Galloping Greens

[the coach]

Sonny Satuala was outstanding again.
Early days, but he looks like the "recruit of the year" IMO.

As per Sid's comments above, whoever organised Ladies Day this year did an outstanding job. However, given their obvious lack of interest in the game and the spectacular outfits on display, we did wonder whether they thought they were going to Randwick races rather than the rugby

 

[sidelinesid]

I dunno coach

I distinctly heard some screaming when the ball was coming their way.
either that or they were admiring the men in green

 

[Brian Westlake]

Heard a whisper Declan ODonahue may be back after a long stint in rehab. Lets hope he makes a successful return with some better luck than previous seasons.

Did he make it through?
I saw him taped up later in the day but he was smiling

 

[Brian Westlake]

Anyone know the extent of the injuries to Ned Hanigan and Mitch Short?
I've seen both of them hobbling around in moonboots.

Also N Kellawy too

 

[MACCA]

Did he make it through?
I saw him taped up later in the day but he was smiling

Went well - he is one to watch out for when he gets fit

 

[15tc]

Also N Kellawy too

and Copeland. Moon boots everywhere you turn!

 

[sidelinesid]

I commend the new TV channel on you tube.

 

[Brian Westlake]

^^^^^
great work!!!! This is a helluva lot more professional than the ch9 footy show. More interesting too. I look forward to seeing more of the young men being candid about their mates. Is Tavita Vea and Dave Vea one in the same?

 

[the coach]

^^^^^
great work!!!! This is a helluva lot more professional than the ch9 footy show. More interesting too. I look forward to seeing more of the young men being candid about their mates. Is Tavita Vea and Dave Vea one in the same?

Yes
I believe the correct spelling is Tevita.
I had the good fortune to meet his parents down at Coogee Oval last year.
They were visiting from Tonga and explained that Tevita is the Tongan equivalent of David.

 

[the coach]

Well said James:
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/04/19/04/13/holbeck-for-the-love-of-the-game

 

[sidelinesid]

A wet and windy start to the day as a healthy group of manly supporters arrived at Coogee.
Fourth grade was anyones game for the full session. Wicks got to 15 then slept and Manly got to 11 before Wicks rallied. Dropped ball the order of the day in slippery conditions. 15-11 to wicks.
Third grade a slightly better version of fourths but again the game was there for both sides. Wicks got to 12 and Manly threw everything at the wicks line but could just not close the deal. Wicks win 12-9.
Second grade started as a very even contest with some massive hits on both sides, but slowly the Wicks started to get on top in the forwards. The wicks 7 was best on field imo, but was supported well by the rest of a hardworking pack.the 35-5 win by Wicks belies the fact that the game was a very hard contest.
Firsts
Manly's new look side started with a well worked try to lead by 7 before Wicks got themselves a 3 only to let Manly in again with another 7. At 14-3 the Wicks were on the back foot but against the run of play Wicks pulled back a 7 of their own. The Wicks 10 was marshalling his troops well but the constant kicks from wicks saw a number of charge downs which could well have ended in additional tries to Manly. It would be a mistake to give Manly the ball when their full contingent is back.
The second half started with a very committed Manly and following another bad kick from Wicks , manly ran the ball ,got the penalty and three points.
Wicks were not done and coming back hard they scored a try to bring the game to 17-17 with ten minutes to go. Wicks had the breeze and finally got into range for a well worked field goal with a minute to go. 20-17 and an unlikely victory looked certain. Manly , showing some composure, fought hard from the kickoff to get the ball back and after some very good work all round, managed a try in the corner after the bell. Wicks lost 22-20

Memo to Council- Check roof of grandstand as we believe it was raised by the manly supporters.

 

[Dave Beat]

Memo to Council- Check roof of grandstand as we believe it was raised by the manly supporters.

great noise.
Club rugby, Grass Roots rugby making some noise - hope it was heard in
St Leonards.

 

[the coach]

Good summary Sid, agree about the kicking --- kicking under the conditions was a good tactic but the execution was seriously flawed. I thought the Manly forwards did an excellent job at the breakdown and their two front rowers really troubled the Wicks defence all game. Lane and Deegan had an interesting battle, with Lane outpointing Deegan on the day IMO, but not by much.

Big disappointment of the day: no Anzac Day ceremony. Ricky Dumigan's bugle, The Ode, Last Post etc has long been a tradition at Coogee on the weekend closest to Anzac Day -- what happened this year?

PS: The roof of the stand will probably leak even more now!

 

[15tc]

Who is this Andrew Frost that the Intrust Rugby Review refers to in the Manly v Wicks clash? Seems he scored some points in the encounter.

 

[Dave Beat]

Who is this Andrew Frost that the Intrust Rugby Review refers to in the Manly v Wicks clash? Seems he scored some points in the encounter.

He was the Wicks player who knocked it backwards off the last kick off

 

[the coach]

Who is this Andrew Frost that the Intrust Rugby Review refers to in the Manly v Wicks clash? Seems he scored some points in the encounter.

He's the love child of Seamus Frost and Andrew Deegan
Andrew Deegan actually scored 15 points and Seamus Frost 5.
The unpaid intern at the NSWRU has been signed up for more training.

 

[Brian Westlake]

Andrew Frost for 1sts Captain!!! I rate him

 

[the coach]

Andrew Frost for 1sts Captain!!! I rate him

He couldn't follow up his performance from last week -- no points today!

Good effort from the Wicks given they trailed 5-14 after about 20 minutes, and then didn't allow the Pirates to score again. Especially without Sonny Satuala, Tristan Goodbody, Mark Baldwin, Sam Croke and Mitch Short. Having also lost Dave Horwitz and Drew Kellaway to the Tahs and Sam Figg, Henry Hutchison and Tom Connor to 7s. We also lost Harry Boileau early in the game and with the 2nds half back Harrison Goddard also injured, Andy Ball had to come off the bench. After a shakey start (nerves?) he acquitted himself quite well. There was also a steady progression of blood bins throughout the game.

Wicks were best served by Starkey, Roods and Deegan in the backs and Jack Johnson (best on field IMO), newcomer Andrew Tuala, Nick Kellaway and the veteran Adam Freier in the forwards. I must confess I didn't understand the logic of playing Freier in the starting lineup and he looked buggered after about 3 minutes and went down in a heap many times during the game, but when he was able to keep his feet his contribution was very good.

Road trip to Pittwater next week!

 

[sidelinesid]

Concord hosting the wicks on a day that started with cloud and ended in bright sunshine allowed all teams some free flowing rugby.
4ths - Wicks could have run on 2 teams with the amount of backup that turned up on the day. West ran out of puff with twenty to go to allow Wicks a 36-13 win. Wicks looked good in patches but will need to become more consistent.
Thirds- A slightly more up tempo game than 4ths with a similar result with Wests running out of puff as Wicks applied pressure. At 45 -7 one west player behind the posts was heard to say 'Listen we have five minutes to win this game so lets get into it'- Very commendable spirit.
Seconds - The relentless attack and defense by Wicks never let Wests into the game and the long boot of the Wicks 15 kept kept Wests pinned in their own half to allow Wicks to attack at will. 63-25. The late try by Wests showed they never gave up and the game was played in very good spirit by both sides.
Firsts- As the coach has already mentioned, Wests leading at 7-5 and the Wicks 9 is off the field with a suspected broken bone. The replacement half took a little while to get up to speed and the new combinations were not working smoothly. Wests looked the sharper for most of the first half and looked like going in at 14-5. Wicks rallied to get a try after several attempts including a knock on with the line open and then on halftime got a penalty to go in at 15-14. After halftime Wicks started to get some rhythm and the physio started to use a fair bit of tape on various heads. Wicks final offloads were being picked up by Wests trailing in the line and both teams were making plenty of errors. Wicks , however were miserly in defense , not letting anyone through, and this pressure had Wests making poor kicks, giving the ball back to Wicks. Wicks a good win built on defense at 34-14.

The Wicks rehab centre will need an extension such is the injury toll. It wont surprise to see some 4th grade players in 2nd grade fairly soon.

 

[Couldofbeen]

He couldn't follow up his performance from last week -- no points today!

Good effort from the Wicks given they trailed 5-14 after about 20 minutes, and then didn't allow the Pirates to score again. Especially without Sonny Satuala, Tristan Goodbody, Mark Baldwin, Sam Croke and Mitch Short. Having also lost Dave Horwitz and Drew Kellaway to the Tahs and Sam Figg, Henry Hutchison and Tom Connor to 7s. We also lost Harry Boileau early in the game and with the 2nds half back Harrison Goddard also injured, Andy Ball had to come off the bench. After a shakey start (nerves?) he acquitted himself quite well. There was also a steady progression of blood bins throughout the game.

Wicks were best served by Starkey, Roods and Deegan in the backs and Jack Johnson (best on field IMO), newcomer Andrew Tuala, Nick Kellaway and the veteran Adam Freier in the forwards. I must confess I didn't understand the logic of playing Freier in the starting lineup and he looked buggered after about 3 minutes and went down in a heap many times during the game, but when he was able to keep his feet his contribution was very good.

Road trip to Pittwater next week![/qu