Under pressure for a return to the winner’s circle following their narrow loss to Caboolture, an under strength Ray White Noosa Dolphins took on Brothers last Saturday with a 40-34 victory at Sunshine Beach, securing second place on the competition ladder.
In a match that saw the lead change four times, the Dolphins’ ill-discipline and game management again let them down for large parts of the match and must be a concern for the coaching staff if the local side hopes to successfully challenge for the 2024 title.
The first 60 minutes of the match saw Brothers pressure the Dolphins back three with a smart kicking game taking a 24-14 lead into the half time break extending that lead with a penalty goal before the dominant Noosa scrum led to a pushover try by Matt Kelly midway into the second half closing the gap to just 6 points.
Brothers hit back almost immediately when an uncontested high bomb was allowed to bounce and regathered by the Brothers full back Sam Buckley scoring under the posts untouched increasing the lead to 34-21 with 15 minutes remaining.
The introduction of the Noosa bench was immediate, led by Kai Atkinson, Billy Tait and the mercurial Jake Serex bought into the team late in the week due to injuries.
With Tait and Atkinson providing the enthusiasm, Serex delivered the calmness and leadership required at that point in the match. Combined with individual efforts by backrower Jock Hanson and centre Gideon Kautai, the Ray White Dolphins lifted in the final stages leading to tries to Matt Kelly off a cross field kick and another to Kai Atkinson. The KB’s A grade player of the Martch going to the tireless Jonathan Davies in the second row.
Defensive lapses and poor ball retention in the first half of the Reserves match set the previously unbeaten side on the back foot with Brothers taking a 17-0 half time lead in the earlier match.
The team took on board coach Rocco Perugini’s half time talk with the focus on patience, discipline and intensity and their performance lifted fighting back to a 17-12 scoreline before time ran out.
The round results see the Reserve grade retain first place on the competition ladder.
KB’s player of the match Billy Tait continues to impress and was ably supported by Max Skinner and Will Miller.
The weekend opened on Friday Night with a wet and windy match against Brothers won 27-17 by the Dolphins.
Another slow start by the Dolphins and the stop-start nature of the match played into the hands of the Brothers team, with the locals required to fight back to take control in tough conditions in the final 15 minutes to hold on to victory. Coach Digger Munro highlighted the performance of KB’s player of the match Josh Larson who has been outstanding in his return to Rugby after a 12 year absence this season.
The coach also acknowledging the performances of Remi Livingston, James Auckland and Lachlan Egeskov.
With the Southeast Queensland Championships being held this weekend, all clubs have the chance to recuperate with a round bye before the Dolphins head to Wynnum to take on the vastly improved side who knocked the Dolphins out of finals contention in 2023.
