By Ron Lane
After last week-ends rugby clash between Dolphins and Maroochydore Swans, there can be no doubt about it: Dolphin Park is definitely the home of The Die Hards. Not only did the Reserve grade steal victory in the last minute, but the A Grade made it a double by doing exactly the same, claiming victory in the 39th minute.
For the U/19s, Saturday saw them travel to Caloundra for an away game which they won 25-5.Back home at Dolphin Park the Women’s, Reserves and A grade, all recorded wins thus giving the club a clean sweep of four wins from four games. With the day being celebrated as Ladies Day, what could be a more fitting way for the Dolphins to not only say thank you, but also publicly acknowledge their contribution, then to have, in the words of club President Donald McKill, “ … .the Women’s team leading the clean sweep, with a devastating 69-5 win in their game.”
In the reserve grade, it was a tough game with Dolphins scoring a last minute try to give them a19-14 win. After a disappointing result against University two weeks ago, this has given the Reggie’s a much- needed moral boost. In the A grade it was a similar result with the A’s winning in the 39th minute with a try by Jordan Methew, which resulted from a bulldozing run down the sideline by Jock Hanson.
The As game in the first half was fairly tight affair with it being 29 minutes before a point was scored : this was by the Swans left wing, and with a conversion from the sideline it gave them a 7- point lead. However, Noosa hit back quickly with a converted try which made it a 7 all game. Then another Noosa try just before half time saw Noosa go into the break with a 14-7 lead. In the second half the Swans scored, following good work by their centres, bring them up to 14 all: but, with what seemed to be much tighter rucking by the Swans, followed, by a successful penalty and a converted try, saw the Swans 24-14 up. With the Dolphins starting to feed their backs with more fast ball, another converted try, with just three minutes to go, had the score at 24-21swans.
However, in what seemed the impossible, another converted try on the 39 th minute, saw the Dolphins home with a 28-24 final score. For the bigger part of the game, all indications are that, the Maroochy Swans had the upper hand in the rucks and their kicking was spot on: but despite this, having the Dolphins win, shows that their big hearts and never say die attitude, is without a doubt, second to none. Speaking after the game President Donald McKill said, “It was a come from behind win for the home side: a side, who after trailing for most of the second half, has once again shown their incredible drive and determination. This win will ensure that our coaches and players will continue to work hard at training this week for their trip to Caloundra: I know you will join with me in wishing them continued success.”
For Pirates senior teams, last weekend results were something of a mixed bag. For the under 18s who played at Pirate Park against Beachmere, it was a good result for this saw them continue to creep up the competition ladder. Down at Beerwah the fast- improving Open Ladies, played an 18 all draw against the second placed Beerwah. “Our Division 1 team,” said coach Brett Winkler, “had a disappointing result with Beerwah scoring in the last few minutes giving them a 26-18 victory: it was a see-saw match that could have gone either way.” According to the club flyer, this weekend will see the three Senior Men’s Teams travel to Maroochydore to play the Swans. These are important games as they will determine the trajectory for the remainder of the season, as they enter the all- important second round of the competition.
A huge day at Cooroy last weekend saw13 Junior games of footy played when the Pirates returned to their spiritual home at Christensen Oval. When teams from u/6-u/14, whose parents travelled from all over the Sunshine Coast, graced the three footy fields, there was plenty of action; and there is more to follow over the next two weeks. There will be another 4 junior games, this Friday night, followed by 8 more home games the following Saturday morning.
With the once great game of Rugby League, being in such turmoil because of rules, poaching, tackling, and the sometimes,(unbelievable as it seems) social misconduct by a small number of overpaid morons, the importance of our junior competition cannot be emphasised enough. With good coaching of the true fundamentals, such as tackling, passing , positional play and above all –team work and sportsmanship, it will survive and go on to once again, hold the respect and admiration of the sporting fraternity. But as stated, the importance of the junior carnivals (such as we are now enjoying in Cooroy) has become more important than ever.
