Round 10 – Baldies v Crookwell Match Report

Inspired by the Old Boys on one of the biggest weekends for the club in 2018, the Baldies were up for the battle against the competition leader, the Crookwell Dogs. If the freezing conditions weren’t enough of a challenge, the rain decided to arrive just on kick off to add to the joy for not only the players, by the forever faithful fans on the sideline.

It must have been the questionable mullets keeping the Dogs warm which saw Crookwell score early tries and race away to a 21-0 lead. Not to be disheartened, the boys found their structure, stringing together passes to build pressure and swing the momentum back into their favour.

With penalties allowing points to be on offer in front of the sticks, the formidable boot of Sam Richards slotted a 3-pointer to put the Baldies on the scoreboard. This fired the boys up, seeing hard running and strong tackles led by the missed Will Gurney who made his return to the side. A late first-half try from Joe Loeschnaur saw the Baldies go to the break with their spirits high, although down 21-8.

After a wardrobe change by the referee, the second half began. With the scoreboard closer than the Baldies have ever seen at this point in a game against Crookwell, they came out firing with Luke Shaw breaking through to score an all-important try. Sam Richards kicked the conversion seeing the Baldies within a converted try, down 21-15.

While the supporters struggled to stay warm on the sideline, the boys were turning it up on the field, winning lineouts and beating the Dogs pack in the scrum. Unfortunately, an over-enthusiastic Ash Unicomb found himself on the sideline after being shown a yellow card which saw the Baldies down a player during the crucial back end of the game.

Despite the best efforts of the boys to lift during this period, and Luke Wild welcoming back the old faithful tissue up his nose while he played, Crookwell scored two late tries, which saw a final score of 33-15. The effort from the boys was truly outstanding given the conditions faced, with the best score they have had against the competition leaders, the warm showers, and cold beers, courtesy of the case Ash Unicomb owes the boys, were well deserved.

Next week the Baldies will need to lift again as we hit the road to the scenic views of snow covered mountains in Jindabyne in a search points to get closer to a top 4 spot.

Points

3 = Sam Richards

2 = Joe Loeschnaur

1 = Luke Shaw

Players’ player

Sam Richards

Chick pick

Greg Newham