|
|
|
|
FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTY, DARLING DOWNS STYLE ADDED SATURDAY 16/02/08 I headed out in some magnificent Toowoomba mist/fog/mizzle to watch the first night of the Friday night preseason club competition, with plenty of talent and Rugby College kids on display. Just as a refresher though, the first guy I run into is ex Goondiwindi loosehead and rugby stalwart, Michael Dillon, who immediately says to me, "I owe you a bashing" in Mike's jovial but you are never sure if he means it fashion. Anyway, Mike brought a side in from Goondi to play a game of footy, massive effort, 2 and a half hours on the road on a Friday afternoon and two and half lonely hours home (at least). Do go here to refresh why Mike thinks he owes me a bashing, he did go on to say that I never let lies get in the way of a good story, I prefer to think of it as a growing legend. There was some pretty reasonable footy played in some pretty miserable conditions, and really good to see some numbers in the older boys. In fact the game of the evening was between Rangers Under 16 and Highfields/Bears Under 16's. Plenty of College kids of interest to me, with regards their progress now that we have graduated to game time and full contact in game situations. I don't think any of them let themselves down in difficult conditions, and a couple of newbies put their hands up that rival first XV coaches will be very interested to hear about, more in my GPS prelude later though on that one guys. This last match of the night was a pretty tight one, with Rangers getting the money by about 10 to 5, but the highlight was two hits from Mick Bermingham, one a cleanout, most may have not noticed it but it was exceptional in the fact of his definite forward movement and his excellent body shape and height, couple with explosive power through the contact. However his second one did not go unnoticed, the Bears deep in trouble in their own 10, ran it out nicely, and I was just complimenting the work done by the two operatives in making some great ground in limited space when Bermingham came from nowhere and hit this winger in a covering tackle that rattled Gold Park, the guy got up which was good, but from a 15 year old, it was a cracking shot delivered with some pace and power. For Rangers, Concordia boy and College participant was a standout in the game, his pace and power, coupled with a great ability to get his hands free and off load made him a real handful and got my money if I were handing out gongs. From a Bears perspective I like the look of Alex Griffiths, he has pumped on some bulk and his work at the breakdown makes him look like a genuine hard headed 7 to me, but he plays two and does that pretty well too. Should be in the mix later in the year at Qld Under 16 level I would think, as will several others. I guess my comment would be, for all the sides I watched, don't be frightened of the kick in situations like that, especially when all night all defences were up flat and there were alot of "no effort" metres to be gained off the boot. It was also a shame that the Under 18's got called off, word was one club went from 30 Under 18's on the books to 5 as the ranks move across to rugby league.
|
|
WE DON'T STOP PLAYING BECAUSE WE GROW OLD, WE GROW OLD BECAUSE WE STOP PLAYING. |
