Game Wrap – Mendi Blackhawks vs Toyota Cowboys Trial 14 Feb 2015

Monday, February 16, 2015

The Townsville & Districts Mendi Blackhawks played their first ever home game over the weekend against the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys at Jack Manski Oval in front of a healthy but damp home crowd of around 2000. The rain again played a major part in our second trial game as it did in Cairns the previous weekend. Heavy downpour just before kick-off and rain on and off during the game left the field waterlogged and made conditions difficult for both sides. Football Operations Manager Adrian Thomson said “We were really pleased with the crowd, however from an operational point of view the rain certainly tested our facilities. We will learn from it and come up with some new solutions moving forward.” 

The Mendi Blackhawks were impressive with a strong showing in the first two quarters, leading at the end of both the first quarter and half time. Micheal Parker-Walshe scored the first try for the home side at the 12th minute. Cowboys hit back through Javid Bowen and the Mendi Blackhawks lead 6-4 at quarter time. An impressive runaway try in the second quarter to Mitch Seri proved a hit with the vocal home crowd. Cowboys followed this effort with a dummy half try to Cameron King and the score was 12-10 leading into half-time.  

The game remained close until the end of the third quarter. With the Cowboys the only team to score during the third quarter and fourth quarters with a tries to Kyle Feldt, Andrew Niemoeller and Viliame Kikau. Heavy rain in the second half of the game lead to handling errors from both teams. The final score was 24-12 to the Cowboys.

The game was the first hit out for the full Mendi Blackhawks squad with many of the contracted players not taking part in the Cairns trial the previous weekend. Despite not coming away with a win there were many positives to come from the game especially given the depth and strength of the competition. 

Coach Kristian Woolf was happy with the team’s performance and also the quality of the trial, “All the players got in some good minutes and that game time under their belts is important moving into our first round. I thought there was some really notable performances, particularly from Jahrome Hughes, Rhyse Martin, Mitch Seri and Wayne Ulugia.”

“We still have some work to get done before our first game of the Intrust Super Cup but I think we are well on our way.”

Cowboys – 24  (Tries: Javid Bowen, Cameron King, Kyle Feldt, Andrew Niemoeller, Viliame Kikau; Conversions: Kyle Feldt, Cooper Bambling) defeated Blackhawks – 12 (Tries: Micheal Parker-Walshe, Mitch Seri; Conversions: Mitch Seri 2)