Campbelltown Reserve grade went into the match Vs Southern Power full of confidence knowing their opposition was down on form and troops, as both sides had lost their previous 4 matches. With the return of club president Buckers and Club Football manager Fabre and the long awaited return of injured star Chris Jordan, was this going to be the omen for a first up win for reserve grade?
The Blues came out of the blocks all guns blazing with Buckers controlling things from the centre of the ground with Victor and N.smith in the centre it gave Campbelltown plenty of drive. Josh Obrien started the game at centre half back and repelled countless Power attacks. Unfortunately Campbelltown were wayward in front of goal early and blew several chances and were unlucky not to be further ahead going into the 1st change. Scores at Quarter time the blues lead 2.2 14 to southern powers 1.1 7.
The 2nd quarter both teams threw everything they had at each other, with southern power regaining control. With a quad injury to Buckers early Campbelltown lost the all important talk in the middle of the field and the shift of Jordon to full forward didn’t reap the rewards. Campbelltown once again wayward in front of goal blowing golden chances from right in front, they only managed 4 behinds to southern powers 3 goal 3 effort leaving the reserve trailing at half time 28-18 and the game slipping from their grasp.
The 3rd quarter better known as the premiership quarter Campbelltown Had to lift and lift they did. A tactical shift moving Buckers and Fabre to full forward and Jordon back to half back with Josh O Brien And Mahina as targets in the half forward line proved decisive as Campbelltown Produced their best quarter for the year. They took their chances and a 45 m goal from Mahina had the blues up and about. Campbelltown’s Half back line stood up and rebounded the ball straight back into powers danger zone and it paid off with Crompton Kunde Fabre kicking goals to give the blues a game winning lead going into the last quarter. The blues had turned a 28-18 half time deficit to a 43- 34 point 3rd quarter time lead.
The Last quarter was always going to be tough and the blues needed to add to the scoreboard to apply further pressure on the power. Southern power got the better of the early clearances and camped themselves in Campbelltown’s forward 50 and managed to kick the first goal of the quarter to close the gap to 3 points. Campbelltown continued to fight, and held Power out and it looked like Campbelltown would hold on to record their 1st win in 2013. With 10 minutes gone the blues still held a 3 point advantage. The Power all of a sudden had a sniff for victory and piled on another goal to lead the blues with only minutes on the clock. With the scores being, Southern Power 48 Campbelltown 43 the Game had seemingly slipped out of reach. Campbelltown were struggling to get any clearances. A full length team Goal started with a kick in, Campbelltown moved the ball with fine form all the way to the forward line and finished it off with a goal sending the team into raptures with the blues now holding a 1point lead with less than 5 minutes on the clock. Surly this was to be Campbelltown’s day. Once again the Power Surged and on the back of another clearance the blues defence was once again asked to repel the attack. A stellar performance by Terry and Harry along with Jordon kept the power at bay. In what was to be a frantic final few minutes the power forced the ball over to level the scores at 49 apiece. Campbelltown continued to hold on although the power managed a solid mark right in front to regain the lead55-49. With two minutes on the clock the game turned into a rugby union scrum with seemingly both sides entrenched in ball up after ball up. Campbelltown willed the ball down field for one last attack into powers defensive 50 only to see power run it out and seal the win. The blues never gave up and this was evident as Jordon attempted an 80m long range torpedo after the siren, which failed to travel the distance. The Blues left the field gutted although showed that there is plenty of fire left in the side and a win is not too far away. With a few controversial decisions the game could have gone either way blues coach said after the game. A missed high shot right in front and a holding decision which both went against us was a hard pill to swallow. The game was there to win and we didn’t grab it. Standout performances from C. Jordan, J. O’Brien, D. Fraser, V. Musgrave, N. Smith, G. Crompton and goals from M. Fabre 2, S. Mahina 2, J. Kunde, V. Musgrave, G. Crompton showed that the blues have ability all across the park and a win is just around the corner.
Last Modified on 07/06/2013 19:46
