Undefeated Mounties kept their perfect record intact with a 66-16
demolition of Western Suburbs last weekend at Mount Pritchard
Sportsground.
Mounties were expected to be far too strong for the
young Magpies outfit looking to back up their 32-24 victory over
Kingsgrove last week and things went according to the script early, with
Grant Lahey opening the scoring when he proved simply too big to handle
for the Magpies defence. David Farkas was successful with the
conversion attempt and Mounties led 6-0 after as many minutes.
After
exchanging penalties, Farkas was in the action again, threading a
perfectly weighted grubber through the line. Both Tala Mapesone and
Amanono Tovio found themselves a little too deep, allowing Billy King to
swoop from nowhere to register his first of the afternoon. Farkas
slotted the goal, Mounties keeping pace with the clock early.
Penalties
punctuated the next ten minutes, with the highlight being the clash
between Magpies backrower Tom Morrison and Mounties prop Mitch Cahalane,
which saw Morrison placed on report.
David Farkas was playing
out of his skin and he provided a sublime short ball on 24 minutes
Cahalane, who drew Amanono Tovio in before sending Grant Lahey on his
way for his second try. Farkas put the two points away, Mounties
skipping out to an 18-0 lead with 15 minutes to the break.
Farkas
laid on the next try too. However, it wasn’t for his team. A huge
overlap on the left side tempted Farkas into throwing a long cut-out
ball, which was picked off by Nathan Scaranto, who dashed the 85 metres
to touch down, despite the best efforts of Tim Tautuaa. David Atuau
potted the conversion from in front and Wests found a glimmer of hope at
18-6 with eight minutes until the break.
Mounties started to
feel the pressure just before the interval and their struggles allowed
Wests to score another try, with a bomb being put down by Billy King,
Sonny Bristow on hand to pick up the crumbs and dive over. David Atuau
converted and Wests were back in the game at halftime, down 18-12.
Magpies
coach Leo Epifania said halftime was the worst thing that could have
happened to his team, and it is difficult to argue with the Magpies
boss. Just five minutes had elapsed before Louis Vaitou took advantage
of the Wests defence not numbering up, with his second try. David Farkas
pushed the conversion wide, Mounties back out to a ten point lead.
Mounties
took just three minutes to add to their tally, with Pat Galea showing a
Benji-like sidestep to cut through the Wests line before sending Robbie
Mate on his way. Farkas added the two, Mounties now leading 28-12 with
just over half an hour to play.
Wests could not halt the Mounties
momentum as Wayne Dargan secured a loose ball off a bomb which provided
either a room service bounce, if you’re a Mounties fan, or a Freddie
Kreuger bounce if you’re a Magpie. Farkas added the extras and the score
started to look ominous for Wests at 34-12.
There was no relief
for the Magpies as another last tackle run paid dividends on 58 minutes,
with Louis Vaitou on hand to notch a hat-trick out wide. A change of
kicker to Blake Davies bore no fruit, though, Davies pushing the
conversion attempt wide at 38-12.
Mounties were finding plenty of
success on last tackle options, and they did so again five minutes
later, another bomb finding the turf with Grant Lahey touching down
despite the efforts of a gallant Amanono Tovio. Davies was successful at
his second attempt at goal, Mounties moving out to 44-12.
The
home side registered the half century just three minutes later after a
Magpies drop-out. The Magpies showed plenty of enthusiasm at marker, but
perhaps a little too much, as Fred Pakutoa simply waited for the Wests
markers to split before darting through. Davies added the extras and
Wests were looking for some inspiration with 12 minutes to go.
Wests
did find some inspiration through Wests Tigers NSW Cup five-eighth Jack
Madden and, with nine minutes to play, a grubber from Madden found
space in the Mounties in-goal thanks to Tim Tautuaa rushing up to stop
the passing option, Tuiniua Paiaaua sneaking in behind to score. David
Atuau missed the difficult conversion attempt, Wests trailing 50-16 with
eight minutes on the clock.
Mounties replied to the plucky
Magpie effort by posting two tries in five minutes, the first to Wayne
Dargan after a left hand spread on the last, the second to Theo Leato
after a similar play on the right hand side. Both tries were converted
by Blake Davies and Mounties had cracked 60 with a minute to play.
With
time running down, a rather charitable penalty to Mounties for a high
shot gave them the chance for one final left spread, with Wayne Dargan
joining Grant Lahey in the hatters club for the afternoon. Pat Galea
shaved the right hand uprights despite his teammates vocally urging the
ball through the posts, Mounties finishing an even 50 ahead of Wests at
the final siren.
For Mounties, David Farkas was nothing short of
magnificent, with Pat Galea and Wayne Dargan also in the thick of it.
For the gallant Magpies, Dean Rysko and Jack Madden led the way all
afternoon, ably supported by Mason Harrison.
Next weekend,
Mounties head over to Blacktown to face off against the Workers, while
the Magpies will take a trip down memory lane, as they do battle with
Guildford at Lidcombe Oval, both games kicking off at 3pm Saturday.
MOUNTIES
66 (Grant Lahey 3, Wayne Dargan 3, Louis Vaitou 2, Billy King, Robbie
Mate, Wayne Dargan, Fred Pakutoa, Theo Leato tries; David Farkas 5 from
6, Blake Davies 4 from 5, Pat Galea 0 from 1) def WESTERN SUBURBS 16
(Nathan Scarano, Sonny Bristow, Tuiniua Paiaaua tries; David Atuau 2
from 3)
Penalties: Wests 4 Mounties 6
Halftime: Wests 12 Mounties 18
Western Suburbs
1. Amanono Tovio
2. Tuiniua Paiaaua
20. Nathan Scarano
19. Sam Aiga
5. Tala Mapesone
6. David Atuau
17. Jack Madden
22. Seffa Silafau
9. Matt Jones
10. Soni Passi
11. Tom Morrison
4. Jerome Mose
8. Dean Rysko
12. Mason Harrison
13. Sonny Bristow
14. Matiasi Toutai
18. Jamie Anyszkiewicz
Mounties
16. Theo Leato
2. Billy King
4. Louis Vaitou
21. Wayne Dargan
5. Tim Tautuaa
6. David Farkas
7. Robbie Mate
8. Mitch Cahalane
9. Lancen Joudo
23. Pat Galea
15. Fred Pakutoa
12. Tim Baldwin
11. Grant Lahey
13. Jason Green
17. Blake Davies
18. Nick Kassis
20. Tunui Maurangi
By Keith Topolski
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