Courtesy of the the Daily Mercury
Coach Paul Bramley has branded the Cutters’ thrilling two-point triumph over Easts as courageous after his squad was reduced to 15 men for 70 minutes of their contest at South Mackay.
Enforcer Isaak Ah Mau (knee) faces a month on the sidelines while flyer Obe Geia (leg) was also forced from the field within the first 10 minutes of the round seven Intrust Super Cup clash. This left the hosts vulnerable to the lowly-ranked Tigers but Mackay battled gamely to record their third win from their past four matches, propelling them to a coveted spot in the competition’s top six.
“We had to tough it out and we showed a lot of courage,” Bramley said of the STM Cutters.
Without the services of Ah Mau and Geia, his troops showed plenty of ticker to turn a 12-4 halftime lead into a tense 18-16 win.
Bramley said second rower Darren Griffiths was “fatigued” after playing his first full game. Young Liam McDonald was forced to take on a heavy burden with a 55-minute stint in the front-row, while the likes of Jardine Bobongie and Grant Moore produced a high work-rate.
In a match featuring tough defence and an assortment of handling errors, Bramley said the Cutters only completed about 50 per cent of their sets and Easts completed even less “but they played well enough to put us under pressure.”
However, Easts were unable to capitalise as Mackay’s tiring troops held firm under pressure in the dying stages of the game.
Bramley said some torrid training sessions early in the year paved the way to their gutsy win.
“We had a tough pre-season, but this is why we did,” he said.
The Cutters were enthusiastic in the opening exchanges, breaking through in just the second minute when impressive hooker Neil Budworth put Jardine Bobongie over down the right edge.
They came close to scoring again but Michael Comerford was ruled to have lost the ball over the try-line after linking with Todd Seymour.
The Tigers hit back in the 23rd minute when halfback Nathan Pill put up a bomb. Easts winger Adam Breen out-jumped Comerford to reduce the deficit to two for the visitors.
But Mackay was clearly the better side in the first half and their efforts were rewarded when hard-working lock Grant Moore forced an error from the Tigers with his dogged defence.
The ball was then shifted by the Cutters back to the right flank when fullback Justin Hunt showed a clean pair of heels to score.
Hunt’s goal-kicking proved pivotal and his first conversion propelled the Cutters to a 12-4 lead at the break.
But the Tigers hit back early in the second stanza when Daniel Fullerton barged over from close range.
An accurate kick in general play from Seymour earned the Cutters back-to-back sets on the Tigers try-line when a sharp ball from Budworth led to a try to Luke Fatnowna, who was inspiring from the bench.
Easts looked to have reduced the eight-point buffer midway through the half but a prospective try was disallowed because of a forward pass.
When Chris Giumelli raced out of the line in an attempt to shut down a Tigers raid, Easts centre Liam Campbell got on his outside to help the visitors score and convert bring it back to 18-16.
The Tigers threw plenty at the Cutters in the dying stages but couldn’t capitalise on a handling error from Bobongie or a howling “dropped catch” from Comerford on his own try line.
Ah Mau is expected to be sidelined for four weeks after suffering a strained medial ligament. His absence is a bitter blow to the Cutters with the physical New Zealander proving a stand-out in recent weeks.
“He’s been like a spiritual leader up front,” Bramley said.
And Bramley hopes medical experts will take a closer look at Geia who is struggling to make a successful comeback from a hamstring strain incurred a month ago.
“We can’t afford to carry him and have the same thing happen next week,” Bramley said.
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