Final round victory secures 3rd place
Monday, August 29, 2016
An almost perfect first 40 minutes ensured the Townsville & Districts Mendi Blackhawks finished the regular season with a win over the Norths Devils at Bishop Park on Sunday.
It was a match the Mendi Blackhawks needed to win to give themselves some momentum heading into the finals and win they did, with a convincing 9 tries to 4 victory over the Devils.
In what was a clinical first half performance from Kristian Woolf’s men, the Mendi Blackhawks went about their business scoring 28 unanswered points, with tries to Jonathon Reuben, Jahrome Hughes, Ray Thompon and Kyle Laybutt (2).
In the second half Hughes and Reuben racked up their doubles and Michael Parker-Walshe scored a double for himself in the final ten minutes of the match.
Despite the multitude of tries there was some disappointment for coach Woolf as defensive lapses in the second half led to three quick tries to the Devils.
“I think we had a solid 55-60 minutes where we played really well,” he said.
“We trained well all week, approached the match well and stuck to our game plan for the first half. Unfortunately, the second half wasn’t up to our usual standards.”
“Norths threw everything at us, thankfully we were up for the challenge.”
In a welcome return to form, prolific try-scorer Jonathon Reuben secured the title of Intrust Super Cup’s leading try scorer for 2016 with his two-try haul in the Round 25 match. Reuben finished the season on an impressive 18 tries from 14 matches.
The speedy winger has had an outstanding year to date and the Townsville side will need him to feature prominently in their 2016 finals charge.
The Mendi Blackhawks now turn their attention to a home Elimination Final against the Easts Tigers this Sunday at Jack Manski Oval. The match will also feature live on Channel 9 at 1:40pm. You can find ticket information here.
Images Courtesy of Vanessa Hafner – © vanessa 2016
