There were twists and turns aplenty as the Gunnedah Red Devils recorded a heart-stopping 34-33 win over the Quirindi Lions in last Saturday’s Central North rugby union clash at Gunnedah Rugby Park.
It was a memorable occasion for the hosts as more than $3200 was raised in aid of motor neurone disease (MND), with the Red Devils hosting a ‘Big Freeze MND round’ and an ‘Old Devils Day’.
Blue-striped socks and beanies were a distinct part of the occasion, while another aspect was ice buckets being poured over a group of people.
At one stage it appeared the Red Devils would herald the occasion with a big win, as they led 24-0 after 35 minutes.
The Lions fought back impressively as they grabbed a 33-31 lead in the second half and were on the verge of a spectacular come-from-behind victory, before they were brought undone by a late penalty goal to the Red Devils.
Gunnedah remained in equal-first position along with Narrabri on the six-team competition ladder, while Quirindi slipped to fourth.
The pendulum swings began in the first minute of play as the Red Devils failed to find touch from the first penalty, and then the Lions made the same mistake a few minutes later.
Both teams threatened to score, before the Red Devils capitalised on a penalty. Following the line-out, a rolling maul resulted in captain Tim McDermott touching down for the opening try which Adrian Burl converted in the 15th minute.
After Quirindi’s Pat Calavassy was yellow-carded, Gunnedah utilised pick-and-drive tactics until Lachy Mack touched down for the next try.
Red Devils fullback James Perrett scored a sizzling try as he caught a downfield kick at halfway and broke through a staggered defensive line.
Just after Calavassy returned to the field, Perrett inadvertently played a key role in the lead-up to the next try as a left-footed kick flew off the side of his boot. The Red Devils maintained possession and made further inroads, which led to another try for McDermott.
The Lions belatedly built pressure, and then the Red Devils went to sleep as Quirindi’s Hamish Dunbar ran away untouched to score a lamentably easy try.
Gunnedah faltered again as half-time loomed, and Quirindi received back-to-back penalties after the siren sounded. The Lions spurned a penalty goal, and were rewarded as Matt Anderson charged over the tryline.
Leading 24-14, the Red Devils sent the kick-off out on the full at the start of the second half and then conceded a try five minutes later as slick passing sent Tom Clare across in the left corner.
The complexion changed again as Gunnedah received a series of penalties which resulted in another yellow card for Quirindi; Edward Nankivell was dismissed this time.
The Red Devils bustled towards the tryline until Will Chaffey registered a converted try, making the score 31-19 in the 57th minute.
Gunnedah soon relaxed again, enabling Calavassy to score a converted try which trimmed the margin back to five points.
After Nankivell returned, a chip-kick from the Red Devils went dreadfully wrong as an opponent snaffled the ball and set up a runaway try for Jack Craig.
With a simple conversion, the visiting team suddenly led by two points with nearly 15 minutes left.
The Lions frittered away their advantage with another series of penalties, with one of them enabling Burl to land a penalty goal from a handy position with just under five minutes left.
Quirindi forced a mistake in the final few minutes but then repeated the cardinal sin of failing to find touch from a penalty.
A handling error from the Red Devils enabled the Lions to have a scrum feed in their own half after the final whistle sounded, and then a penalty went Quirindi’s way but Gunnedah held on nervously.
Having won the game, the Red Devils won the JK Carter Memorial Cup for the first time after it was introduced last year for first grade fixtures involving Gunnedah and Quirindi.
The Red Devils also won the Kookaburra Cup; a challenge trophy which was introduced a few years ago.
Perrett said the Red Devils had a few lapses in concentration which was bound to happen considering “we’ve played one game in five weeks”.
“We’re not going to be gelling yet,” he said.
“It’s basically starting the season again after that time off, and inconsistency and you can’t build continuity with everyone.
“So it’s just a matter of getting it back together and getting those performances together.
“We were lucky to come away with the win in the end there.
“It’s good signs at times, and then bad signs at other times.”
Perrett said the Red Devils went to sleep at times, but would “go really well” if they got themselves together for longer periods.
“The more rugby we’ll get, the more consistent we’ll get and the longer those periods will be that we switch on for,” he said.
Perrett readily said that “when we have our lapses, we’re pretty bad”.
“We just do silly things and we go away from our game plan and our structure, and it just leads to easy tries,” he said.
Perrett said if the Red Devils played how they wanted to play and how they knew they could play, then they could “mix it with anyone” in the competition.
“It’s just being able to do it for 80 minutes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gunnedah’s reserve graders remained without a win this season as Quirindi prevailed 24-10.
Ashton Harris and Charlie Willey were among Gunnedah’s best performers.
The Red Devils third graders won 17-10 after the pendulum changed numerous times. This contest featured a couple of dangerous tackles as well as some fancy flick passes.
Logan Quigley scored a fine try for Quirindi, before Gunnedah levelled at 5-all with a try to Jeff Wilson.
Quirindi’s Archie Cudmore scored the next try against the run of play, and the Lions took a 10-5 lead into the second half.
A try to Tom Perrett levelled the scores at 10-all, before a converted try to Paul Brady completed the scoring.
The third grade fixture ended a little early due to an injury to a Gunnedah player.
Wilson, Jamie Mitchell and Matt Roseby had fine games for the victors.
Gunnedah’s women’s squad, meanwhile, had a social game while Quirindi’s numbers were minimal.
Pam Pym, Susie Pym, Lana Kirton and Sam Cooper were rated the pick of the players.
This Saturday the Red Devils head to Tamworth to contest the Pirates in each grade.
Scotty Mitchell runs with determination in the third grade fixture. Photos by Liam Hauser.
