thought it might be the wise words and supreme tactics of legendary Manager Tim Hollis that would win them the game, but it was not to be as Partridge scored in the 68th minute. This was the Gladiators second league loss in a row. A silver lining for the Gladiators, was that they managed a crucial Bonus Point for finishing within 7 points.
Manager Tim had this to say… “We fell narrowly short against a good side, we know that whenever we play Waverley it will be tough, they are a strong unit, but so are we, and if a couple of more things had gone our way, we might have won”.
On why he decided to rest Arnie Forster… ” He wasn’t fit enough, although I do think Caleb Poles did a good job replacing him.
It appeared that the Gladiators downfall was their possession and territory percentages. It was only 33 and 41% respectively. They will need to improve against a strong Redneck Nukes side next week. The Lineout and defense will be worked on at training this week.