UWA will not defend their premiership title after being hustled out of the 2012 Pindan Premier Grade competition by Cottesloe in today’s minor semi-final.
Cottesloe piled on four unanswered tries in the first half but dropped their intensity in the second, giving UWA the opportunity to claw back the lead. Three successive tries for the students in the second half livened up the one sided game but Cottesloe held strong and advanced to the preliminaries with a 36-17 victory.
The Gulls coach Ian Fowler was thrilled with his side’s victory and credited their dominance in the first half.
“It was outstanding, we showed a lot of patience after those first few minutes where everyone was just trying to score as soon as they got it but to be able to put four tries on and show good control of the ball was great because that’s what we’ve been working on,” Fowler said.
“It was a bit heart stopping in the middle of that second half there where we let them right back into the game to their credit.
“In the second half we lost a bit of composure trying to go too wide too early and turned a fair bit of ball over trying to score too early in the phase count.”
Cottesloe will now battle it out with Associates for a Grand Final spot against Nedlands and Fowler said they will have their work cut out for them.
“There was a lot of intensity in that game yesterday; both teams came out really hard so we’re going to need to match that,” said Fowler
“They probably should have won that game yesterday and they’ll be pushing hard for that grand final berth as will we so it should be a good match up.”
UWA Coach Steve McFarland acknowledged his side’s slow start was detrimental to their game today but was pleased with their fight back in the second half.
“It was disappointing in the first half and in semi-finals you can’t allow a side to jump out to a 20 point lead and although we had a lot more endeavour and effort in the second half, it wasn’t enough,” McFarland said.
“There was a bit of lethargy in the first half and I think we spoke of getting out and having a crack and certainly that energy in the second half was significantly better than it was earlier in the game.”
Nerves seemed to plagues both teams in the opening ten minutes of the game as they traded possession numerous times courtesy of fumbled balls and ill-discipline at the break down.
Cottesloe regained their composure and began a punishing assault on the Uni defensive lines as Ryan Louwrens easily evaded a number of attempted tackles, sprinting down the wing to score the Gulls first. It was a tough angle to convert and Ed Melville was unable to add the extras.
Lock Nick Haining scored the second under the posts with perseverance paying off for the Gulls as they attacked the line through a number of phases then quickly spread the ball wide. Melville slotted the conversion with ease to give Cottesloe the 12-0 lead.
The Gulls continued to find the weak points in the student’s defence as Michael Scott claimed five points of his own when he scrambled over the try line. Melville’s boot was again on target and the lead extended to 19-0.
UWA had their opportunities to add to the scoreboard but Cottesloe’s defence was impenetrable.
With the half time break looming, Cottesloe were again rewarded for patience in their phase play as Sam Heinemann joined the try scorers list. Melville’s conversion saw them take a 26-0 lead at half time.
The pain continued for the reigning premiers in the second half as fullback Jared Cropper crossed the line in the opening minute. From the restart, Cottesloe took possession as they pulled the Uni defence in tight before spreading it wide again to find Cropper on the opposite wing.
Melville’s conversion wasn’t successful but Cottesloe were not concerned as their lead blew out to 31-0.
University pounced on Cottesloe’s over confidence and pulled themselves back into the game with three successive tries.
Flyhalf Alan Gaughan broke through the defensive line and stumbled over for UWA’s first points and with the successful conversion, took the scores to 31-7.
Just minutes later the student’s again drove the ball forward and after a number of phases scored their second through winger Kurt Penney. The third had the UWA supporters on their feet as Marc Casey eluded the Cottesloe defence and downed the ball in the corner to take his side to within 14 points with plenty of time on the clock.
UWA again began to move the ball out of their territory but a charge down slowed the momentum and Cottesloe kicked back into gear.
Tobias Hoskins sealed the preliminary final berth for his side, running the ball from the half way line to cross for Cottesloe’s sixth try of the game. T
The final siren sounded not long after, ending University’s finals campaign 36-17.