Ron Massey Cup Rnd 6 - Match Review

Feathers flew at Campbelltown last Saturday as the Asquith Magpies accounted for the Western Suburbs Magpies 38-26.

Western Suburbs opened the scoring on their first set of possession, with a left spread finding Mason Harrison in space, who dummied his way past Asquith custodian Kieran Vale to touch down under the posts. David Attua added the extras for a 6-0 Wests lead after 3 minutes.

Asquith didn’t take long to reply, with a dropped ball from the kick-off by Wests allowing Aaron Groom to dart across and around the Wests defence. Sione Ala slotted a booming touchline conversion to level the scores after just six minutes.

A long raking kick from Wests was dropped by Kieran Vale after seven minutes and from the ensuing set of six, Wests Tigers Holden Cup powerhouse Soni Paasi was too strong for four Asquith defenders. David Attua hit the post with his conversion attempt, Wests leading by four after ten minutes.

Asquith very nearly found space in the Wests line, only for referee Phil Sung to call back a forward pass. Asquith paid dearly for their error, with Wests winger Amanono Tovio recording his first of the season after a neat passing exchange. David Attua added the conversion to put Wests ten up after a quarter hour.

Both sides lacked for discipline and handling for the next 20 minutes, but it was Wests who broke their funk first, with a grubber through from Amanono Tovio missed by both Kieran Vale and Tala Mapesone, with new Wests signing Paul Simona on hand to ground the ball just inside the dead ball line. David Attua pushed the tricky conversion attempt wide, Wests taking their 20-6 lead through to the interval.

The handling woes of Wests continued into the second half with their second set of six being turned over to Ina Papera, who dodged and weaved his way to the line. Sione Ala added the two to close the gap to eight with 35 minutes to play.

Asquith backed up their good start with halfback Aaron Groom running into dummy half with Asquith on the Wests line, Groom darting across the field, leaving Seffa Silafau unable to keep up as Groom touched down. Sione Ala failed with the conversion, Wests holding an ever-decreasing four point break.

Wests refused to let their records across previous weeks come back to haunt them and new halfback Eddie Paea showed enormous determination to muscle his way through the much bigger Asquith defence to register his first try for 2013. David Attua successfully converted, and Wests extended their lead to 26-16.

Asquith needed to hit back quickly and halfback Aaron Groom showed why he is in the frame for Fijian World Cup selection at year’s end, bamboozling the Wests defence with another jinking run to score an acrobatic try. Sione Ala potted the two, and Wests lead was back to four.

The Wests defence was starting to show its’ now customary fatigue, and Asquith five-eight Jack Hawkins exposed some flimsy marker defence to touch down adjacent to the posts. Sione Ala added the simple conversion, and Asquith found themselves in front for the first time of the afternoon.

Asquith looked far more dangerous and a Jack Hawkins bomb was neatly plucked out of the air by Curtis Johnston, who managed to ground the ball despite the attention of his opposite number. Sione Ala pushed the tricky conversion wide, Asquith holding a delicate six point lead with as many minutes to play.

Asquith held their six point lead into the dying stages as Wests flung the ball wildly as the siren sounded. However, Adam Kalcina was on hand to pluck Dean Rysko’s no look pass from the air and race away to seal the game. Aaron Groom was successful with the conversion attempt, Asquith 38-26 victors.

For Asquith, Aaron Groom played with spiders on him, while Jack Hawkins and Mark Meredith also made big contributions, while for Wests, Dean Rysko, Paul Simona and Soni Paasi were the best among the vanquished.

Next weekend, Wests take on Kingsgrove at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, while Asquith head back to Storey Park to face off against Guildford on Sunday.

ASQUITH 38 (Aaron Groom 3, Ina Papera, Jack Hawkins, Curtis Johnston, Adam Kalcina tries; Sione Ala 4 from 6, Aaron Groom 1 from 1) defeated WESTERN SUBURBS 26 (Mason Harrison, Soni Paasi, Amanono Tovio, Paul Simona, Eddie Paea tries; David Attua 3 from 5)

Penalties: Wests 4 Asquith 7

Halftime: Wests 20 Asquith 6

Western Suburbs

5. Amanono Tovio
11. Jerome Mose
19. Paul Simona
21. Michael Mate
4. Tala Mapesone
7. David Attua
15. Eddie Paea
18. Soni Paasi
9. Joel Jasmine
8. Dean Rysko (C)
12. Mason Harrison
13. Tom Morrison
20. Adrian Haangana

10. Seffa Silafau
14. Matiasi Toutai
16. Sonny Bristow
17. Matt Jones


Asquith
1. Kieran Vale
2. Curtis Johnston
3. James Workman
4. Adam Kalcina
5. Sione Ala
6. Jack Hawkins
7. Aaron Groom
8. Dylan Montgomery
9. Luke Jay
10. Mark Meredith
11. Brendan Hurd
12. Joel Latham
13. Ryan Wheeler

14. Ina Papera
15. Mat Hurd
16. Josh Nichols
17. Greg Nichols

By Keith Topolski