by John Bartley
THE STM Mackay Cutters have produced a season best performance to pull off a heart stopping come from behind victory over the Redcliffe Dolphins at the Mackay JRL Grounds. It was always going to be a tough ask facing the third placed Dolphins, and the Cutters found the task even more difficult when faced with a 16-0 deficit early in the second half. But buoyed by a passionate home crowd, the Cutters pulled off a miracle revival overcoming the visitors with four unanswered tries in the final half an hour to win the game 22-16.
The game was evenly poised in a defence orientated first 15 minutes, with the two teams going set for set with no result. Redcliffe seemed to have the upper hand early on, with the Cutters under intense pressure in their own half. The Dolphins gained three consecutive attacking sets through goal line dropouts, but a desperate defensive effort from the Cutters saw Redcliffe come away empty handed.
Just minutes after weathering the Redcliffe barrage, Cutters winger Obe Geia was forced from the field with a hip injury. The Dolphins then broke the 0-0 deadlock when Tom Butterfield sent fullback Ryan Cullen away under the posts with a perfectly timed offload. Winger Liam Georgetown converted the try to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.
Tempers soon flared when a minor scuffle broke out, but when the dust settled it was Redcliffe who were once again on their way to the tryline. A scrum base play deep in Cutters territory saw Redcliffe centre Marty Hatfield scurry over next to the posts. Georgetown then slotted the simple conversion to give the Dolphins a 12-0 lead at halftime.
After the break, the Dolphins found themselves down a player when five eighth Chris Fox was injured while in defence. Despite losing one of their playmakers, that didn’t stop Redcliffe extending their lead further, as fullback Ryan Cullen scored his second try of the game. The failed conversion attempt from Liam Georgetown left the score at 16-0 in favour of the visitors.
Finally though, the home side exposed a chink in the Dolphins armour. Luke Fatnowna charged over to score under the posts from close range, and the Cutters were finally on the board. Justin Hunt added the two conversion points, and the score was 16-6 midway through the second half.
Mackay five eighth Grant Rovelli continued the turnaround, slicing through the tiring Redcliffe defence and racing 35 metres to score under the posts. Hunt again converted to bring Mackay right back into the contest at 16 points to 12. Then with 10 minutes remaining, Cutters centre Tyson Martin was on the end of a swift backline movement, touching down in the left corner and levelling the scores at 16-all. Justin Hunt missed the pressure kick from the sideline, his conversion attempt hooking to the right of the posts.
With time running out Mackay again raided the Dolphins left edge, and again it was Tyson Martin on hand to score in the corner. The crowd of around 1,500 spectators celebrated as the Cutters completed the stunning turnaround, Justin Hunt icing the cake with a successful conversion from the sideline. The full time siren sounded and it was Mackay on top by a score of 22 points to 16.
Two try hero Tyson Martin was ecstatic after the victory. “It feels pretty good, beating a side like Redcliffe. It came off the back of our forwards going forward, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to score those two tries.”
Cutters coach Paul Bramley described the performance as “one of the best wins I’ve had as a coach”, as Mackay completed an almost perfect game of rugby league statistically. Only three times did Mackay lose possession of the football through an error.
“We were 15 from 15 (sets completed) in that first half” Bramley said. “We have never done that before. Going into half time 16-0 down, I was still pretty happy with the way the boys had played. Redcliffe had enough ball in that first forty to put 20-30 points on us and we held firm.
“I’m really proud of the way our boys stood up to a really strong forward pack. All I said to the boys was to stay patient, and if we win the 50/50 ball we’ll win the game, and we did.”
The Cutters now have a bye, but there will be no rest for four Cutters players; Tyson Martin, Just Hunt, Liam McDonald and Don Malone will all represent XXXX Country against XXXX City in Gympie this Saturday. The next Cutters home game is against second placed Norths Devils on Sunday, July 4th at 3pm.
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