View 28 Joeys 38
As you can see by the scoreline the defences had problems; not so much in tackling but to be in places where they could do so.
Joeys were again caught by breakouts which lead to long gains and eventual tries and View had a few occasions where players were just standing around expecting their team mates to do something.
There were some good individual efforts though that would have been hard to stop regardless. 8 Whitley from View opened the scoring with a Higginbotham type effort, and in the 2nd half MOTM 1. Robertson of Joeys burst out of the pack with the pace of a back and did a Mortlock type dive over the goal line to score. The earth trembled. This was after a long break he made a few minutes earlier, but his short efforts over the gain line all afternoon were equally impressive. Unfortunately he was cut over one eye and had to go off and stay off.
The smaller Joeys scrum was superior too just as it was against Scots. I think Robertson played himself into the GPS Ones today as his side of the scrum was at least steady and often dominant. 3. Carolan's side was just as steady. Looks like the coaching work of Rats and Force man AJ Whalley, never much of a scrummager himself, is paying off.
I was looking forward to watching one of my favourite players, 6. Dempsey, play for View today but he was injured, and his mongrel and in your face attitude was missed. The View forwards played well in fits and starts and as individuals, but as they did last week, Joeys had the better pack of players hunting together.
I thought that 4. Rorke, from the 2011 Oz Schools team, would lift View, but I couldn't see it. The 2nd rower who took my eye was 5. O'Donahue of Joeys. Like a lot of Joeys locks over the years he is not a giraffe and plays like a backrower. Goldie was again good but this week as a hooker with his THP throwing the ball to the lineout, not as an 8. You have to love school footie.
Many promising moves of the View backs were butchered by poor ball work but there were some fine individual runs. I liked the looks of 15. Robertson but the best for me was 13 Redden. 12 SGB had a few runs like Lloyd Johansson, but he got a knock and had to go off.
The Joeys backs were better this week than last and showed a better deception. There were a few bounced passes including one which blew a try, but generally there was improvement.
10 Deegan looked more assured than ever and 13 Barclay showed a bit of why he got state rep honours last year. Kicking for line and for goal needs more work though as they were problematic last week also. Once they got a penalty in the View red zone and the kick for the attacking lineout went touch in goal.
Both teams left tries on the park, and missed key tackles or weren't there to make them, but it was a good game for a trial
Twos: View 10 Joeys 7 There wasn't much in this game and the difference in the scores was because View took a penalty kick at goal. Joeys probably had more of the game, but could not seize their chances against good View defence.
There were some splendid youngsters in the game: obviously the up and comers for next year. I liked the look of the nuggety 9. King, who scored the View try and the running of his team mate, 10. May.
U/16: View 7 Joeys 17
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