by Col Hennessy
Last Saturday afternoon the Lower Clarence Magpies went down 24-22 to the 2022 Premiers Bilambil Jets in what was generally regarded as the best match seen on the new Yamba complex since its opening a few years ago.
It was a beautiful day with a good crowd on hand to witness what was a very spirited performance led by captain- coach Luke Douglas. The Magpies showed real tenacity to stick with a very athletic opposition whose ball control (90% completion) gave them the edge in the end. It was good to see a Magpies team fit enough to see through the entire 80 minutes and not fall over as has been the past in previous seasons.
Bilambil opened the scoring after just five minutes, but Magpies levelled soon after. A missed tackle around the scrum base saw the visitors score again in the 20th minute and they took that 12-6 lead into the sheds at half time.
In the sheds at half time, it was very positive, and encouragement was coming from anyone and everyone as they realised, they were really in this game. The captain didn’t have a lot to say (he did all his talking on the field by his work rate). However, the ‘brains trust’ (Messrs Donkin and Randall) kicked in and gave some pertinent advice.
Ten minutes into the second half Magpies scored in the corner to narrow the margin 12-10. Then came the ‘try of the year’ to Magpies best player of the day Tyler Essex who had a hat trick of tries by the end of play. Halfway through the second half Douglas puts up a high bomb from 40 metres out and young Essex comes steaming through and catches/snatches the ball from the fullback as he himself is at full speed. He stumbles with that effort but makes the extra effort to plant the ball under the posts. The roar could be heard in Iluka as the locals hit the front 16-12. I watched all eight games at last weeks ‘magic weekend’ and never saw anything to match it.
Sadly, Magpies went on to make two costly errors via a dropped ball and a steal while in possession both in their own half which led to tries in the resulting six tackles. The visitors final try to lead by two came in the78th minute but even then, Magpies didn’t give up. They positioned themselves for short kick-off which they won, and Grant Brown was positioning himself for a 40m field goal but alas the whistle went.
After the match coach Douglas was more pleased with the team’s effort rather than the disappointment of losing which reflected the mood of supporters as well. He told me that when you see all the paid players opposing them, his truly amateur side could be very proud of themselves.
The test now comes to see if they can match that effort when they play away from home. They meet the Murwillumbah Mustangs next Sunday.
Under 18’s
The earlier games saw supporters more than happy with the efforts. Just as the A graders never lost any supporters so too with the rest of the playing group. Both Under 18’s and Reggies were tied up with the opposition at half time but fell away in the second half partly because of fitness issues and injuries.
Brian Quinlan coach of 18’s is very pleased with his charges particularly since they had less than 13 on the field for most of the second half (concussion issues) and still ‘played out to the bell’ in his words. Just as importantly he sees his group as a team of ‘two towns’ which is what Lower is all about.
Reserve Grade coach Glenn Ayres was likewise pleased with his team’s effort and commitment and put the loss down to some silly errors and giving away cheap penalties.
Lady Magpies
The glamour team of the Magpies could well be the ladies tackle team. They put South Grafton to the sword with a comprehensive 55-0 victory. They run hard and tackle with ferocity to match the men. They played the last game of the day so if we add all the scores together Magpies scored more points than the opposition overall. How good is that.
Club president Chris Douglas is pleased that more and more players and supporters are in his words ‘taking ownership’ of the club’s progress. Sponsors would be happy to hear that many of the opposition players came down for the weekend and stayed overnight with their families. All in all, things are on the up in the Magpie nest and fans are urged to come along and see for themselves the revamped version of the club.