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Match Reports 
& Results
2008


12th July
By Norm Daploom

1st Grade 
Burnside 25 v Old Collegians 29 

Best Player: Leigh Rebbeck 
Tries: Xander Evans (2), Ben Suttell, Sam Oughton, Peter Cross 
Conversions: Juan Aguiar, Ben Suttell

At last the boys return to form!

Pack mentality ruled the day. Our Dominant Eight called the shots from start to finish, barring a couple of brief naps.

Actually, I need to have a word about that. The whole team took a nanna-nap for the last 20 minutes of the game when they were two tries up and thought they had the game in the bag. What's worse, the Burnside captain could be heard behind the try-line telling his team we were about to take the foot off the gas and that if they fought back hard and scored twice they'd have us yet, and they damn near did. As a result, we let them back in the game and generously gave them a couple of bonus points. Finals are close and the Premiership Ladder is tight between 2nd and 6th; are we such good sportsmen that we're trying to even it up even more?

Other than that, the game was a much better outing for OC than the last few which were so dire in patches that I couldn't be bothered writing reports.

The first try from OC was a simple classic slide from Cross at flyhalf, putting it down under the posts for an easy conversion for El Pablo Magnifico. This was followed by a team wide effort of strong phase work and good ball movement ending in Xander Evans carrying it over the line. The next two tries came from the sweat of the forwards as they mauled it inexorably onwards. The momentum carried the ball over the line twice, once for Xander Evans again and once for Ben Suttell. This is testimony to the pack reclaiming their pride and strength after a lapse of a few weeks. The last try of the game was by Sam Oughton following a line out and some good lead up work by Rebbeck and Collins. Most of Burnside's strength came from a pair of strong backs - Mika (not the Souths one, another one) and Tim Lough. We let both of them have more space and time than they deserved.

Honourable mentions must go to Xander Evans, Tom Moon (why do they call him Bear?), Peter Cross and Leigh Rebbeck all of whom worked hard throughout. The backline looks more balanced with Cross at fly-half but handling is still a little rusty along the line with too much ball going to ground. Leigh Rebbeck and Juan Aguiar (usually outside centre and wing) are doing well at their new jobs at inside and outside centre. I can hear all you front row forwards asking what the hell difference there is between the three positions; trust me, they're different. Leigh Rebbeck was Man of the Match for his physicality, courage and work-rate. He came off the field in the last few minutes, bleeding and confused. It suits him.

2nd Grade 
Burnside 3 v Old Collegians 12 

Best Player: Charlie Neate 
Tries: Alex Berce, Henry Winter 
Conversion: Stewart Douglas

Our second grade notched up another good win. Better than that they are good fun to watch and show a lot of enthusiam, creativity and flair. The penalty count was high this week leading to a disjointed game through no fault of either team but it was nevertheless a good contest and a good display.

I gather that we were lacking a few of our regular second grade backs for this game. At least, that's the easiest way to explain the presence of a couple of boys most recently seen in the First Grade scrum playing at inside centre (James Finkemeyer) and wing (Alex Berce). It was a successful experiment. They both performed well and did not often look out of position, other than a certain wistful look on their faces when a ruck was nearby. Berce scored the first try "Lomu style", ploughing through wingers, centres, forwards and everything short of brick walls. The second try came after another bust through run, this time by Finkemeyer, which set up a series of excellent phases across the board eventually putting Henry Winter over the line.

Henry Nutt the Pirouetting Prop, bounced and rolled through the defence like a demented pinball, Jo Suttell added his characteristic old school mongrel to the pack, Rory Sheppard gave great chat and Charlie Neate improves with every game (and he was pretty good to start with). Finally, it was great to see Disco Douglas back on the field and at flyhalf. The biggest upset of the round was that he managed to play the whole game. For 80 minutes the sideline supporters waited with baited breath to hear the twang of his muscles snapping but it never came and the sweep had to be abandonned. The word is that Doc Douglas has his money on a half time exit. Seriously though, he had a very solid game and he and Jo Suttell added experience, structure and direction to the youthful team's energy and spirit.


21st June 2008
By Norm Daploom

Premier Grade 
Southern Suburbs 13 v Old Collegians 6 

Best Player: Todd Grant;  Penalties: Todd Grant (2)

If you blinked (twice) and missed the fleeting moments when Souths had the ball and scored you would have thought we were all over this game. We certainly had a mountain possession, but nothing came of it.

There was a lot of good phase play but we couldn't manage to land the needed knockout punch. Having hoped for drastic improvements once the Falcons returned we instead find our state forwards a bit lethargic. Line outs were good again but scrums were still suspect and we were wheeled too often. In the forwards, Xander Evans and Paul Reynolds had good games and would have achieved more with more support around them.

The back line was lacking any spark. We were trying to run it wide without first going forward and were caught behind the gain line by Souths' Declan Scragg (who has now moved to the Gold Coast, and good riddance). Jon Collins made his first appearance for Old Collegians' backline. Despite the raised eyebrows from those who think of Jon as only a forward, he played a solid game in the centres. There's no doubt he will do better when the new line up grows accustomed to each other. The new back line also featured Todd Grant in his No. 10 debut, Will Sadler at fullback and Peter Cross as winger. Although those boys are all relatively new to those positions, there was a glimmer of potential. The coming weeks will tell whether anything comes of that potential.

Ultimately, we lost the ball too often at crucial moments of the game, throwing away the try scoring opportunities which should have won it for us.

Second Grade 
Old Colls 20 v Souths 7 

Tries: Simon Allport, Sam Oughton, Charlie Neate;  Pen: James Hayden;  Convs: James Hayden 
Best Player: Simon Allport

After the chaos of the last month, a unit is emerging from the confusion – and it's a unit of youth, skill and pace to which Souths had no response. A good first half set up a deserved win, but given that Souths is bottom of the ladder and had little to throw at us, we really ought to have walloped them by a lot more and grabbed a bonus point in the process.

Simon Allport, missing last week and stitches only recently out, had an immediate impact on the game. There is definitely some 'Mad Dog' in this one. Our pack worked hard and was hungry and stole possession for the flowing backline. This pressure brought about tries. Simon Allport scored the first as he charged down a kick. Sam Oughton, in an 80 minute cameo appearance, scored twice in quick succession. Unfortunately, the referee disallowed the first in circumstances which aggrieved the OC coach to the brink of aneurism. Charlie Neate snagged the third.

After the break, the Souths team lifted but couldn't break through despite a long period of possession, due to multiple consecutive penalties against the OC boys. At this point Collegians took their foot of the gas long enough to become a little lazy mentally, allowing Souths to cross for their only score of the game.

In the final twenty minutes, reserves came on and found themselves enjoying the foundation laid by the starting fifteen. Ben Mattsen fitted back into the blue and red quickly after a few years away, and managed in the process to take the field in all four senior grades today.

Though the entire team played well, standout performers were Simon Allport and Austin Wakeham in the forwards, James Hayden at five eight and Charlie Neate at inside centre.

All in all, this was a good performance but not perfect, and must be a starting point for a strong run into the finals, which are only ten games away.

Third Grade 
Old Collegians 22 v Woodville 10 

Best Player: Jeremy Thewlis

Third grade played well and it was good to see them get a strong win on the boards. There was very good continuity in patches and Matt Fuss' try was a great example of that. It came from a long series of good phase play which sucked in defenders, with everyone doing the basics well. Well done!


Fourth Grade 
Southern Suburbs 27 v Old Collegians 5 

Best Player: Ian Bircher

I didn't see this game myself but I'm told effort and commitment was good but basic skills and communication were lacking. That sounds to me like a team who aren't training together. I suspect they're not. It won't get better until they do.


Women's Grade 
Burnside/Port Adelaide 34 v Old Collegians 0 

Best Player: Bec Manson

I didn't see this game, but clearly another thumping was handed out by the strong Port/Burnside team. Mind you, the margin was a good twenty points less than the previous two, so that's an improvement even with the absence of Lee Fata taken into account. I'm reliably informed that there was a great debut from Ashleigh Smith and another excellent game from the newcomer Laurel Eyton.

 


14th June 2008 
By Norm Daploom

1st Grade Brighton 31 v Old Collegians 8 
Try: Richard Czeglik;  Penalty: Todd Grant 
Best Player: Tom Moon 

  The first half was pretty even and at half time the scores were close with Brighton looking tired and put upon; the feeling from the sideline (ours, that is) was that victory was likely. However, it was not to be. Brighton ran away with it in the second half with a handful of tries, while we displayed little creativity in attack and did nothing to really challenge Brighton. Our ball retention throughout the game was at best suspect and at worst non-existent. I'd love to be able to point the finger at a couple of offenders but in all honesty most of the boys were guilty of this, with the notable exceptions of Peter Cross, Will Mellor and James Finkmeyer. 
  We had most of the Falcons back in the pack which made a significant difference at ruck and maul. In lineouts and open play, they looked strong and dangerous all day. The only try came in the first half off a lineout, thanks to the stampeding momentum that only 140kg of Czeglik can bring. All forwards performed well, with Tom Moon having a very good game in particular. 
  By contrast, the backline ran fast and hard but sideways and more than once left the ball behind, giving Brighton further attacking opportunities when they really had plenty already. Scrums were stable but didn't have much drive. 
  Czeglik in the front row may be a mismatch of heights. Todd Grant didn't have the best day's kicking which is unlike him. We seemed to struggle to find touch. However, Todd replaced his usual skill off the foot with some very good passing and handling, and he and Ben Suttell at halfback are probably the only backs who can make that claim. 
  The score slightly flattered Brighton who scored a couple of quick ones in the last ten minutes as our intensity (fitness?) faded. We're much, much better than this. 

2nd Grade Brighton 10 v Old Collegians 7 
Try: Robbie Bell 
Conversion: James Hayden 
Best Player: Cleve Batten 

  Firstly, ignore the score. Irrelevant. This was a great showing by the OC 2s and I don't care what the scoreboard said. The stirring in the red and blue hearts from the last quarter of the previous game surfaced again at kick off of this game and quickly became a torrent of red and blue courage and commitment. 
  From the outset Brighton adopted their typical approach of arrogance and petty violence. For twenty minutes they stomped, punched and gouged while Collegians tackled, tackled and tackled. 
  Cleve Batten and Xander Evans demolished everything in their path. Charlie Neate's defence at inside centre was also excellent. As far as attack, Collegians had about 30 seconds of possession in the first twenty minutes when Robbie Bell swooped on a loose ball to chase down and score next to the posts, embarrassing the Bumblebees who hadn't managed to achieve anything with their 99% possession rate. 
  After the conversion by James Hayden it was back to tackling practice and as the hits became more committed and ferocious Brighton were more and more rattled and spent more time in the Ref's ear. Colls kept their cool for the whole first half apart from a silly decision to slap the ball back from a lineout allowing a stumbling Bumblebee to fall on it and even the score. 
  Restart saw tackling practice resume and continue magnificently until just before half time when a Brighton loosie flipped out and was sent to the bench to take a long hard look at himself. 
  Second half saw more tackling practice, as if we needed more, and it kept on improving. 
  Tom Alexander is a 120kg flanker trapped in the body of skinny fullback, and despite taking hits which ought to have crushed him he routinely hopped back up, counted his limbs and flew straight back into the fray. 
  Twenty minutes in, Brighton were given a penalty which they swapped for an easy 3 points and the score stayed 10 - 7 until home time. 
  The final five minutes saw OC enjoy continuous possession and string maybe twenty phases together, finally applying genuine pressure to Brighton's defence forcing them to resort to professional fouls instead of the disciplined defence they had received all day from OC. It wasn't until the dying seconds of the game that the final result was certain, and when the whistle blew the relief on the black and gold faces was palpable. We can expect great things from this squad over the next few weeks.


7th June 2008
by Norm Daploom

FIRST GRADE 
Woodville 11 v Old Collegians 23 at Woodville 

Best Player: Ben Suttell 
Tries: Will Sadler, Luke Bailey 
Penalties: Todd Grant (3) 
Conversions: Todd Grant (2)

One could be forgiven for thinking that with our Falcons back we'd have romped this game in, but not so. We gained the lead only in the second half and it looked dangerous more than once. Woodville could be forgiven for thinking that the final score flattered us a little. After the final whistle Collegians' were grimly muttering "a win's a win". Not the highest praise.

For a start, many of our State Reps were on the sidelines with broken cheek-bones, strained muscles or a case of the sniffles (diddums). Added to that, we still have a baker's dozen of other senior players out to injury and illness. Of course, with or without our best men Woodville are always trouble at home anyway. Better OC squads than the ones we fielded this week have come a cropper against Woodies. Despite the best of intentions we always seem to end up playing to their style of game rather than our own.

The lineouts were much better this week than they were against Port Adelaide in the previous game, not that that is saying much. With senior forwards like Czeglik, Burmester and Tedge back in the pack we not only won most of our own ball and some of theirs we even managed to maul it over the line for a try. The other try came from that illusive sprite Will Sadler dashing through a narrow crack not ten yards off the line.

Scrums were reasonable and some great yards were made off the back of them from Caveman Berce at Number 8 but he too often lost the ball in contact. I'd have a severe word with him about this but he's a lot bigger than me.

Young Todd Grant has a Big Boot for a Small Man which was a very useful option at penalties and in open play and accounted for 13 of the 23 points.

Peter Cross had a hard job against Warren Duff, and while Peter didn't make much ground in attack neither did Duffy so we can call that even. That said, if Crossy is an inside-centre then I'm the Sultan of Brunei.

Heavens be praised for Ben Suttell who seems not to have realised his excellent State season is over for 2008; he brought his rep game to club footy this week.

Finally, our greatest thanks go to the nice young man from Woodville who utterly flubbed a try which would otherwise have meant the teams had two tries each and only kicks making up the difference.


SECOND GRADE 
Barossa Rams 26 v Old Collegians 10 

Best Player: Simon Allport 
Try: Austin Wakeham 
Penalty & Conversion: James Hayden

I thought the second grade looked a bit like patch-work. On making some enquiries, I understand there were more than a few last minute apologies and a team was only scraped together by coaxing two fourth graders off the recovery bench from their game played an hour earlier. We should give thanks then to the evergreen and masterly Andy Marshallsay and to newcomer Glen Smith in his OC debut. (It isn't always like this mate), and to the Reserves for third grade (who had driven all the way from their game at Onkaparinga). Thanks in particular to Ben James and Charlie Neate for making the extra effort, and probably saving the evergreen and masterly Andy Marshallsay's life in the process.

A few minutes into the game our teeny tiny back-line sprang into speed and skill-mode. Rowan Mein ghosted through from outside-centre and pinched a rapid thirty metres before being brought down in an obvious act of thuggish trickery by the Rams. This poor act of sportsmanship (fancy actually making the effort to chase opponents in cover defence!) left our Rowan unable to get up due to a damaged AC joint. He painfully/selfishly left the field to try and source a replacement joint and subsequently the Rams rammed in two quick Trys.

The first half was mostly one way traffic, and definitely the wrong way. Our teeny tiny back-line lost the use of speed and skill mode from their OGRCs (on ground rugby computers) and made too many errors while attempting to get over the advantage line.

The Rams played like England; boring but effective. It seems that hard straight running in close is a form of rugby that should bear a lesson to our young second graders. Get the big guys on the ground quickly or pay the price in yards.

NOTE: Rugby is a contact sport. Not "contact" like the gentle attentions of the ladies in the Penthouse movies, "contact" like that delivered by Jake the Muss in the 'Once Were Warrior' movies. Can we please aim for less pat and more splat?

Early in the second half things looked grim but something stirred within red and blue hearts. With the match safely lost, Collegians' lifted. Led by Simon Allport, Rory Sheppard and James Hayden, the defence stopped pushing and started pounding. A lift in effort and intensity brought not only respectability to the youthful players but hope to the supporters and no doubt the coaches too.

At the end of the game our lift in effort and commitment was deservedly rewarded with a try to Austin Wakeham who decided that after all his hard work he would score the try, and not one of the 28 unmarked men in support.

In short, good in patches but patches are only good for making quilts. We showed that we can play ay a high intensity despite major obstacles, if this level can be maintained then none shall stand in our path.

THIRD GRADE 
Onkaparinga 25 v Old Collegians 0 at Onkaparinga 

Best Player: Jim Grace 

I'd write a match report for this game, but I didn't see the game myself and no-one who was involved seems anxious to discuss the finer details. Probably that says it all.

FOURTH GRADE 
Barossa Rams 20 v Old Collegians 0 
Best Player: Lawrence Hartney

Just like in the second grade game between our respective clubs, the Rams looked well drilled and disciplined and they did the basics well enough to thump us. I am reliably informed that they had nearly every fourth grade man at BOTH training sessions the week before this game. By comparison, our fourths are a bunch of blokes who don't train at all and looked like it. The Rams made us look pretty shabby. We were the poster kids of poor support play and lack of ball security. Line-outs were abysmal. If we can't get these basics right, it will be a dismal season.

However, the scrums weren't bad and there were solid efforts from most guys on the pitch. Lawrence Hartney played a courageous game at five-eighth and Ory (I can't recall whether it was Luke or Andrew) showed a lot of mongrel. However, the Post-Match Tirade accurately identified that all the gusto, effort and courage in the world will not get us far if we don't train. So start turning up, you lot. It wasn't a lot of fun to watch, and I doubt it was much fun to play.

 


24th May 2008
by Norm Daploom

FIRST GRADE 
Port Adelaide 24 v Old Collegians 18 at Port Adelaide 

Best Player: Rory Shepard 
Tries: Tom Alexander, James Hayden, Brad McDonald 
Penalty: Will Sadler 
 Let's start with the obvious. Line outs - what the…? Having lots of players out is no excuse at first grade level, we need to win our own set piece; even now and again would nice. Our fringe post defence was often non-existent, a weakness exaggerated by Port's game plan which seemed to be exclusively attacking that zone. The Coach's half time words fell on deaf ears as we repeated the same errors over and over. Rory Shepard played a great game and was nicknamed "Velcro" for his ability to stick to the tackle. B-Rad made good ground but was often unsupported. Paul Reynolds did well playing out of position in the centres and Alex Berce made himself felt as per usual. Tom Alexander scored a great try in the corner to the loud appreciation of the OC crowd and James Hayden put in a strong performance at fullback– both boys in their first grade debut. 
As a final note, Will Sadler can you please return Czeglik's shorts and invest in a pair in your own size? Rory Shepard may be able to loan you a pair.

SECOND GRADE 
Port Adelaide 13 v Old Collegians 8 at Port Adelaide 

Best Player: Charlie Neate 
Try: Austin Wakeham 
Penalty: Matt Mooney 
 Our 2nd Grade turned in a third grade performance this week. Hold up a second…. I think that was actually the third grade out there. With 30 blokes missing from selection this week, we pilfered and thieved from the lower grades to turn out our 1st and 2nd teams this week and it showed. It was a courageous performance at times and the game was there for the winning. Individual performances were often strong but team play was disjointed leading to try scoring opportunities being wasted. Our last pass was often intercepted by the ground. 
Defence was strong and everyone worked hard but we were out-muscled around the rucks. We need to muscle or fatten up – hit the gym or McDonalds, boys. Charlie Neate turned out another brilliant game, narrowly edging out Austin Wakeham for best on ground.

THIRD GRADE 
North Torrens 27 v Old Collegians 10 at Dry Creek 

Best Player: Ben "Fuzzy" James 
Try: Robbie Bell 
Penalty: Robbie Bell 
Conversion: Robbie Bell 
 We met this team last week at Tregenza and drew (5 v 5), however after a promising start this week with a try from Robbie Bell (ghosting through a hole) the wheels fell right off. If we made the most of the chances we created, the game would have been very different. Instead, typical of all senior OC teams this week, we missed our opportunities. The first-up tackling was woeful and our idea of rucking appears to be to tap the nice young man on the shoulder and ask if he wouldn't mind stepping away for a bit. The scrums were good in the first half but deteriorated as the game wound down. Could it be a fitness issue? Robbie Bell and Lawrence Hartney played well, and Fuzzy played a great game; his first at lock.

WOMEN 
Port Adelaide/Burnside 57 v Old Collegians 0 at Port Adelaide 

Best Player: Lauren Eayton 
Another hard game for our girls against the well organised and experienced Port Adelaide/Burnside. While the scoreline was clearly a thrashing, it was less of a thrashing than last time and OCs did have some significant absences due to injury etc. An excellent first game from Laurel (best on ground, in fact) who looked like a seasoned campaigner despite it being her first game. The OC girls looked likely to score a few times but somehow managed to cock it right up on each occasion. They're heading in the right direction but have plenty of room for improvement. The whole team needs to lift its work-rate and commit to the contact point. Gently caressing the opposition at the ruck and maul doesn't get you anywhere.


 

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