Queen City vs Western State Match Report

Queen City vs Western State - Match Report 4.2.16

It was a bright and sunny day at Infinity Park South. The temperatures were moderate and the track was hard and fast. Time to play some footy after an Easter break. The Queen City Olde Boys were out in droves to support the team and cheer them onto victory. The Men in Orange and Black were ready to do battle against the men in Red who turned out to be formable foe. Western State traveled well and were made up of some good athletes.

1st Half:
City receiving defending to the south. The first phase of the match went well for the men in Orange and Black. The opening kick-off was received well and the pod sent down the weak side. The ball was recycled well and the clearing exit kick was made. The kick was a bit strong and rolled all the way down and out the in-goal. A set scrum was ordered by Referee Greg Wolf. From here the men from the western slope had City on their heels for the first 15 minutes of the match. Good defense kept the men in Red at bay. Was it rust from the week away from the game or the late start that was causing the men in Orange and Black to be not hitting on all cylinders. Finally, a scrum was ordered by Referee Wolf and City had a good platform to attack. Flyhalf Dorian Bunn hit the line hard and broke away. A bad offload was recovered by City and Western State was cited for not rolling away from the tackle. The pill was placed into touch and the attack was on. The lineout was won cleanly and "Crusader" was the order of the moment. Flanker Hayden Kinnear took the ball and hard charged into the teeth of the Western defense. The ball was recycled back to Flyhalf Bunn who made a great break towards the line. He was stop short where Winger Tim Coil alertly performed a pick and go to cross the line for the first points of the match. The conversion kick was short to make the score 5 - 0 to the men in Orange and Black at 16:40 of the match. Western State came right back. The ensuing kick-off was horribly handled and the men in Red recovered the ball. City was penalized for not rolling away in the tackle. Western quick tapped and City was deemed to not be the required 10 meters. Western State set up a penalty play and ran at the heart of the City defense. Three phases later the men in Red crossed the line for the 5-pointer. The conversion was good and Western State took the lead at 5 - 7 at the 20th minute of the match.

At this point, I believe City decided to wake up. From the ensuing kick-off, Hooker Steve O'Malley nearing took one against the head; but, the ball bounced back to Western. The Scrumhalf made a break and after a few yards gained he was deemed to hold on in the tackle by Referee Wolf. Captain and No. 8 Dan Herr took the quick tap and the boys were off to the races. Dan offloaded to Flyhalf Bunn who put Inside Center Scott Dishner into space. Mr. Dishner raced the remaining meters to cross the line for the try. The conversion once again sailed wide; but, City had the lead back at 10 - 7 at the 22:30 mark of the first half.

City came storming right back. A better take at the kick-off. Western State was whistled for not releasing in the tackle and the ball was cleared to touch. After a series of play with the ball be maintained deep in Western State territory, a scrum was ordered. A weak side play, "Fiji", was called. The ball was recycled and the men in Red were once again penalized for hands in the ruck this time. A quick tap was stopped short of the line; but, WSU was deemed to not be the required 10 meters. A penalty play was set and a hard charging Prop Bob Harper crashed over the 5-pointer. The conversion was missed; so, City extended its lead to 15 - 7 at the 27th minute mark of the match.

The next kick-off was handled well by City. The men in Orange and Black attacked the tramline until they lost the ball in a tackle. City was whistled for a high tackle and the men in Red took a quick tap; but, they were whistled for holding on. The ball was placed into touch deep in the Western territory. "Cadillac" was the call. The driving maul was stopped short of the line; so, Captain Herr made the break. Once again Western State was penalized for hands in the ruck. A quick tap was taken out to Flyhalf Bunn who offloaded to 2nd Rower Bryan Gustafson. The ball was placed back into Dorian's hands who feed a crashing Captain Herr to cross for the try. Scrumhalf Charlie Keener added the extras to make the scoring line 22 - 7 at the 31:46 mark of the first half.

The play went back and forth for the next couple of minutes. Good defense pressure by the men in Orange and Black had Western on their heels in their own territory. A scrum from a knock-on by City gave the ball to WSU. Hooker Steve O'Malley took one against the head. No. 8 Dan Herr fed Scrumhalf Charlie Keener who placed the ball in Flyhalf Bunn. Dorian skipped a hard charging Inside Center Scott Dishner to freeze the men in Red defense and placed the ball in Outside Center Alex Vivier hands. Alex took the pill the distance to score his first try in the Orange and Black jumper. The conversion was once again missed and City extended the lead to 27 - 7 at the 38th minute of the match.

In the dying seconds of the first half, a scrum was awarded to the men in Red for a City knock-on. Choosing to keep the ball alive after a City offside penalty, WSU decided to tap and go. The defense recovered quickly and stripped the ball from the Western ball carrier. A beautiful display of ball handling and support ensued. The ball went from hand to hand with both forwards and backs in support on an "Ocean" call. The final act was Fullback Alex Knorr was making a break to the line as the defense was closing in. Winger Tim Coil took an excellent angle to switch back towards the line to cross untouched for his second try of the match and his second try in an Orange and Black jumper. Scrumhalf Keener split the uprights to close out the scoring as Referee Wolf blew the halftime whistle to give the men in Orange and Black a 34 - 7 lead at half time.

2nd Half:
Again as much as was in the first half, Western State came out hard after the second half whistle. WSU had City on the back foot for the first 20 minutes of the second half. Missed tackles, waiting in defense, not creating the "Blackwall" on kicks, bad exchanges from No. 8 and Scrumhalf, etc. allowed the men in Red the advantage on attack. Western State was able to score twice before City woke up. Tries were scored at 48th minute and the 61st minute with the first one being converted to bring the score line to 34 - 19.

With WSU still on the front foot, a lineout was given to Western . Replacement 2nd Rower Nate Feldman stole the lineout and the ball was passed to Flyhalf Bunn. He made the break but was stopped after crossing into Western territory. The ball recycled and the ball went through the hands of Center Vivier, No. 8 Bryan Gustafson, and back to Flyhalf Bunn. The men in Red were penalized for hands in the ruck and a quick tap was taken. The ball went to a hard charging No. 8 Gustafson who offloaded to Flanker Hayden Kinnear to cross for the try. The conversion was missed; but, City extended its lead to 39 - 19 at the 66th minute of the match.

The ensuing kick-off was not handled cleanly. The clearance kick went awry. The return kick found the hands of newcomer Winger Ricky Layton. He showed some good moves and made some great yards before the defense closed on him. The ball was recycled to hands of No. 8 Gustafson who offloaded to other replacement 2nd Rower Adam Kuhl. Running like a back, Kuhl ventured into Western's territory before being tackled. Flanker Hayden Kinnear alertly executed a pick and go to burst up the middle for his second try after taking the pill the final 40 meters . Flyhalf Bunn was true on the conversion kick to extend the men in Orange and Black lead to 46 - 19 at the 69th minute mark of the match.

After allowing Western State back into their territory, City's defense stiffened up. A good goal line defensive stance kept the men in Red off the score board allowing City one more shot at a score. After a penalty for holding on, WSU was marched 10 by Referee Wolf. A tap was taken and place in the hands of No. 8 Gustafson who offloaded to replacement Hooker Juan Ureta. Western was again penalized for going over the top in the ensuing ruck. Flyhalf Dorian Bunn took the quick tap and sprinted into the in-goal to dot down for the 5-pointer at the 74th minute mark. The conversion was missed. The scoring line was closed out at 51 - 19. The match was closed out with Western State still running hard at the City line to no avail as the defense was solid in the final 5 minutes.

A win is a win; however, the beginning of each of the halves we were flat, had no energy, and walked a lot in the match. We did not look anything like the team that beat Glendale two weeks ago. Better efforts are needed to close out the season as we point towards the Highlanders and the Championship game. Huge kudos to Hayden Kinnear, Dorian Bunn, Sean Lavell, Tim Coil, and Evan Mohagen for opening the pipeline to Western State and the recruiting efforts. The Western State side is a quality college side and they have some talent that would look good in the Orange and Black jumper. Hayden Kinnear received the Forward Player of the Match, Scott Dishner was given the Back Player of the Match, and Dorian Bunn was awarded the Man of the Match. Many thanks to Steve Vickers for opening his house for the Saturday night party to help celebrate the victory.

Coach