Hunter v Bass
Hunter Sports High has held-out for a 30-24 win against Bass High School in the first of two GIO cup games at Campbelltown Stadium.
In the closely contested match, Hunter Sports High Captain Bryce Donovan said the win gave him confidence for their next game against Illawarra Sports High but they still have things to work on.
“We still need to work on our defence, keeping it tight around the ruck and make sure we are sliding to the edges,” he said.
“If we can complete the whole game, get to our kicks accurate and make no mistakes we should go alright.”
Bass High looked tired in the second half before they charged home with two tries in the final four minutes of the game to make it a grandstand finish.
Bass High captain Ali Allouche was proud of his sides fight to the finish.
“Towards the end we, as a team, didn’t want to go out like that so we just put out heads up and kept going forward.
“We just didn’t complete enough sets and that’s what got us in the end.”
The GIO Most Trusted Player was awarded to Hunter Sports High fullback Ngnangarra Barker who scored two tries which sealed his sides close victory.
Results
HUNTER SH 30 (Daniel Bell; Ngnangarra Barker 2 tries; Bryce Donovan; Tyrone Walsh; Nick Newman; Tyrone Walsh 3 goals) def BASS HS 24 (William Soloa Toomata; Jessy Komene 2 tries; Jake Kamire; Inoke Poleo; Vailima Teaupa 2 goals)
St Gregory’s v Erindale
St. Gregory comes back in the second half to defeat Erindale College 26-16.
Challenging and cold conditions at the Campbelltown Sporting Stadium saw a tight affair between the local side St. Gregory’s and Erindale College.
Despite early field position it was Erindale that put the first points on the board by converting a penalty.
Erindale continued their counter attacking style of play, scoring two more tries before the first half siren, including Geiger's double in the 26th minute, leading 14-0 at the break.
A spirited performance by St Gregory's Mason Cerruto, earned him the title of GIO's ‘Most Trusted Player’ in addition to sparking a tremendous comeback.
Cerruto and Arthur Currie both scored doubles in the second half completing a comeback and a late try in the 58th minute by Christian Kagiassis of St Gregory’s sealed the local team’s 26-16 victory.
"We didn't use the wind to our advantage; we didn't kick," Erindale coach Matt Adams said.
St Greg's coach Pat Neil suggested in the first half of the game his team had a poor completion rate and lacked energy.
“However in the second half the boys stuck to their guns and did what we have practiced, so I'm very pleased with the result, " Neil said.