Buoyed by their three wins last week at home, the Bombala Blue Heelers travelled to Narooma to take on the Red Devils. The sun was hot and the Narooma sides were hard to handle beating us in ladies and first grade and coming up with a draw in reserve grade.
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High Heelers
The Heelers started strongly from the kick-off but shortly after Keiarna Rodwell suffered a shoulder injury ruling her out for the rest of the game. With a few key players also missing, a few positional changes had to be made. The captain Patrice Clear led the way, defending multiple sets and motivating the team with Tash Stewart in support in the full-back role.
The first half saw both the teams battling for points, with some great defense shown from the High Heelers to wrap up Narooma’s attack. With a half time score of nil-all the girls were forced to work hard under the relentless heat. The second half saw Narooma put points on the board first, however Bombala answered quickly with a fantastic display of ball handling sending it out to the right wing. A set play driven by Emma Sullivan put Kristy Nicholls over in the corner.
Lilly Bennett from Narooma created havoc with her lightening pace, crossing twice herself and saving multiple tries at fullback. This along with a few missed tags saw Narooma run out eventual winners 16-4. Chloe Murphy worked hard all game tagging and busting through with strong runs. Abbey Kimber steered the play well, with Georgie Clarke making meters in attack and shutting down the Narooma girls in defense.
The workhorses in the middle tagged hard all game with Makayla Standen kicking well under pressure. Those on the edges supported well injecting themselves for runs and tagging when fresh legs were needed.
The ladies should be proud of their efforts with great teamwork shown after numerous positional changes against a strong team.
Players Player and two points went to Tash Stewart (Raw Strength Bombala). Three points went to the captain Patrice Clear (sponsored by Clear Cut Electrical and Rural Services) and one point was shared by Chloe Murphy (Final Touches) and Kristy Nicholls (One Agency Bombala).
Reserve Grade
The Bombala Reserve Grade side started strong with both teams battling it out for the first 15 minutes of play. Keiran Wilson and Chis Halligan worked hard pushing through the line with Chris eventually crossing to score.
The experience of Clay Clear and Sam Sten was evident as they led from the front bustling through the Narooma defense. As a result, good field position put captain coach Clay Stewart in for Bombala’s second try. With some quick plays, Narooma crossed also to bring the half time score to 10-6 to Bombala. The second half saw Bombala obtain possession early from a penalty on their try-line, with Clay Stewart capitalizing to score his second try for the day.
Fred Simpson had safe hands from the kick-off with great runs from Nick Rosten moving the Bombala side forward. A couple of loose balls saw Bombala on the back foot, with Richard Stewart leading the way with great defense. Alex Rosten made considerable ground off the Narooma kick, putting the Bombala side in good field position. Clay Stewart crossed shortly after for what should have been his third try, only to be disallowed.
James Coates slotted well into the hooker role in his first game for the season producing some great defensive plays. Despite Bombala’s tough efforts, Narooma managed to cross the line with some fast pace to bring the score to 16-10. Bombala rallied with Brett Thompson performing a try-saving tackle in the corner. Despite their efforts Narooma scored in the last 2 minutes and converted to bring the final score to 16 all.
Players Player went to the captain coach Clay Stewart, with three points to Clay Clear, two points to Chris Halligan and one point to James Coates.
First Grade
Andrew Guthrie led the way with a strong kick-off to start the match between the Red-Devils and Blue Heelers First Grade side. The first 10 minutes saw penalties to both sides and despite solid defense from Tuwame Turaganivalu and Tyler Jones, a loose ball from Bombala led to Narooma scoring first.
Saimoni Buinimasi led the team forward with barnstorming runs through the defense. With Narooma on the back foot Captain Coach Joey Bobbin ran 50 meters to put Bombala on the scoreboard. Narooma answered, scoring quickly and then again off a massive high ball from the kick-off. Mal Stone defended tirelessly with a penalty on our try line putting Gary Giles over the line for Bombala. Despite Gary backing up with great defense in the next set, Narooma’s pace put them over in the corner to make the score 24-10 in their favor. Bombala fought back with great runs from Chris Anderson, with Charlie Lomas crossing the line in the corner off a great off-load from Tuwame. Another fumble off the kick-off put Narooma close to their line. Despite the best efforts of Mal Stone and Andrew Guthrie, Narooma crossed again to bring the score 30-14 at half-time. Ten minutes in the second half saw Narooma slipping through the Bombala line to score and also convert their try. Tyler Jones was eventually rewarded for his efforts in the second half, taking on the line himself to score for Bombala, with Tuwame converting.
An intercept pass from Narooma saw the home side capitalize again bringing the score to 42-20.
A Narooma dropped ball and penalty to Bombala saw Andrew Anderson put Tuwame in for a try out wide, which he also converted. Bombala held a strong defensive line to finish the game with great running from the Stone brothers to bring Bombala home strong. After numerous errors and penalties from both sides, Murray Jackson took the line on himself to make the full time score 42-30.
Players Player and three points went to Mal Stone (sponsored by Southern Stockyards and Fencing), two points to Tuwame Turaganivalu and one point to Murray Jackson.
The Bombala and District Rugby League Football Club would like to thank their major sponsor the Bombala RSL Club for their continued support and those that travelled to cheer us on at Narooma. Next week the Heelers have a home game on Sunday taking on the Eden Tigers in what is sure to be a great afternoon of footy. See you there!