By John Bartley
THE STM Mackay Cutters returned to the winners’ circle on Saturday night as they overcame the Burleigh Bears 28-22 in a tough and physical game at the Mackay JRL Grounds. The Cutters skipped away to a handy lead, before withstanding a late surge from the Bears, holding on for a six point victory.
The game was physical from the outset, the forward packs from both sides getting stuck in early with punishing defence. The visitors cracked first after 10 minutes, with Cutters winger Don Malone scoring after somehow coming up with the ball in a one on one steal close to the Burleigh line. The returning Justin Hunt kicked the tricky conversion attempt, and the Cutters were out in front 6-0.
Burleigh had a good chance to respond nearing the 20 minute mark, slicing through the retreating Cutters defence, but a wayward pass meant they had to bide their time for a little longer. A Bears mistake deep in their own territory gave the Cutters excellent field position approaching the half hour mark of the game; and five eighth Michael Meigan didn’t let the opportunity pass by as he slipped through the Burleigh defence from the scrum base to score untouched under the posts. Hunt added the extras and it was 12-0 Cutters.
The Bears finally broke through the Mackay line right on the 30 minute mark, with centre James Cameron on the end of some quick ball movement to the right flank. Nick Parfitt added the two points, halving the deficit to 12 points to 6. The Cutters then ensured Burleigh an uphill battle, as Don Malone touched down in the right hand corner, bagging his second try of the game two minutes out from halftime. Hunt missed the mark with his conversion attempt, but the Cutters left the field for halftime ahead 16 points to 6.
The defence from both teams was fired up again after the break, with more brutal tackles from the big men. Both teams held firm for 15 minutes into the second half, but it was the Bears that finally succumbed to the mounting pressure of the home side, with a piercing grubber kick finding its way into the hands of winger Chris Giumelli. Hunt converted the try, and Mackay had a comfortable 22-6 lead.
But Burleigh weren’t about to lie down, and it was hooker Riley Brown darting in to score under the posts with just under a quarter of the game remaining, bringing the score to 22-12. Brown doubled his money just five minutes later, as he again tore through the Cutters defensive line on the left flank, touching down and bringing the contest alive with 15 minutes remaining. Parfitt nailed the conversion and it was game on at 22-18.
With the game in the balance, Cutters halfback Todd Seymour produced the goods, squeezing through tired Burleigh defenders to increase the Cutters advantage to 28-18. A late try to Bears winger Steve Michaels set up a thrilling finish, Parfitt’s missed conversion attempt leaving the score at 28-22. The Bears threw everything at the Cutters line in the dying stages of the game, but it wasn’t enough. The Cutters bringing it home with a 28-22 victory.
Mackay coach Paul Bramley was proud of the effort shown in withstanding the Burleigh resurgence, highlighting the ability of the Bears’ fringe NRL players. “We played well to skip to an early lead, but to Burleigh’s credit they kept fighting even as we tried to put them away. They were always constantly threatening. They have skilful ball player’s right across the park, some pushing for NRL selection, but to our credit we held them out with a strong defensive effort.
“I believe we can make a real run into the finals, we’ve got a good run home and as soon as we start playing the full 80 minutes we can give the top teams a real scare.”
Mackay now face rivals the Northern Pride in their Round 17 clash of the Intrust SuperCup season on Sunday July 18th at the Mackay JRL Grounds.
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