A powerhouse second half performance has seen Mounties defeat the Wentworthville Magpies 52-22 in the VB NSW Cup clash at GIO Stadium.
The win came of the back of 42 unanswered second half points and a great performance in the halves by Josh McCrone and Mitch Cornish as well as Glenn Buttriss who played a starring role at hooker in the win from Mounties.
Mounties made it hard for themselves with a lacklustre first half resulting in last placed Wentworthville going into the sheds with a 22-10 lead.
After a penalty was given away by Mounties, Wentworthville used the field position to open the scoring. Starting 20 metres out, the Magpies were got the ball to Sam Gorman who made a strong run at the line to score. The conversion by Beau Henry was successful for a 6-0 lead.
It was back-to-back tries for the Magpies in the 10th minute after a strong run down the wing by Vai Toutai saw the centre score next to the posts. The conversion was successful again from Henry for an early 12 point lead.
The Mounties were able to hit back in the 15th minute with a try in the corner. After some quick hands from Mounties they were able to score out wide through Bill Tupou. The conversion was missed by Mitch Cornish leaving the score at 12-4.
It was two tries in quick succession for Mounties after a penalty allowed them to gain field position. Luke Page was then able to make a hard run at the line to cross and score next to the posts. Cornish this time converted to reduce the gap to two points.
The Magpies were able to restore their lead after some poor defence from Mounties. A kick was put into the air and was not dealt with properly and Cody Nelson scored after picking up the scraps. The conversion was successful from Henry once again giving the Magpies an 18-10 lead.
The Magpies were able to score once more after running the length of the field in the 25th minute. After the Mounties put a kick in towards the corner the Wentworthville defence were able to pick up the ball and go the length of the field for Bureta Faraimo to score. The conversion was unsuccessful from Henry leaving the score at 22-10, which is where the score remained going into half-time.
Mounties were able to score the first points in the second half in the 50th minute after the Magpies gave away two quick penalties which allowed Mounties to put pressure on the defence which resulted in a try under the post to Mark Nicholls. The conversion from Cornish was successful to reduce the gap to six points.
Mounties were able to level scores in the 56th minute when Jeremy Hawkins used his strength to hold of the Magpies defence to get across the line after the ball was spread to the wing. The conversion from Cornish was successful to make the score 22-all.
Back-to-back tries for Mounties allowed them to grab the lead for the first time in the game with under 20 minutes to go. Josh McCrone was able to score on the back of smart dummy half play by Buttriss and a damaging run from Jack Ahearn. The conversion was easily converted by Cornish for a six point lead.
Three unanswered tries for Mounties saw them really take control of the game. Mitch Barnett scored in the corner after Mounties found space on the wing and took advantage of their overlap. The conversion from Cornish was once again successful for a 34-22 lead.
Mounties made it a fourth unanswered try in the 65th minute when Pat Mataele was able to jump on a McCrone grubber that was put through and got to it just before the dead ball line. Cornish slotted the conversion to extend the lead to 18 points.
Five back-to-back tries for Mounties saw them extend their lead to 22 points with seven minutes to go after Cornish scored one of his own after a dummy and side step saw him find space and cross. He converted his own try for a score line of 46-22.
Mounties scored their sixth unanswered try before the end of the game when Mataele scored his second of the game after another grubber was put through. Cornish again converted to make the final score 52-22.
Man of the Match: Glen Buttriss
Mounties 52 (Mataele 2, Tupou, Page, Nicholls, Hawkins, McCrone, Barnett, Cornish Tries; Cornish 8/9 Goals) defeated Wentworthville Magpies 22 (Gorman, Toutai, Nelson, Faraimo Tries; Henry 3/4)
