By TRACI HOZIER
Round 9 Noosa Pirates Junior Rugby League
Under 7 White
THE Caboolture Snakes came to play today but were no match for the mighty Under 7 Whites. The boys again displayed great try line defence with the Snakes prevented from scoring a number of times by desperate tackles.
Off loads and intercepts were also a regular occurrence. The try scoring was shared around with tries to Lukas Byers, Jai Bruggy, Sam Proctor and Rhy North. Cooper Drinnan crossed for a double and Bailey Drinnan scored a hat-trick. Cooper Ward powered forward all day and Will Macrae was heavily involved with some super runs. Cooper Drinnan was named man of the match today and a special mention to Bailey Drinnan for man of the match at last week’s game.
Under 7 Yellow
Pink, blue and yellow were the colours for today. The side celebrated ‘Women in League’ on home turf and the U7 Yellow Pirates were very enthusiastic to get the day rolling against Caboolture. Defence has improved for the boys this week with some impressive tackles, which were paired off with a much stronger attacking game. Our player of the match, Cooper Payne was on fire as he led the charge in the tries department, along with Lachlan and Jaxon as they cut through the Snakes defence. Hayden, Jacko, Charlie, Brandon and Beau wrapped up their opposition with some determined tackling. Coach Tim Payne was proud of the tremendous efforts the boys all put in today. Their manager attributes it to the added colour ‘Pink’ they were all wearing.
Under 8 Yellow
The Caboolture Snakes ventured north into Pirate territory. An outstanding effort by all the players with the game running end to end and try for try. Clearly the coaching staff is focusing on teamwork with off loads and support play noticeably improved. Locking those arms in tackles and ongoing drills at training is helping with locking up the ball. The regular under 8 players were once again helped out by a number of under 7 players eager to show them up. Pierce was back from a couple of weeks off and was looking for work in defence and running hard up the middle at every opportunity. Zeke and Lincoln were running with blinkers on and hitting the defence line hard with every run. After an earlier dropped ball over the line, Lincoln was rewarded with a try. Joe and Lachlan were outstanding in defence and were consistently first into each tackle tying up the larger Caboolture boys until teammates could assist. Zahn’s improved ball control in attack along with his ability to side step is seeing him improve in confidence every week. It is a pleasure to watch the teamwork and cohesion between them all. It is reflected in the consistent improvement each week.
Under 9 Blue
Today the side had their Women in League round at home. The mighty Pirates played two games against Caboolture, the boys had the best games of the season, winning both games. Awesome defence by the whole team, our attack against a much bigger team was outstanding, scoring plenty of tries. Man of the match went to Stoan Condon with an excellent effort and much improved performance. Big thanks to all the mums, sisters, aunties, grandmas for your support for this greatday. And thanks to the parents that helped out with games marshall, time keeper and canteen.
Under 10 Blue
U10 Blue played a good game against Caboolture. The Caboolture defence was very strong and Noosa found it hard to get into their attacking zone. However, after letting a few tries in the first half they put in an awesome effort in defence in the second half with one try each. Ivan, Joel, Erik and Jack did very well playing hooker and halfback in each half with some good organising and running the ball themselves at times. A good effort by Erik seeing the defence on the right side short and scoring. Caleb, Harry, Nancy, Arlo, Tammin, Liam, Danyal and Charlie had strong runningand defence. Jake was solid and combined very well with Daniel which led to a goodrun down the wing. Well done to Erik who earned player of the match.
Under 10 Yellow
The boys played against a physical Caboolture team at home this week . The opposition jumped out of the blocks and put a couple of early tries on the scoreboard. In the second half, the Pirates really responded and worked their way back into the game to finish the better side. Riley had some strong runs, Caleb also was running strong. Charlie Cook tackled hard and Jed was busy at halfback. Charlie Bond ran hard up the middle and Jordan also played well. Jake had some runs up the wing and Dylan was always there at dummy half.
Under 11 Blue
U11 Blue made the trip to Bribie Island to take on Bribie White where we had a challenging game against a good defensive side. Too many errors costing the side on the scoreboard today. Chanse is always versatile and reading the play well, making him the standout for player of the match.
Under 11 Gold
On a gusty and damp Saturday, Noosa U/11 Gold made the obligatory trek south, to the land of Kawana. After an injury delay and a full safety inspection, the whistle blew and the first round began. The boys choosing to kick first and put themselves on the defence early. Kawana managed to get a quick piggy back, twice and put themselves in a quick scoring position. Full credit to the entire team, it is the only time they saw the white line for themselves. The only other time was when they were in their own goal watching Noosa’s conversions. Enter round two. Our Most Valuable Player this week went to Zak Crozier. Zak played an awesome first half, then paired with Happy in the second half to bust them open with nearly every touch, mostly with one boot to the disgust of our first aid officer.
Welcome back Ethan Axe Hozier, watching you defend so well is equivalent to being front seat at a Paul Dwyer concert. Your defensive and attacking pairing with Antonio is like watching an Olympic swimmer in the 1500m get the Gold. Well done to you both for taking on the middle so well. Our game was filled with many highlights from all the players. Kanga continued to bounce and spring his way through everything. Cooper found himself a new home close to the middle and didn’t look out of place as he barged onto the ball. Flash Ollie continues to probe and impeccably chooses the right time to send himself on a run. The White Boys are like watching 12 rounds of a heavyweight fight. They don’t give up on anything and anything they might miss they comeback twice as strong, chew it up and send it everywhere. Ashton worked well at running through the holes and saved a few certain tries on the edges. He also did well not to blow a gasket when a few dubious blows of the whistle went against him. Cade, the quiet achiever continues to go about his business on his right edge, finding himself where he needs to be throughout the game offering blistering speed and healthy defence. Lastly, to the anchor of the pack, Happy Harry. We’ve all followed and marvelled over many years at the many outstanding things this kid is capable of. Every week regardless of his growing pains, he turns up and gives it some and then a nudge more. Happy is our anchor, not only because of his sporting ability but the way he conducts himself among his team on and off the field. Thanks also to Zane O’Grady and Ben Upton for helping the side out today. You boys did a terrific job backing up for a second game. Lastly, a shout out to our good mate, Dunny Breath. We’re all missing you, especially your pranks. We can’t wait to have you back. Get well soon, dude. Congratulations to the boys and their families.
Under 14 Blue
Today, we played Nambour, it wasn’t the best game from us, probably our worst game in two years. But you boys didn’t stop trying. It’s good to have this happen, you can only improve from this. Man of the match went to Clayton Townsend and also great effort from Ryan Baker and Jamie Gollagher. So next week, let’s play better and play as a team.
