Perth-Bayswater
Rugby Union Football Club
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Perth-Bayswater Rugby Union Football Club |
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| INTERNATIONAL RUGBY AT MORLEY |
| 4 December 2005 |
International rugby came to Morley last Wednesday (Nov 30) when the Singapore primary schools combined under 13s team took on the Perth-Bayswater under 12s at Morley Reserve. The game was the second of four for the touring Singaporean team, who proved too strong for the local side, winning 29-12.
Four members of Emirates Western Force, WA's Super 14 rugby union franchise, came to watch the juniors play and gave the Perth-Bayswater players a pre-match pep talk.
However, Perth-Bayswater was simply out-gunned by the larger and faster Singaporean boys. Perth-Bayswater competed solidly in the forwards but the Singaporeans were better equipped to make the most of any room they were given in the backs. Nonetheless, Perth-Bayswater was able to grind out two tries to the Singaporeans' five. After the game, the two teams had dinner together and enjoyed discussing the game and socialising with players from another country.
| ANNUAL DINNER SUCCESS |
| 2 October 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater concluded another season with the club's Annual Dinner in a very sucessful and enjoyable night at Gloucester Park on Saturday October 1. President Jack Seymour welcomed the large crowd of unusually well-dressed players, officials and supporters and their beautiful girlfriends, wives and partners (but not all at once, fortunately). MC Rick Boyd made a laughing stock of himself as usual, and the crowd enjoyed a delicious dinner, washed down with copious quantities of wine, beer and even water for a few whose livers are under close medical suprvision. The Presentation of Trophies followed, with half back Toby Hohapata cleaning up the Westpac Shield for the Premier Grade Best and Fairest. Cale McCort won the Players' Player Award, Maureen Stewart and Craig Freeman were recognised as Clubwoman and Clubman of the Year respectively, and retiring First Grade Coach Jamie Hohapata received an extraordinary Club Recognition Award for his years of service to Perth-Bayswater Premier Grade. Jason "Legs" Bastaja added a touch a sophistication to the night with a poetry recital and with the formal proceedings over, the crowd got down to some serious dancing (and maybe one or two small drinks along the way). Another great year with Perth-Bayswater and, naturally, 2006 will be even better.
| B GRADE DEGRADE |
| 12 September 2005 |
B Grade saved their worst performance of the year for the must-win semi-final against Rockingham played at Perry Lakes during the weekend. Proving that if you play with passion and the right attitude you can beat anyone on the day, Rockingham were deserving winners over Perth 15 – 11.
There were few highlights on the day for the men in black apart from a great individual try by Phil “Legend of the Valleys” Oliver who ran around the defenders to score a try in the corner for an 8-0 lead. Apart from this it was all down hill the rest of the day as Rockingham lifted their game while a very flat-looking Perth never got out of first gear. Rockingham had a clear game plan which they stuck to with telling kicks behind Perth turning around our big forward pack then competing well against us in the lineout. The tactic of keeping us pegged down in our own half paid dividends with any penalties being slotted over by a very good kicker which in the end resulted in victory.
B Grade will now have to take a long hard look at itself if it ever wants to win the premiership. Over the last few seasons we have played well all year only to fail in the finals. There are a few main factors that I feel are the reason why this happens with one being that we need a non-playing coach and we need to train one night a week. The teams that have gone on to win this grade over the last few years have all had a non-playing coach to make the decisions and have trained during the season. Relying on players to select teams, make substitutions during a game, to work on a game plan before and during a match just doesn’t work. Take Saturday as a prime example.
| B GRADE MISS OUT ON EASY ROUTE |
| 5 September 2005 |
The gallant lads from B Grade were denied the easy route into the grand final when Associates kicked a penalty right on full time to snatch a 25–24 victory.
The game was very hard fought with both teams going hard at it right from the start and neither side took a backward step. First to score was Soaks when they nipped down the sideline from a short throw into the line which caught Perth by total surprise leaving the men in black five points down with only a couple of minutes gone on the clock. Perth soon got moving forward and it wasn’t long before Bert ”Two Left Feet” Bothwell went over for a try after some great attacking forays into Soaks' 22. This was converted by Shane "Public" Barr for a 7-5 score but it wasn’t long before Soaks replied with a penalty to hit the front again at 8-7. This was countered by Public with a penalty to change the lead to 10–8 which was further extended when brother Dwain ”The Train” Barr crashed though the defence for a converted try and a handy 17 – 8 lead. With the Perth scrum totally in control things were starting to look good but as they say in rugby “it’s the luck of the bounce” that sometimes decides games and so it was when a loose ball that Phil "Legend of the Valleys” Oliver was about to pounce on decided to turn a sharp right angle at the last moment, straight into his opposite number's hands. With the Soaks player just being bought down before the try line it was always going to be a struggle to keep them out and in the end it proved to much for Perth as Soaks went to the break only 17–15 down after being out-played by Perth for most of the first half.
The second half saw an arm wrestle ensue and points became harder to come by as both sides lifted their defence to a new level. In the end it was up to “The Train” to break the deadlock when he side-stepped his way through a pack of defenders to score near the posts with only ten minutes left on the clock, for a converted try and a 24-15 lead. If the boys in black had kept up the wall they may have made it but it was Soaks fly half who again came to the Swanbourne club's rescue when he shrugged of a couple of weak tackle attempts by the inside backs to score a try, which he then converted to trail by just two points. After the restart we only had to hold out for two minutes but instead of putting the ball out, staying in their half and not giving away any penalties we instead provided Associates a penalty inside our half for not rolling away which their fly half popped over to take the match 25-24.
Although disappointing, a lot of positives came out of the match with the best being the performance of the forwards who are back to their dominating best. The backs also on the whole proved to be solid in defence most of the time but need to stop giving away the hard-earned possession provided by the forwards with pointless short kicks that seem to go straight to Soaks' backs, providing them with their best attacking options. Apart from this the backs looked good in attack and will be looking forward to the clash with Rockingham next Saturday to fill the last grand final spot.
| THANK GOD THEY'RE JUST COUNTRY BOYS |
| 22 August 2005 |
The WA Country rugby union team was too strong for a composite Perth-Bayswater side, winning 44-14 at Morley Reserve on Saturday. The match, an annual precursor to the Perth rugby union test match, was won by a polished country side which showed greater cohesion and stamina. The core of the Perth-Bayswater team were players from the B grade, the only senior team to make the finals, with players from other grades making up the numbers.
Country WA started the game on attack but found it difficult to break through Perth-Bayswater’s defences until they turned over the ball and sent it to their left wing, who took advantage of a gaping hole left by the absence of a right wing for Perth-Bayswater. Country WA struck again with another try soon after before Perth-Bayswater rallied to begin a concerted attack on the country side. Number eight Tom Hughes and second row Kereopa Pirikahu made several bustling runs into the country forward pack, forcing back the country defences and setting up first five-eighth Steve Wharerau to feed several attacking runs. However, the country defences proved too organised and despite Perth-Bayswater’s constant pounding, they were unable to break through. WA Country punished any Perth-Bayswater mistakes and were soon well ahead on the scoreboard.
The introduction of second rowers Jason Bastaja and Wayne Campbell in the second half gave Perth-Bayswater impetus in the forwards and, with the country team back-pedalling from Perth-Bayswater’s pick and drive game gave halfback Jason Hill the opportunity to spin the ball to David Watene who burst through two tackles before offloading to Andrew Hancy on the wing who waltzed past the remaining defenders to score in the corner. Hancy struck again in the dying seconds of the game to score again in the same place after weaving past five WA Country defenders.
| NO HEROICS IN QUIET FINISH |
| 13 August 2005 |
Solid Nedlands defence prevented Perth-Bayswater from delivering a final win for departing coach Jamie Hohapata as they went down 7-22 in their Home Building Society rugby union match at Morley Reserve on August 13.
Hohapata took the wise option of not leading his boys on to the field for the last time as rain started sheeting down minutes before the game. Perth-Bayswater started strongly with attacking forward play from Mike Murphy and Eugene Maxwell, who caught Nedlands' pack flat-footed with aggressive pick and drive play. Perth's aggression soon paid off as they found weaknesses in Nedlands defence and crossed the line for an early try which was converted by half back Toby Hohapata for a 7-0 lead. Nedlands regrouped to hold firm in defence as Perth-Bayswater continued to attack with captain Ashley Murphy leading the charge and second rower Brian Khaemba dominating the line outs. Fullback Dylan Davies made several strong attacking runs but was unable to break through. Nedlands began to gain more possession and despite solid Perth defence, scored a try in the corner to narrow the gap to 7-5. Perth-Bayswater continued to throw all they could at Nedlands but were unable to break through, while Nedlands attacking pressure found another gap in Perth's defence to allow them to go to half time with a 15-7 lead.
Wary of the blow-out that occurred in the second half the last time the two teams left, Perth-Bayswater defended staunchly and absorbed a strong Nedlands attack. Perth was again unable to break through to score while Nedlands managed a single try in the half. After the game, coach Hohapata said he had enjoyed coaching the team and looked forward to taking it easy next year and watching the team's fortunes from the sideline.
In other games, Reserve Grade lost 46-5, A Grade went down 32-5 and Under 19s lost a close one to Palmyra, 10-6. A badly depleted B Grade defeated Nedlands 8-7 with Andy Keene scoring the team's winning try and Rau kicking a penalty. B grade finished second on the ladder and will play Associates Green on the 3rd of September in the major semi final.
| LEAVE IT TO B GRADE |
| 6 August 2005 |
With Premier Grade and Reserve Grade having byes, A Grade and B Grade travelled to distant Bunbury to give the locals the thrill of a lifetime. A Grade won 36-12 and B Grade won by a modest 12-5. Under 19s defeated Associates Green at Allen Park, 32-15.
B Grade – It was a trip down south this week for the B grade when they travelLed to Bunbury to take on the Barbarians. It took a while to actually find the ground when we got there, with the team having to split up in search parties to finally find a set of rugby posts. Turns out that the locals have to share their ground with an Aussie rules team so they have to erect and disassemble {that's "take apart", forwards -- Ed.] the posts each week. With this hurdle overcome it was time to get on with the game which turned out to be a very hard tussle. But in the end B Grade overcame the locals to record a 12–5 win. It was a Shane “Public” Barr show in the first half with the flyhalf scoring all of Perth’s twelve points. The first try came as “Public” chased up one of his own kicks which bounced awkwardly for the defence. Public snatched the ball away from them, twisting sideward to stretch over the line to score. This was followed by another try when we took a quick tap and Shane was driven over the line by the forwards to score, which was converted for a 12–0 half time lead.
The second half was a very tight affair with the highlight being the solid defence shown by both teams. Our forward pack that had struggled all day against a very beefy Bunbury side had to dig deep with the likes of Daniel “Curly” Curlew, who was in the forwards this week having a huge game, combined with the return of Chachi and the experience of Andy “Evergreen” Keene, Lionel “Ritchie” Johnston and “Japie” getting us through. Bunbury managed a try on full time but it was all too late and the boys in black guaranteed themselves a top two finish for the season with one more match remaining.
| GIANT-KILLER KILLED |
| 30 July 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater was unable to repeat its giant-killing of a week earlier and succumbed to Associates' counter-attacking play, losing their Home Building Society round 16 rugby union match 15-48 at Morley Reserve on Saturday July 30.
Associates dominated Perth-Bayswater early and excelled at turning over the home side's ball and gaining an overlap for their outside backs to exploit. Associates' powerful scrum gave them the advantage early in the game and it provided solid go-forward ball for their backs' attacking runs. Fullback Dylan Davies defended stoutly as usual and could be relied upon to beat two or three tackles whenever he had the ball. Winger Damian Milich made a promising early break, speeding along the touchline before Associates' cover defence was able to push him out of the field of play. However, attacking chances were rare for the men in black as Associates kept them bottled in their own half. Associates camped on Perth-Bayswater's try line and desperate defence from Perth held out four pick and drive attempts to score until their halfback was able to find a way through under the posts and give his side a 7-0 lead. Perth-Bayswater was able to gain more possession and props Adam Bielawski and Tuakaua Patu made several bustling charges with the ball in hand providing momentum for fly half Geoff Martin but Perth-Bayswater was unable to break through Associates' defences and eventually Associates stole the ball and fed it to their winger who scored a try against the run of play. Perth-Bayswater kept the pressure up but were unable to find ways through the Associates line and when they eventually won a penalty, they opted to kick for points. Half back Toby Hohapata slotted the kick to leave Perth-Bayswater trailing 12-3. Associates scored a third try to go into half time 17-3 but it was in the second half that they were able to consistently gain a backline overlap and run in five unanswered tries.
Two brilliant individual tries by Milich in the last five minutes of the game helped the score line look slightly more respectable for Perth. In the first, he ripped the ball from the Associates centre in a tackle before stepping past four defenders to score in the corner. The second was an almost identical repeat of the first and caused coach Jamie Hohapata to joke that he might have started doing that earlier in the game.
In other games, all against Associates, reserves lost 6-43, A grade went down 14-26 and colts lost 6-31..
B Grade was the only Perth side to post a win at Morley on Saturday when they defeated a gallant Soaks side 36–17. In summer-like conditions it was the boys in black who posted first points when Dwain “the Train” Barr shrugged of the defence to open the scoring after a good lead up by the forwards. This was followed up by a try to Richie “Lionel” Johnston who made it a double shortly after when he powered over just before half time to give us a 17-0 buffer. What was even more pleasing was that Lionel managed to score while we had George “Hitman” Tutavaha in the sin bin.
The second half saw Perth continue to apply pressure and this paid of with tries to Handsome Danny Vella, a second for “The Train” and one to Darren "Copper" Horne who ended up being sent off near the end of the match by Referee Alan Gorman, whose eye sight is now subject to question as the supposed illegal tackle by the Copper was nothing of the kind. An Oscar should go to the Soaks player who ran into the retreating Copper (who's built like a mobile rock), then bounced off and put in a Hollywood performance that would even have impressed director Peter Jackson. Soaks scored a couple of quick tries to put the heat on a tiring Perth side but the pressure should have been relieved when Shane "Public" Barr spun the ball wide to Fridge, who went over for a try only to be called back by referee Gorman for a supposed forward pass. This happens to be the fourth time this season that Alan has robbed the Fridge of a try due to forward pass calls and it is further proof that it's a trip to the optometrist for this ref. His mother always warned him that it would make him go blind if he didn't stop it. The only ref we have had in the last few years with eye sight as bad is a particular ref who was known for his “nipple line” (as in keep tackles below) and was accompanied to each game by what we assumed was his guide dog. Soaks managed one last try [(due to putting on a lot of young players with fresh legs) before the longest second half in the history of fifth grade finally came to an end.
NB - I would just like to add that the above comments about the referee is tongue-in-cheek and as players we all appreciate the time and effort put in by the referees to make our competition fun as well as competitive. The standard of refereeing in the lower grades has greatly improved in the last few seasons and a lot of this is due to the fact that experienced referees like Alan Gorman (you big crawler, Fridge -- Ed.) have continued to officiate in the lower grades instead of retiring after their time at the top. Well done to the referees association and Rugby WA for making this possible.
| UNI DETHRONED BY BLACK MAGIC |
| 24 July 2005 |
University surrendered the lead in the Home Building Society competition when it fell prey to Perth-Bayswater 16-7 at Morley Park yesterday. The maverick Morley team, seventh in the competition, has felled its share of giants over the years and competed fiercely to sideswipe an off-colour Uni two tries to one in the boilover of the week. Perth-Bayswater has specialised in poor finishes this season, losing three close games in the dying stages, but staged a big second half after leading 3-0 at the break.
The opening quarter was played between the 22s as Perth-Bayswater's combative loose play unsettled the competition leaders. Perth-Bayswater scored first after 18 minutes when halfback Toby Hohapata goaled from 40 metres when Uni was caught offside. Uni increased its share of territory later in the half but the students' penalty reply after 30 minutes was well astray. Perth-Bayswater, with plenty of possesion, battled to dent Uni's rush defence and innacurate field kicking did not help. It was left to punishing runs from bulky number eight Michael Murphy to disrupt Uni's momentum, and Perth-Bayswater went into the break 3-0 up.
Uni pressed hard from the kick off but Perth wing Andrew Hancy snatched an intercept on the 22 as the students spun the ball wide, sprinting 70 metres to score in the corner. Uni looked far from its best and made uncharacteristic mistakes, knocking on down the right wing after 15 minutes with Perth's defence wide open. Uni continued to dominate territory but the rub of the green was against it, the fullback missing a sitter after 20 minutes following a shoulder charge. Perth-Bayswater went from strength to strength, working downfield and decimating Uni with a massive 20 metre driving maul. Giant prop Daniel Reardon stretched out to plant the ball over the line for the try, gaining a 13-0 lead with 15 minutes remaining. Perth almost scored again minutes later when wing Damien Milich sprinted 40 metres down the sideline, passing in to flanker Cale McCort who was tackled just short. Instead Hohapata landed a moderate penalty for offside to increase the Morley side's lead to 16-0 with 10 minutes on the clock. Uni gained consolation points with a runaway try to their blindside flanker five minutes from time, catching Perth by surprise when he snatched the ball from a ruck and sprinted 20 metres to score. Uni converted from in front for to trail 16-7. Uni saved its best to last and almost scored with a sparkling passage of running rugby but desperate tackling caught them just short. In a puzzling decision, Uni opted to tap a late penalty rather than attempt a penalty kick that would have brought it within seven points of Perth-Bayswater's score. The bonus point would have kept Uni on top of the table but Nedlands leapfrogged them into first place with a 26-12 win over Palmyra. But the move came to nothing and Perth held out until full time to seal a memorable victory.
In other games, Reserves beat Uni 10-8, A Grade were thrashed 76-10 by Joondalup.
B Grade had to slog it out for a hard fought win over Joondalup 24 – 14 at Morley on Saturday. With the competition finals format expanded from the top five to top six Joondalup saw an opportunity to secure a finals spot. They didn't seem to have more than thirty players between their A and B grades so after a walk in the park against our A grade by 70 points and a rest between games they would have been feeling confident of knocking off B grade as well. B grade on the other hand is a different kettle of fish compared to A grade and have settled combinations that have played together all season, unlike the poor old A grade which gets gutted each week by the grades above.
The first half was tough against a very large pack of forwards and the loss of Tom "Desert Madman" Lynch, who was sin binned after a very dodgy report by an accredited linesman from Joondalup. Perth managed two tries late in the first half with Handsome Danny Vella scoring a try when he took the ball from our jumper at the lineout, ran around the front and scored in the corner. The other first half try was scored by Graham Marks who nipped over the line from a breakdown, which took us to half time 12–0 up.
We started well in the second half and were rewarded with a penalty try when Andy “Evergreen” Keen was interfered with (although Andy normally likes to be interfered with in other ways) while attempting to dive on a loose ball over Joondalup's line. This was converted and all of a sudden we were 19-0 up with it looking like the flood gates were about to open -- but Joondalup had a secret weapon up their sleeve, a replacement winger who was built like a greyhound and run like one too. Soon as the ball went to him he took of at great pace leaving all our defenders in his wake and was scoring under the posts in a blink of the eye. Two minutes later he was involved in the next try on the other side of the field and all of a sudden it was 19–14 with an upset in the wind. The boys in black didn't panic and lifted their game to meet the challenge. First the forwards secured more ball which was kept in hand and then moved down the field towards Joondalup's line. With a scrum feed on the 22, Perth went blind bringing in fullback Bubs who fed the ball to Fridge a couple of meters from the line for the “Kiwi Kelvinator” to crash over the line to score. This put the game out of reach with only a couple of minutes to go and the team was grateful to Brothers for a hard workout.
| PERTH RUN AGROUND AT COTTESLOE |
| 18 July 2005 |
Cottesloe, third-placed in the Home Building Society competition, thrashed Perth-Bayswater 49-7 at Harvey Field today. Cott dominated from the kickoff and attacked relentlessly in Perth-Bayswater's 22, but tenacious defence from the Morley visitors held the Seagulls out for 15 minutes. Then a penalty lineout 10 metres out led to a ruck and a cut out pass which put Cott's centre through a soft tackle to score under the bar. Their inside centre converted from in front for a 7-0 lead. On the half hour a Perth knock on gave Cott another ruck and the ball went blind where the Cott number eight scored on a three man overlap, converted from a moderate position. Another try followed a minute later, a big midfield breakout finished by their openside flanker. The kicker slotted another sitter and Cott raced ahead 21-0. Just before half time flyhalf former Perth rent-a-player Ryan Westaway, recently returned from the USA, cut through heavy traffic to score in close for Cott; and their lock scored from a big forward drive in the corner. Both were converted, one from the sideline, for a thumping 35-0 lead to Cott going into the break, in a half of one way traffic.
Cottesloe dropped a gear in the second half and Perth-Bayswater stiffened its defence to hold the Seagulls out early in the second spell. The men in black staged a short period of attack after 10 minutes but errors quickly sent them back on defence. Half way through the spell the Cott wing skipped down the sideline for Cott on the counter attack and ran through half-hearted tackling to score close in. Cott converted to go ahead 42-0. Cottesloe went back on attack and hammered Perth's line but the men in black resisted heroically until with ten minutes to play, their halfback ran in a loop, sold the dummy and scooted in unopposed out wide. He placed the ball behind the posts, the kicker completed the formalities and Cott's score mounted to 49-0. Perth-Bayswater kept battling away, gaining position in Cott's 22 with five minutes to play. Blindside flanker Tony Ansell burst through in close and halfback Toby Hohapata converted from in front for consolation points.
B Grade took maximum points when it defeated Cottesloe 55–5 at Harvey Field on Saturday. Scoring nine tries to the Seagulls' one, it was always going to be Perth’s day. Although the way they started in the backs suggested differently, with calls for the Barr brothers to be breathalyzed after some uncharacteristic wayward passing. After twenty minutes, Perth finally got on the board when Wayne “Bubs” Salter hit the line with pace to slice through the defence for the first try. This seemed to get things going and it wasn’t long before Hansome Danny Vella joined the try scorers' list when he charged over the line from a lineout to score the first of his three tries of the day. Japie reckons he scored the next try but I can’t give any more information about it as I was watching a seagull fly past at the time. [Funny, Japie told me he ran 50 metres and around most of Cott's back line -- Ed.] Phil “Legend of the Valleys” Oliver rounded off the first half scoring when he ran wide from a scrum near the line, dummied to two inside backs then slipped through a hole in the defense to touch down under the posts.
After half time we managed five more tries with Danny scoring two more, Dwain ”The Train” Barr adding two and Lionel ”Richie” Johnson picking up one. Gorge Tutavaha put in a vintage performance [but then he almost as old as Model T Ford -- Ed.] on the side of the scrum in the absence of Chachi who, like Lionel, was late due to not checking the kickoff time. Both really should have been fined a carton each of ace manager Grunter's favorite beer for this misdemeanor.
| ANOTHER DEFEAT IN THE NICK OF TIME |
| 9 July 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater allowed Kalamunda to snatch victory from their grasp in the dying seconds for the second time this season, allowing the Bulls back in to the game to win 21-20 in their Home Building Society rugby union match at Hartfield Park on Saturday.
Perth-Bayswater followed a now-familiar pattern of starting strongly before falling away toward the end of the game. Kalamunda never looked like scoring in the first half and had their hands full holding off the Perth-Bayswater onslaught. Perth-Bayswater put their first points on the board from the boot of halfback Toby Hohapata who kicked two penalties to give the men in black a 6-0 lead. Perth-Baywater’s forwards, led my Ashley Murphy, kept the Kalamunda defences on the back foot with a powerful pick and drive game while first five-eighth Nathan McCort put in one of his best performances of the season controlling the backline. Perth-Bayswater scored one try through the backs and one through the forwards, both converted by Hohapata to take them 20-0 up.
Looking headed for victory, Perth-Bayswater’s concentration lapsed and Kalamunda were able to break through Perth’s defences for a converted try. Having already snatched victory from Perth earlier in the season, Kalamunda sniffed a chance and rallied where Perth-Bayswater fell apart. Kalamunda scored a second converted try to put them one converted try away from an upset win. Perth appeared to be holding out until a last-minute dash down the touchline by the Kalamunda fullback who brushed off to tacklers to score and give his goalkicker the opportunity to steal the game.
In other games, the reserves were beaten 37-0 while the colts continued their late-season revival by beating Nedlands Gold 50-0.
B grade had another good win, over Southern Lions 1. The score line of 52–0 was a good indication of the game with the more experienced Perth side able to finish off their moves while the young lads from the Lions were unable to put any phases together to seriously threaten the scoreboard.
Bert "Two Left Feet” Bothwell danced over to open the scoring in the first half which was followed by tries to “Chachi” and Lionel “Richie” Johnson while Rau provided two conversions for a 19-0 half time lead. Even though the half time lead looked OK there was a general feeling that as a team we had put in a fairly ordinary performance and that we have just been going through the motions in our last few games.
The second half saw Bert and Chachi add to their first half effort while Dwain "The Train" Barr, Aaron “Ralph” Martin and Fridge also got their names on the score sheet. Chachi was everywhere during the game leading to it being generally felt that no one can be that happy and energetic without some sort of artificial help. Once we discover his secret some of us over 40-year-old members of the team are going to “get us some of that action”. Mike “PhD” Hillier and Finky provided a good base to the scrums while Japie shocked us all by putting in a big tackle which resulted in a turnover (wonders never cease to happen in this grade).
| ROO DOGS BROUGHT TO HEEL |
| 3 July 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater raced to an early lead which was never seriously threatened by Wanneroo for a 39-26 victory in their round 12 Home Building Society rugby union match at Rugby Park on Sunday.
Perth-Bayswater piled on the pressure from the kick-off, the forward pack sending Wanneroo into early disarray with their pick and drive game. Wanneroo conceded a penalty in front of the posts and a quick tap allowed Mike Murphy to dive over the line for a try. Halfback Tony Hohapata converted to give the men in black a 7-0 lead after three minutes of play. A penalty for Wanneroo shortly after the restart put them on the score board. Wanneroo attacked Perth-Bayswater’s 22 when Perth managed to turn the ball over and spin it wide quickly to winger Shaun Tamehana who burst through a Wanneroo tackle and ran the ball 50 metres. Tamehana offloaded to hooker Richie Anderson who scored Perth-Bayswater’s second try in 10 minutes, which was converted by Hohapata for a 14-3 lead. The teams kicked a penalty apiece before Wanneroo kicked downfield to fullback Dylan Davis who broke through two tacklers and sped along the touchline to score in the corner. At 24-6 down, Wanneroo rallied to score two tries and went in to half time trailing by 24-16.
Perth-Bayswater burst out of the gates in the second half with quick passing from Hohapata and first five-eighth Nathan McCort fed bustling runs from Tony Sproule and Jeff Martin in the centres. Bursts of pace from the back three often threatened to break through Wanneroo’s at times shaky tackling. Winger Damien Milich found open space to score wide and give Perth-Bayswater a bonus point and Tamehana followed suit with a try three minutes later to put the match beyond doubt. Wanneroo refused to surrender and scored another two tries but never looked like challenging Perth-Bayswater’s total.
In the other game on Sunday, reserve grade led 13-0 for most of the game but let in two tries near the end to go down 14-13.
On Saturday at Morley Reserve, A grade were drubbed 9-48.
B Grade produced a strong second half effort to beat Midland 48–0 on a sunny afternoon at Morley Reserve. In fact the presence of the sun for the first time in weeks caused some havoc for Perth in the first half with a couple of players suffering from temporary blindness under the high ball (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).
Midland started the game strongly and Perth was forced to defend most of the first quarter. The tide finally turned and it was the boys in black turn to pressure Midland’s line but the hillbillies showed that they were up to the task so in the end we had to settle for a penalty goal. Perth continued to hammer Midland's line and it took the try of the day to break the deadlock just before half time. From a penalty kick to the corner Perth forwards drove from the lineout and Andy “ Evergreen” Keen was propelled over the line to provide a half time score of 8–0.
The second half saw a more focused Perth side take control of the match and it wasn’t long before Japie strode through the lineout Ali Williams-style to score. This was quickly followed by a great solo effort from Dwain "The train” Barr, then a fine show of individual skills from Bert Two Left Feet” Bothwell when he toed ahead a loose ball before scooping it up, beating a couple of defenders to score and take the game out of reach. Rau showed great vision by putting Daniel "Curley” Curlew in for a try after he had run a great angle while Phil "Legend of the Valleys” Oliver showed all the class that made him one of the club's greatest fly halves ever by putting Aaron "Ralph” Martin and Fridge in for tries.
| GOOD START NOT ENOUGH FOR WESTS |
| 25 June 2005 |
Despite an enthusiastic start, Perth-Bayswater wilted in the second half to lose to reigning premier Wests-Subiaco 44-15 in their Home Building Society rugby union match at Rosalie Park on June 25. Perth-Bayswater was clearly fired up with the return of prop Ashley Murphy and first five-eighth Nathan McCort, who were key figures in Argonaut Gold’s successful defence of the Telstra Australian Rugby Shield and started the game playing as good a level of rugby as they have produced all season.
For the first 20 minutes, Perth-Bayswater dominated possession and territory. Loose forwards Cale McCort, Eugene Maxwell and Kereupa Pirikahu ran rampant early to ensure Wests-Subiaco was deprived of the ball at breakdowns of play. Wests-Subiaco’s defence withstood sustained pressure but Perth-Bayswater eventually managed to create an overlap and spun the ball wide to winger Damien Milich who raced into the corner for a try. Bustling runs from centres David Watene and Tony Sproul could not pierce Wests-Subiaco’s wall of defenders. In a rare attacking movement, Wests-Subiaco managed to take the ball into Perth-Bayswater’s 22, took a quick tap from a penalty and spun the ball wide to score in the corner and bring the score to 5-5. Perth-Bayswater resumed their offensive from the restart and camped in Wests-Subiaco’s half but were unable to turn the pressure into points on the scoreboard, whereas were able to score each time they made a rare raid into Perth-Bayswater’s defensive 22, with a penalty and then a second try, both against the run of play. Shortly before the end of the first half, Perth-Bayswater managed to win a penalty which Hohapata successfully kicked to have Perth-Bayswater trailling by 13-8 at half time despite dominating possession and territory.
After the break, Wests-Subiaco’s forwards awoke from their slumber to do to Perth-Bayswater what had been done to them in the first half except that Wests managed to capitalise on their opportunities to run in try after try to take the score to 44-8 until Nathan McCort managed to break through the Wests-Subiaco line to score a consolation try.
In other games, the reserve grade was routed 60-0 while the A grade was also unable to score against Wests, losing 19-0. There was some joy for Perth-Bayswater with the B grade comfortably defeating Wests 35-3 and an under-manned colts side putting in a fully coherent performance to down Wests-Subiaco 61-12.
It was back to the winner's circle for the legends of B GRADE when they downed Wests 35–3 at Rosalie. With a slightly rearranged team due to some players being unavailable with ABLTM(All Blacks Lions Test Match) flu it took a little while to settle into the new combination. Perth was first to score when Rau moved the ball wide to Fridge who shrugged of a couple of weak tackles on the way to the line. Wests were in no way easy beats and showed this by putting the boys in black on the back foot a few times in the first half but due to poor handling in their backs only managed a penalty for all their effort. Phil "Legend of the Valleys" Oliver scored a great try just before half time after the ball was moved through the backs, to help Perth go to the break 17–3 up.
The second half saw Perth put more pressure on Wests line which finally paid of when Lionel “Ritchie” Johnston drove over the line with half the Wests forwards on his back to score a real forwards' try. Ref Alan Gorman was in full control during the game and showed this by telling off Tom "Desert Madman" Lynch first, and following that up with giving Mike "Prince of Whales" Jones a lecture. Both players were very lucky that they were not made to stand facing a corner for ten minutes followed by a hundred lines “I must not argue with the ref”. The try of the game waited until the last minute when Dwain "The tTrain" Barr made a huge break up field before unloading (ne of the few passes he managed to get right that day playing at no.8) to Wayne "Bubs" Salter who raced under the posts for a great bonus point try. Rau had a good day with the boot slotting three conversions and penalties which helped make the score look more impressive.
| PALMYRA PIPPED |
| 20 June 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater clung tenaciously to an early lead to hold off a resurgent Palmyra and claim a hard-won 22-21 victory in their round 10 Home Building Society rugby union match at Morley Reserve on Sunday June 19.
Perth-Bayswater dominated early play and charged to a 16-0 lead in the first 20 minutes thanks to a rampant forward pack and the accurate boot of fly-half Toby Hohapata, who did not miss a shot at goal all day. Palmyra had no answer to strong ball-carrying by loose forwards Cale McCort and David Watene and lock Tim McLoughlin and gave away three penalties trying to slow down the ball in the rucks, allowing Hohapata to put the men in black nine points in front. Perth-Bayswater's first chance at crossing Palmyra's try-line came from a cross-field chip kick by Hohapata which was swooped on by wing Dylan Davis but he was unable to gather the ball. Perth-Bayswater's early domination finally paid dividends when the ball was spun wide to right wing Damien Milich, who burst through the Palmyra defence to pace down the touchline and score in the corner. Hohapata's successful kick put Perth-Bayswater ahead by 16. However, the final 20 minuted of the first half belonged to Palmyra. Perth-Bayswater were forced to spend the rest of the half defending as Palmyra ran in two tries and was unlucky to miss a penalty to be behind 14-16 at half-time.
Palmyra started the second half strongly but Perth-Bayswater held firm as neither team was able to break the deadlock.
Perth-Bayswater half-back Clint Dodd tackled strongly all day until he was finally forced off the field through injury and Hohapata moved in to half back.
Despite strong running from backs Jeff Martin, Tony Sproule and replacement fullback Logan Cribb, Perth-Bayswater couldn't manage to break through solid Palmyra defences.
However, ill-discipline from Palmyra gave Hohapata two more shots at goal to take Perth-Bayswater's score to 22-14 - more than a converted try ahead.
With five minutes to go, Palmyra finished off a strong attacking move with a converted try to put them just one point behind and it looked as if Perth might yet again lose a game in the dying minutes.
Palmyra had a chance to steal the lead with a penalty kick attempt but the ball went wide and Perth-Bayswater was able to claim its first win since victory over Wanneroo in round three.
Reserve grade also showed it is ready to begin climbing the ladder with a convincing 22-12 win. Other grades were not so successful with colts just losing to Palmyra 24-26 and A grade was walloped 28-9.
B Grade suffered its first loss of the season when they went down to Associates Green. In a tightly contested match it turned out to be the boot of Soaks' kicker which eventually won the match for them, on a day when the wind made it a difficult day for the kickers.
Perth made a better start to the game and spent most of the first half on attack but were unable to penetrate the defence, settling for a penalty from Shane "Public" Barr to take the early lead. This was poor return for all the effort put in by the likes of Chachi and Phil "The Legend of the Valleys" Oliver, who both put enormous pressure on Soaks' inside backs, causing a lot of turnovers. Black was guilty of taking the wrong options on a couple of occasions in the first half when a try was in the offing, and can only blame themselves for going to the break 3 all.
The second half saw Soaks put a lot of pressure on Perth's defence which paid dividends when they received a penalty, and slotted it to take a 6-3 lead. Perth put in a big effort to regain the lead but was again repelled by Soaks' defence depsite the best efforts of Bert "Two Left Feet" Bothwell, Andy "Evergreen" Keen and Japie in the forwards. Perth had a chance to level the score in the dying stages but was unable to convert two penalty goal attempts (not surprising since Public's sight was reduced to one eye due to a beauty of a shiner). The lads can take a few things out of this match, with the most imprtant being that we must make sure we take our opportunities when they present themselves because they don't come often in these sort of matches.
| NEDDIES RAIN ON OUR PARADE |
| 12 June 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater Premier Grade competed strongly throughout this 53-10 hiding from those ratbags from the Foreshore, and were in the game up until half time. For ten minutes before the break, Perth even looked like turning on one of those heavenly upsets. But even in the rain and gloom at Perry lakes, Neddies shot clear with a couple of try-scoring blitzes in the second half, aided and abetted by some woeful tackling, and it was all over blue rover.
Nedlands established early pressure and was first on the board with a penalty after 7 minutes. Four minutes later it was same offence, same position and same result at the other end of the field as Perth-Bayswater flyhalf Toby Hohapata tied the score 3-3. The game struggled back and forth between the 22s in wet, dull weather, Perth-Bayswater putting itself under pressure with repeated lineout errors. Nedlands came within inches of scoring in the corner after a 20 metre maul 22 minutes in, but the ball carrier was bundled out on the corner flag. Three minutes later, from a scrum on halfway, the Neddies backs spun the ball wide despite pouring rain, but were pulled up short of the line. From the ruck Neddies' inside centre cantered through a gaping hole and dotted down behind the posts. And again soon after, scoring from a tap penaltythat followed a big Nedlands mid field charge. Their fullback converted both and Neddies took a 15-3 lead. The men in black bustled downfield and staged ten minutes of attack, hooker Richie Anderson eventually going over for a try after wing Dylan Davies sliced through on the blind. Hohapata converted and Perth-Bayswater trailed 15-10 going into the break.
But there was no stirring comeback in this game. A couple of knock ons put Perth-Bayswater on the back foot and Nedlands hammered the line as the second spell opened. The score inevitably came when their flyhalf looped around a back line attack from a scrum in front of the posts. The try was converted from in front and Nedlands stretched its lead to 22-10. Another followed two minutes later when Neddies' wing scooted over in the corner through minimal defence. And another in two more minutes, the same wing cutting through the mid field and flummoxing the defence to score under the bar. The conversion was successful and Neddies shot ahead 34-10. Nedlands continued to dominate second half territory and possession, but Perth-Bayswater rediscovered tackling skills until the 25 minute mark. Then, from a scrum close to the line, Neddies looped blind to score in the corner, taking them out to a 39-10 lead. Neddies' blindside flanker and half back wrapped up the game with two more tries, and both were converted for the 53-10 winning score.
In other games, Reserves lost to Nedlands 15-8, A Grade went down to Curtin 22-13, and Under 19s narrowly lost to Nedlands Gopld 20-18.
The gallant lads from B Grade overcame Arctic conditions and a fired-up Curtin to record a 22-10 win. On a day that was so cold it would have been more suited to polar bears, the team produced a strong performance to overcome a committed Curtin and a ref whose decisions were a little hard to understand (although Curtin had no problem, but then they were on a first-name basis with him).
Perth had a flying start when Aaron "Ralph" Martin showed a clean pair of heels when given the ball with room to move, resulting in him scoring from 40 metres out. The try went unconverted and Perth struggled to half time, and all they had show for it was a lot of penalties against them, and the loss of Handsome Danny Vella to the sin bin.
The second half saw a commitment to the half time plan of out-muscling Curtin around the rucks and mauls. Lionel "Richie" Jonston, Danny and Chachi were of most note, driving well into opposition territory, which resulted in Perth spending a lot of time in Curtin's half. From this position Chachi finally cracked the Curtin defence and scored a great try under the posts, which was converted by Shane "Public" Barr for a 12-0 lead. Public followed up with a penalty to take the score to 15-0. Curtin fired up after this to manage two unconverted tries, getting back in the game at 15-10 (both conversions being missed by the biggest goal kicker in fifth grade history, weighing in excess of 150 kg, who lost concentration when we chanted "KFC, KFC" just as he was taking the shot. The game was starting to get a bit close at this stage so it was up the Dwayne "the Train" Barr to put his name on the scoreboard as he does every week, and score the winning try. Public converted for a 22-10 lead which was almost extended when we pulled up just short of the line from a penalty tap (yes, the ref was nicer to us in the second half) only to be foiled by the full time whistle.
| SOAKS DROWN PERTH |
| 29 May 2005 |
Associates forward pack proved to be too big and too strong for Perth-Bayswater, laying the platform for a 46-11 hiding in their Home Building Society rugby union match at Allen Park on Saturday. Perth-Bayswater could not compete with Associates scrum, costing the team precious possession and allowing the Associates backs the luxury of knowing any handling errors would most likely result in their winning back the ball but tying up Perth-Bayswater’s forwards in the scrum.
Associates stamped their mark on the match early on and continued the game with a steady procession of tries. Perth-Bayswater loose forwards Cale McCort and Eugene Maxwell and lock Gareth Cherrington defended stoutly and were able to produce some go-forward ball from the rucks and mauls but the Perth-Bayswater backline rarely had clean possession and was forced to live off broken play. However, Perth-Bayswater managed one try when the ball went wide to winger David Cross who beat Associates defenders to cross the try-line out wide. Perth-Bayswater’s only other points came from two penalties kicked by first five-eighth Toby Hohapata. The loss leaves Perth-Bayswater in seventh place on the ladder above only Wanneroo and Palmyra who are yet to win a game.
The reserve grade and colts were equally unlucky, reserves losing 32-8 to Associates while colts lost 49-0 to Nedlands Blue.
There was happier news in the lower grades with A grade racking up a 29-0 win over Palmyra Blue. A grade forwards continued to gel with loose forwards Brent Shaw and Tim Hoey pilfering plenty of turnover ball, although Hoey must learn not to confuse the ref by lifting his head in the scrums. Most of the breaks were made by red-hot five-eighths combination Andrew Hancy and Thomas Ngawaka while winger Chamindra Rajakaruna scored his first try of the season after being set up by seagulling hooker Craig Robertson who came out of retirement for his first game of the season.
Brilliant B Grade belted Southern Lions 58-12 at Murdoch on saturday. In temperatures more like a summer's day the black machine rolled on towards another win to keep this season's record of seven wins from seven games intact. Try scorers on the day inlcuded Bert "Two Left Feet" Bothwell and Dwaine "The Train" Barr, who scored two each, while Bubs, Curley, Aaron "Ralph" MArtin, Phil "Legend of the Valleys" Oliver, Chachi and Japie all scored one. What's that, I hear you say? Japie got a try? What about the team pledge to do whatever it takes to prevent him from ever scoring? Well, after intensive investigation I found out it was Southern Lions who gave him the try. What seems to have happened was that Southern Lions took a lineout five meters from their line but their throw went straight to Japie, who lunged at the line with several players desperately trying to hold him back (the rest of our forward pack, in fact). But Japie was not to be denied his moment of glory and grounded the ball. Despite howls of protest and desperate pleas from the Perth players not to award this try, the ref would not reconsider and awarded the points. The team now has to come to terms with hearing about this try from Japie for months to come. A special team meeting has been called to put into place some new tactics to stop this happeneing ever again.
| UNI GO TO TOP OF THE CLASS |
| 22 May 2005 |
There was no last-minute loss for Perth-Bayswater Premier Grade this week. Current competition leaders University handed out a rugby lesson and the game was all over by half time. In a complete first half, Uni's big forwards and slick backs led 20-3 at the break and looked as good as any team in the Home Building Society competition. Perth-Bayswater controlled second half territory and had numerous opportunities but lack of support and Uni's monster scrum hampered its efforts. Uni showed its class with a further two tries despite spending mere minutes in Perth's half.
Perth-Bayswater opened with a brief flourish but University swarmed down into Perth's half and exerted pressure, winning a penalty for offside. Uni kicked the goal and led 3-0 after 12 minutes. Five minutes later Uni's big forwards rumbled down to the posts, then spun wide for a try midway to the sideline. It was converted from a moderate angle for a 10-0 lead. Perth-Bayswater was not about to roll over, competing fiercely in the loose but failing to capitalise on several opportunities. But flyhalf Toby Hohapata made no mistake with a penalty for offside after 20 minutes. Uni kept the pressure on, pinning Perth-Bayswater in its half, a massive scrum and combative lineout making life difficult for the men in black. On the half hour Uni crossed out wide and came around to dot down close to the posts. Their kicker guided the simple conversion over and Uni went ahead 17-3. Perth-Bayswater did itself no favours with dubious options and Uni wrapped up the half 20-3 with a sitter for hands in the ruck.
Uni opened the second half with a string of unforced errors and Perth-Bayswater forced its way back into the game. The men in black assaulted Uni's line with multiple phases but a long pass out wide was nabbed by the flat Uni defence. Their centre sprinted 40 metres and handed on to the wing to score. It was converted from in front for a lead to Uni of 27-3. Perth-Bayswater continued to dominate second half territory but rarely threatened Uni's defence. But with five minutes to play the phases of attack in Uni's 22 finally bore fruit when wing Damien Milich cut through on the blind to score out wide. Perth-Bayswater kept running the attacks but fell short several times through lack of support and basic errors. Instead Uni broke out against the run of play and followed a massive kick through with quick support to score under the posts. It was converted and Uni surged ahead 34-8.
In other games it was all good news, Reserve Grade earning a good win 24-13, A Grade thumping Uni 32-5 and Under 19s triumphing 15-7.
B GRADE — no it wasn't a cricket match but it was a cricket type score with the heroes of B Grade caning Uni 90-0. The team made up for last year's first ever defeat at the hands of the students by producing the biggest ever score in the infamous history of the filthy fifths (we have however suffered a 93-0 defeat — you played that day, didn't you Rick?). [Only 93-0? Obviously not. -- Ed]. Try scorers on the day were Dwain "The Train" Barr, Fridge, Shane "Public" Barr, Araron "Ralph" Martin who all scored two tries each, while Bert "Two Left Feet" Bothwell, The Fonz, Chachi, Lionel "Richie" Johnson, Bubs and Tom "Desert Madman" Lynch all scored one each. The try of the day though was when Fridge [he was too modest to put this in himself, good lad -- Ed.] counter attacked from half way, beating several defenders before off loading to Chachi just before the line. The kicking performance of "Public" Barr was almost faultless, converting ten of the fourteen tries and also his field position kicking was one of the day's highlights.
| SEAGULLS SNATCH WIN |
| 14 May 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater squandered a 17-point lead to suffer defeat in the final five minutes of a match for the second time in a row in their rugby union game against Cottesloe at Morley Reserve on Saturday.
Perth-Bayswater opened the game strongly with the forwards repeatedly taking the ball up to the Cottesloe pack and dragging more defenders into the rucks and mauls. Just four minutes into the game, the ball was spun wide to pacy winger Dylan Davis who wrong-footed the Cottesloe defenders to canter over the line for a try, which first five-eighth Toby Hohapata converted to give the men in black a 7-0 lead. Soon after, an indiscretion by a Cottesloe player in front of the goalposts gave Hohapata another chance to show off his kicking ability and put Perth-Bayswater 10-0 up. While Cottesloe continued to give every impression of a team headed for a season near the bottom of the ladder, their only strong point their set-piece domination of Perth-Bayswater's scrum. With the Perth-Bayswater scrum back-pedalling, number eight Cale McCort continually put his team on the front foot by taking the ball from the back of the scrum and driving forward. However, it was when he was standing with the outside backs that he received the ball, passed on to Davis and then backed up to score Perth-Bayswater's second try, which Hohapata converted. Perth-Bayswater led 17-0 at half-time and started the second half strongly although failed to capitalise on opportunities to score.
When Cottesloe scored a try mid-way through the second half, it appeared to be a glitch in Perth-Bayswater's defences but when it was followed by a penalty soon after to put the visitors just one converted try behind the home team, Cottesloe lifted where Perth-Bayswater fell apart. Cottesloe kept the pressure up and Perth-Bayswater was rarely able to win the ball. Cottesloe scored another try with about 10 minutes remaining in the game but was unable to convert to leave Perth-Bayswater defending a two-point lead. Perth's defences regrouped but attacking opportunities were rare as Cottesloe continued to win possession and pushed the black scrum around at will. It looked as if Perth-Bayswater may have been able to hold out but with just two minutes left in the game, Cottesloe scored a third try in the corner to give them a three-point lead. Perth-Bayswater put together a rare string of possession until Cottesloe rubbed salt into Perth-Bayswater's wounds by snaffling a line-out to quell this last attack before scoring a fourth try to give themselves a bonus point and deprive Perth-Bayswater of one for losing by seven points or fewer.
In other results, reserve grade lost to Cottesloe 15-36, A-grade and colts lost to Rockingham, A-grade 0-26 and colts 36-10 while B-grade provided the only shred of light on a dark day for Perth-Bayswater, continuing their unbeaten season by triumphing 32-22 over Rockingham.
Brilliant B GRADE continued its unbeaten start to the season when it downed Rockingham 32-22 at Morley. After a two week lay-off, the team's match fitness (which is questionable at the best of times) was put to the test by a fit, youthful Rockingham side. Perth was first to score when a turnover saw the ball go through the quick hands of Andy "Magic Mobile" Keen to Crocodile Bob Cooper, who off-loaded to Daniel "Curly" Curlew, who sprinted thirty meters to score the try of the day. Two more tries came Perth's way with Dwain "The Train" Barr scoring both to take the lead to 17-0 with just five minutes to go until half time. But in the time-honoured tradition of Perth-Bayswater (when you have such a lead, you take a rest) we allowed Rocky to score two quick tries for a half time score of 17-12.
Part time manager and renovator Grunter put on fresh legs at the break [he must have looked attractive --Ed.] to help the lungs of some players recover (although Japie's 50-a-day smoking habit has nothing to do with his lack of breath, it's because he never stops talking bullshit long enough to breathe) and this paid dividends straight away with three more tries. The Train got his third of the day to make it two hat tricks in two games while the others were scored by Handsome Danny Vella and Phil "The Legend of the Valleys" Oliver, who was also player of the day. The last fifteen minutes of the game was hard fought with Ponderous getting to know a couple of the opposition quite well. Rockingham scored the last two tries of the day for a final score of 32-22.
| BULLS BURGLE ON THE BELL |
| 30 April 2005 |
Kalamunda stole a late win, 10-9, over Premier Grade at Morley Reserve today with a late try from a tap penalty, in a lacklustre, mistake-ridden game in wet weather. The men in black opened with powerful forward play and were rewarded five minutes in with a penalty goal to flyhalf Toby Hohapata for offside. But five minutes later a Perth kick out on the full gave the Bulls attacking position, and a powerful series of driving mauls surged over the line to score. Perth-Bayswater dominated territory and possession by a slim margin but both sides committed errors aplenty in wet conditions. A mediocre first half concluded with the Bulls 5-3 up.
It was more of the same in the second half with both sides struggling to break the advantage line. Ten minutes in, a Bulls lock was sin-binned for a shoulder charge and Hohapata goaled from the 22, allowing the Perth to reclaim the lead 6-5. A stop-start, penalty-ridden game dominated by heavy defence and tactical kicking provided a poor spectacle and produced few scoring opportunities -- but Kalamunda began to make breaks as the half unfolded and increasingly stretched the Perth-Bayswater defence. With ten minutes on the clock Kalamunda were caught offside and Hohapata goaled from a handy position to take Perth out to a 9-5 lead. Late in the game Kalamunda moved downfield on the back of a string of penalties and the Bulls lock made amends for his earlier indiscretion by charging over from a tap penalty five metres out. The score was a heartbreaker for Perth, stealing the lead for the Bulls 10-9. Perth tried desperately to make amends into injury time and came close with a drop goal attempt, but the Bulls scrambled clear and held on to the narrow win. The men in black had marginally the better of general play but could manage only three penalties in a defensive, penalty-studded, kicking game. Kalamunda scored the only tries of the game to take four points from the match, while Perth-Bayswater consoled themselves with a single bonus point for the close loss.
In other gamnes, Reserves went down to Kalamunda 11-3 and A Grade were defeated 21-5 and Under 19s triumphed 12-7.
B GRADE made the most of wet, slippery conditions to record a 41-0 win over Kalamunda at Morley. On a day when only the brave and hardy ventured out to watch rugby, including former players like Rick "Give it to me" Boyd, [I hope you're talking about the rugby ball there, Fridge -- Ed.] our "Webmaster" and former flying winger, who was on hand to witness some great play before unfortunately having to drag himself away to watch the Premier Grade in his capacity as head scribe for Rugby WA. Rick was lucky to witness Crocodile Bob Cooper use all his outback skills in subduing a particularly vicious snake (or was it an unravelled bandage?) while questioning an injured Mike "Prince of Whales" Jones on why he left halfway through last week's game. Mike explained to Crocodile Bob that the viagra tablets he had taken before the game kicked in early so he rushed home to see his wife, Ruth "the sexy school mistress" Jones for a good spanking.
Dwain "The Train" Barr opened the scoring with the first of his three tries when he dotted down after a 50 metre efffort. Next to score was Hilly, who had a great game at scrum half, and this was followed by a top effort from Wayne "Bubs" Salter who managed to outpace the Bulls' defence for the third try. Dwaine finished the half when he picked up a tricky pass from Chachi to score right on half time. Shane "Public" Barr converted two of the four tries for a half time lead of 24-0.
The bench was emptied at half time to give everyone at least half a game although some of us weren't that keen to play a full half game, it must be said. It was good to see the likes of Dr Mike Hillyer PhD , George "Knockout" Tutuvaha and Handsome Danny Vella make a welcome return to the team while Carlos "The Jackal" Hennings and Grant "Fungus" Phillips looked on from the sidelines. The second half saw Dwain get his hat trick while Noel "The Flying Fridge" Spittal got a double and Phil "The Legend of the Valleys" Oliver slotted a conversion to make the final score 41-0 to Perth. Outher stand-out performances on the day came from Bert "Two Left Feet" Bothwell, Aaron "Ralph" Martin and of course the front row where we are reminded "it all begins".
| WANNEROO WALLOPED |
| 24 April 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater dominated Wanneroo for a convincing 26-12 victory in their round three Home Building Society rugby union match at Kingsway Reserve on Saturday. Although there was less than five points difference for much of the game, Perth-Bayswater never looked far from scoring, forcing Wanneroo to give away several costly penalties in defence. Despite having several top players out injured or returning from pre-season injury, Perth-Bayswater showed improved cohesion and consistency throughout the game.
Perth-Bayswater first five-eighth Toby Hohapata put the first points on the board with a successful penalty kick after an indiscretion in a ruck by a Wanneroo player. Perth-Bayswater continued to run the ball in the forwards and backs but Wanneroo’s defence held firm and was able to launch an effective counter-attack to score the first try of the game. Perth-Bayswater soon regrouped, consistently pushing back Wanneroo’s scrum and using second-rower Jason Bastaja’s height to great effect in the line-outs. A bustling run from captain Ashley Murphy set up centre David Watene to crash over the line for Perth-Bayswater’s first try, which Hohapata converted to give his team a 10-5 lead. Wanneroo caught Perth-Bayswater off guard to strike back with a quick try, which they converted to take the score to 10-12. Perth-Bayswater returned to applying attacking pressure on Wanneroo and were rewarded with the lead shortly before half time when Wanneroo gave away another penalty in defence.
Perth maintained its attacking rhythm in the second half and extended the lead to 16-12 from yet another penalty. As Wanneroo tired from the efforts of defending, Perth-Bayswater’s dynamic outside backs found increasingly more space to run until fullback Dylan Davis found his way over the try line to put the game beyond doubt. Prop Tuakaua Patu scored Perth-Bayswater’s third try with minutes remaining but despite a renewed attack, Wanneroo’s defensive line held firm and Perth was unable to score a fourth try to gain a bonus point.
In other games, the reserve grade lost by 8-20 and an under-manned colts side held Wanneroo to a 10-10 draw. A grade showed it will be a force to be reckoned with, scoring six tries in its 34-0 victory.
Brilliant B GRADE continued their winning ways when they beat a spirited Roo Dogs side 33-14 at Kingsway. Things were tough for the lads for a while with a combination of poor hands and poor finishing by Perth combined with strong defence from Wanneroo --led by Irish Stu Porter, who provided Perth with a penalty when he gave the ref an Irish linguistic blast which shocked even Big Bad Billy Watt on the sideline. Despite some strong running by wings Aaron and Curley Curlew in the first half, Perth could manage only a converted try by Darren "Copper" Horne and a penalty to Shane "Public" Barr for an 8-7 lead at the break.
The loss of legendary Welsh half back Mike "Prince of Whales" Jones at half time due to rib damage [probably from panting too hard -- Ed.] did not help but the boys set about making amends for the shit first half performance by scoring first in the second half when Public went over for a try. This was followed by tries to The Fonz, Richie "Lionel" Johnson, Dwaine "The Train" Barr and Steve Wharerau. Rau's try was the best of the day by far, with at least five sidesteps and a dummy pass as he slipped through for a great individual score. Wanneroo bagged a try on full time to make the final score 33-14, with Perth unable to convert any of its six tries.
| GOLF DAY |
| 20 April 2005 |
| BLACK STAMPEDED BY WILD WESTS |
| 18 April 2005 |
The Wests-Subiaco juggernaut proved too strong for Perth-Bayswater, beating the home side 48-3 in their round two Home Building Society rugby union match at Morley Reserve on Saturday April 16. With two solid wins under their belt, Wests-Subiaco is the early premiership favourite and the yardstick for other teams.
The blowout score seemed unlikely in the early stages of the match as Perth-Bayswater dominated the first 20 minutes. With several players missing due to injury, the forward pack still looked a cohesive unit as they more than matched Wests-Subiaco, including winning a tight-head scrum in attack. Wests-Subiaco was forced to defend for much of the early game, but Perth-Bayswater couldn't break through their line to capitalise on the pressure. Perth-Bayswater secured the first points of the game from a penalty directly in front of the posts which first five-eighth Toby Hohapata easily kicked through. Perth-Bayswater had a chance shortly after when they had Wests-Subiaco backpedalling and a kick to the corner found Wests fullback isolated. However, he was able to run through several Perth-Bayswater tackles to turn the move into a counter-attack for Wests. After the strong opening to the game, Perth-Bayswater's attack waned and Wests-Subiaco began to find holes in Perth's defences and space out wide to score three tries in the late stages of the first half, to be 17-3 at half time.
Wests-Subiaco let loose in the second half, scoring at will while Perth-Bayswater never looked liked like adding to their meagre score. The loss leaves Perth-Bayswater in seventh place on the ladder, ahead of Cottesloe and Palmyra, while Wests-Subiaco and University are the only unbeaten teams with Wests ahead by one bonus point.
In other games for Perth-Bayswater, reserve grade was also easily beaten by Wests, 28-0 and the colts went down 21-3 to Associates Gold. A-grade lost to ARKs by 18-5 and Perth-Bayswater's only win of the day was by the B-grade which defeated ARKs 20-10.
B Grade
After last week's great first up effort of 43-0 against Southern Lions, B Grade was full of confidence when it hosted Arks at Morley. The lads from Arks where fresh from a win themselves over last year's premiers Nedlands so the scene was set for a hard fought match.
Perth was first on the board after Darren "Copper" Horne crashed over for a try when a quick tap was taken from a penalty close to Arks' line by Steve Wharerau. The conversion from Shane "Public" Barr was successful and gave black a 7-0 lead, which quickly turned to a 10 nil lead when Shane put over a penalty from in front of the posts. Perth could have been even more in front at half time if the ball had been moved wide when a couple of overlaps went begging [robbing the wings of their rightful glory yet again, eh Fridge? -- Ed.]
The second half saw Arks rewarded with a penalty to provide them with their first points, and it could have been closer if they had put over a penalty from the same spot a few minutes later. Perth made the most of this let-off and Wayne "Bubs" Salters scampered over for a try after receiving a pass from a rampaging Dwain "The Train" Barr. Public slotted over the conversion for a handy 17-3 lead with twenty minutes left in the match. One of Arks players must have decided that "The Train" was too big a threat so shortly after proceeded to produce one of the worst coat hanger tackles on Dwain seen in this grade for years which earned him a rest in the sin bin and turned the match spiteful. Copper was given a ten minute rest shortly after when he reacted to a punch thrown by an Arks player with a few of his own. Funny thing about it was that the ref asked the Arks team who it was involved from their side only to get replies of " it wasn't us sir, not me sir, we're angels sir". [The ref asked the players? Was he mad? -- Ed.] With Perth down a man Arks managed a converted try to trail 17-10 but Perth managed to get a penalty in front of the posts which Public popped over to move to 20-10 lead, which they were able to defend for a hard fought win. Perth's forward pack provided a great platform with dominance in the front row of Andy Keen, Ponderous and Copper while Japie supplied good lineout ball (if only we could get him to push in the scrums as well).
| PALY DOWNED IN SEASON OPENER |
| 10 April 2005 |
PERTH-Bayswater premiers grade rugby union team started the season with a win, outscoring Palmyra by three tries to one in the first game of the 2005 Home Building Society Rugby WA competition at Tompkins Park on Friday night. Perth-Bayswater's forwards were overpowered early on by Palmyra's scrum but a determined effort gave them the edge in rucks and mauls to set up the 17-10 victory.
After an even start, Palmyra had an early opportunity to score when a Perth-Bayswater attacking move was turned around when a dropped ball was kicked through and Perth-Bayswater was caught without a fullback. Perth-Bayswater winger Dave Cross beat the Palmyra backs to the ball but was isolated and when he was tackled it looked likely Perth-Bayswater would have to concede some points. Instead, Cross released the ball, got to his feet and won a penalty as the Palmyra tackler refused to let go of the ball from on the ground. Shortly after this, Perth-Bayswater's tactic of running the ball into the forwards paid off as the ball was spun wide and Palmyra was caught short of defenders. Fullback Nathan McCort joined the backline move and palmed off two tacklers before scoring in the corner. First five-eighth Toby Hohapata was unable to convert and Perth-Bayswater took a 5-0 lead. Palmyra closed the gap to 5-3 when they successfully kicked a penalty from 45 metres out. However, Palmyra did not look like scoring again in the half as Perth-Bayswater began to dominate possession and territory. Palmyra's rushing defence didn't give Perth-Bayswater room to spin the ball wide but shortly before half time, Nathan McCort found enough space to score again in the corner and at half time, Perth-Bayswater led 10-3.
Injuries began to have a toll on Perth-Bayswater, with hard-tackling loose forwards Eugene Maxwell and Michael Murphy both on the sideline. Palmyra made a devastating start to the second half, opting to spin the ball wide in the backline and attempt to run around Perth-Bayswater. Palmyra soon scored a try which was converted to make the score 10-10 and minutes later looked likely to score again as Perth-Bayswater struggled to get back in defence. Palmyra was unable to kick a penalty from near the sideline inside Perth-Bayswater's 22 and the pause in play gave Perth-Bayswater time to draw a breath. Palmyra continued to attack but slowly lost momentum as Perth-Bayswater's defences held firm. By the time Palmyra missed another penalty from 40 metres out, Perth-Bayswater was again ascendant. Five-eighth Toby Hohapata was able to make several line breaks and winger Dylan Davies looked dangerous whenever he was given the ball. Perth-Bayswater's third try was the result of several line breaks by the backs until the forwards drove the ball from a ruck 10 metres from the tryline to score. Toby Hohapata converted to put Perth-Bayswater 17-10 up.
Perth-Bayswater's next game will be a greater challenge, against last season's premiers Wests-Subiaco at Morley Reserve on Saturday, April 16. Reserve grade kick-off is 2.10pm and premier grade at 3.30pm.
In the earlier game of the evening, Perth-Bayswater's reserve grade team was beaten by Palmyra 11-0. And in Saturday games, A Grade defeated Southern Lion Two 27-17, the mighty B Grade humbled Southern Lions 2 43-0, and great to see Colts getting up over Associates Green 15-5.
| WESTS WIN SEVENS DOUBLE |
| 27 March 2005 |
Wests-Subiaco proved to be the kings of seven-a-side rugby, winning both the premier grade and A-grade finals at the inaugural Perth-Bayswater Sevens rugby union competition at Morley Reserve on Saturday March 26.
However, it did not go all Wests-Subiaco's way with Perth-Bayswater teams proving a stumbling block in both divisions.
Perth-Bayswater's premier grade team set the early standard by outplaying Kalamunda 17-7. Against Wests-Subiaco, Perth-Bayswater showed its strength in running the ball from broken play with backs Jules Dunn, Logan Cribb and Rapata Haeata finding plenty of opportunities to cut through Wests-Subiaco's defences, while forward Eugene Maxwell provided stout defence with several hard-hitting tackles. Perth-Bayswater won 24-17. Wests-Subiaco recovered from this early loss to win the remainder of their pool games and gain a place in the final.
Perth-Bayswater looked likely finalists as they got on top of Cottesloe early in their third game but a rising injury count put key players Dunn and Cribb out of action during the game. Leading 12-7 with less than a minute remaining, Perth-Bayswater still looked like claiming victory but Cottesloe was able to break Perth-Bayswater's defences in the last play of the day and then convert their try to snatch a two-point win. Despite a depleted player pool, Perth-Bayswater went down fighting to Nedlands, losing 19-26.
Nedlands and Wests-Subiaco played a closely-matched final which Wests-Subiaco won 21-19.
In A-grade, there were enough teams for two pools to play off for finals berths. With Nedlands A-grade unable to field a team, event organiser Steve Wharerau made a return to the playing field by putting together a barbarians team to fill the gap. Despite playing valiantly, they were unable to win a game. Perth-Bayswater drew its first game 14-14 to eventual winners Wests-Subiaco and beat Cottesloe 19-0 before losing its semi-final rematch with Wests by 7-24. Kalamunda dominated pool B and entered the final unbeaten but were outplayed by Wests with the final score 35-14.
| EASTER SEVENS RESURRECTED |
| 9 March 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater are returning the annual Easter Seven a Side tournament to the Western Australian rugby calendar.
The competition will be held on Easter Saturday, 26 March 2005, on three fields at Perth-Bayswater's home ground of Morley Reserve, Wellington Road, Morley. It will run from 10 am to early evening.
Competition will be in four grades: Premier (for premier and reserve grade players); A grade (for A and B grade players); Colts (for under 19 players) and Women.
Sponsors and prizes will be announced in due course. For more information call Steve Wharerau on 0400 776 590 or e-mail naomi73@bodo.com.au
And girls, the Morley Galleria shopping complex is just over the road if the rugby doesn't delight you as much as the use of hubby's credit card.
| KALAMUNDA UPSET TWILIGHT TENS |
| 6 March 2005 |
Underdogs Kalamunda had upset wins over Nedlands and Wests-Subiaco to win the 2005 Twilight Tens finals hosted by Perth-Bayswater Rugby Union Club at Morley Reserve on Friday 4 March. Kalamunda had qualified for the finals in fourth place after losing 0-17 to top qualifier Nedlands a week earlier. The first versus fourth play-off was expected to be a stroll in the park for Nedlands but Kalamunda had other ideas, taking charge of the game early on and not letting up, winning 19-7.
Another upset was in the air in the second semi-final with Perth-Bayswater defending solidly against Wests-Subiaco but not making enough of their chances in attack. They scored just one try in the first half to lead 5-0 and looked to have the game under control until late in the second half when Wests-Subiaco ran the ball out of defence to score a seven-point try which they converted. Perth-Bayswater was unable to score back and Wests-Subiaco secured their finals berth with the 5-7 win.
Perth-Bayswater then played Nedlands in the consolation final, which Nedlands won 22-12. Fired up from their win over Nedlands, Kalamunda set out to take revenge on Wests-Subiaco who had beaten them 15-5 when they met in the round-robin competition. Wests-Subiaco showed tougher resistance than Nedlands had and near the end of the second half looked likely winners with a 19-15 lead. However, Kalamunda kept passing the ball until they found a gap in Wests defence and put the ball over the line for a try which they converted to win the game 22-19.
In the colts, Associates beat Palmyra 14-7 to win their way into the final and, in a feisty second semi-final, Perth-Bayswater scraped past Kalamunda 15-14. Palmyra lifted to beat Kalamunda 31-0 in the consolation final and Associates dominated the final to beat Perth 21-0.
| NEDDIES TOP TWILIGHT TENS |
| 28 February 2005 |
Nedlands edged out Wests-Subiaco on a countback to finish on top after the pool games of the Perth-Bayswater Rugby Union Club Twilight 10s competition at Morley Reserve on Friday, February 25. The two teams played out a 7-7 draw when they met early in the night but Nedlands snatched the top berth for the finals through the superior points difference they had earned a week earlier. Despite overwhelming Perth-Bayswater by 28-7 in their second game of the evening, Wests-Subiaco finished second overall. Their win included a seven-point try for running the ball out of their own 22-metre area. Perth-Bayswater finished third overall and will play Wests-Subiaco again in a semi-final this Friday night 4 March.
Perth-Bayswater started the night well with a 14-5 victory over a young Southern Lions team but last year's premiers Wests-Subiaco proved too well-organised for them. Kalamunda grabbed the fourth finals place by beating Southern Lions 34-0. Nedlands are favourites to beat Kalamunda in the first final after dispatching them 17-0 in the last game of the night.
In the colts, Associates finished on top of the pool games after a 7-5 win over Nedlands 1 and 26-0 win against Nedlands 2.
Perth-Bayswater and Kalamunda played a 5-5 draw and will meet again in their semi-final this Friday. Associates will play Palmyra who earned their place in the finals on a countback from Nedlands 1 and Nedlands 2. This Friday's games begin at 7pm with the semi-finals followed by a third and fourth-place play-off before the final at 9pm.
| TWILIGHT TENS KICKS OFF |
| 22 February 2005 |
Wests-Subiaco and Nedlands 1 are the only unbeaten teams after the first week of the Perth-Bayswater Rugby Union Club's Twilight 10s ten-a-side competition at Morley Reserve on February 18. The two Perth-Bayswater teams and Nedlands 2 each have a win and a loss and Kalamunda and Southern Lions were both beaten twice.
Perth-Bayswater 2 started strongly against Nedlands 2 in the opening game but were unable to get early points on the board before Nedlands 2 took the upper hand, making use of strength in the forwards and resolute tackling. Nedlands 2 went on to win 20-0 but was later narrowly beaten by Wests Subiaco 10-7.
Many teams attempted to use kicking tactics for territorial gain but on several occasions opted to run the ball out of defence to try to take advantage of the seven-point try on offer for length-of-the-field tries. The only team to score a seven-point try was Associates in the colts competition. The try plus conversion was Associates' only score for the game but allowed them to beat Perth-Bayswater 9-5.
The results of the games were:
Nedlands 2 d Perth-Bayswater 2, 20-0
Wests Subiaco d Kalamunda 15-5
Nedlands 1 d Southern Lions 22-0
Perth-Bayswater 1 d Kalamunda 19-0
Wests Subiaco d Nedlands 2, 10-7
Perth-Bayswater 2 d Southern Lions 28-7
Nedlands 1 d Perth-Bayswater 1, 20-12
In the colts:
Perth-Bayswater d Nedlands 2, 32-0
Nedlands 1 d Kalamunda 10-5
Associates d Palmyra 19-7
Kalamunda d Nedlands 2, 12-7
Associates d Perth-Bayswater 9-5
Palmyra d Nedlands 1, 19-5
In this Friday's games, Western Suburbs have the tough task of trying to beat both Perth-Bayswater teams, while Nedlands 1 takes on Kalamunda and Perth-Bayswater 2. Nedlands 2 stands a good chance of picking up two wins with games against Kalamunda and Southern Lions. Event organiser Steve Wharerau said the first night of the competition had been the most successful since the competition started in 2000 with at least 300 spectators watching the games. Play begins at Morley Reserve this Friday at 6.30pm.
| COACHES AND MANAGERS NEEDED |
| 12 February 2005 |
Perth-Bayswater is looking for coaches and managers for Reserve Grade, and A and B Grades. The club is prepared to put coaches through the ARU level one coaching course. The next course will be run on March 20. For more information, contact Club Captain Wally Murphy on 0409 209 905 or 9279 7707.
| PRE-SEASON PROGRAM |
| 28 January 2005 |
The club's pre-season program for 2005 begins with training at 6:30 pm on Tuesdays and Tursdays at Morley Reserve, Wellington Rd, Morley, from 27 January.
The Twilight Tens will be held on Friday nights 18 and 25 February and 4 March.
Pre-season trial games are scheduled for Saturday 12 March v Kalamunda, venue TBA; Saturday 19 March v Nedlands at Morley Reserve; and an internal trial game on Friday night 1 April.
There will be no game on the Easter long weekend of 26 March. The competition starts on Saturday 9 April. Fixtures will be placed on the internet as soon as they are available.
| TWILIGHT TENS TIME |
| 20 January 2005 |
The new year is upon us and once again it's time for Perth-Bayswater's TWILIGHT TENS tournament at Morley Reserve, Wellington Rd, Morley. This annual ten-a-side tournament has been opening the WA rugby season for some years now and has already received commitment from a number of leading clubs. It will be played under lights on Friday nights February 18 and 25 with the finals on Friday March 4. Kickoff is set for 6:30 pm. Grades are seniors and colts and there will be the usual prize money for the winners. This year the organisers are setting a premium on scoring tries with tries now being worth seven points (nine points with the conversion). For further information, phone Steve Wharerau on 0400 776 590 or e-mail naomi73@bodo.com.au