Round 16 Saturday 13th August
Warilla Gorillas vs Gerringong Lions
Author: Sophie Gleeson
On Saturday the 13th of August the Warilla Gorillas headed south to Michael Cronin Oval to take on first placed Gerringong Lions. Playing at the Lions home ground is always hard, keeping in mind they haven't lost at the Oval since 2019, that's three years worth of wins. The last time these teams met were in Round 7 at Cec Gleholmes Oval, where Gerringong had a very convincing 44-8 win over Warilla. I was lucky enough to speak to some of the boys before the game and it seemed they all had a "feeling" that it was about to be a good day and oh were they right...
For the first 14 minutes of play it was a lot of back and forth footy due to plenty of mistakes, both teams with multiple chances to add points to the board. However, it was the Lions who would score first after Rixon Russell's cross field kick. Unfortunately Mafu's position in relation to the sun was no help and the ball slipped through his fingers, giving Isaac Russell the opportunity to add four points for Gerringong. It was 25 minutes into the game when Warilla would have the chance to also get over the try line. Hughes played the ball to fresh legs Tyrone Roberts, Roberts found an open hole for Burns to charge through, with defenders ahead Burns made the quick decision to use support player Jones, who would make a 25 metre dash to put the ball down under the post, securing Warilla's first points of the afternoon. A few short minutes later Jake Goody made a hard run at the Lions defence, the ball was played by Tyrone Roberts who went short to Blair Grant reaching over the try line and scoring for the Gorillas. While doing so Grant dislocated his shoulder and was unfortunately not able to return. During the Grant's try, a Lions player was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes after he threw the ball at the referee.
Gerringong always find a way to sneak their way back in, which is exactly what they did when Rixon Russell found the chest of Kane Brennan who came free of Warilla defenders and offloaded to Corey Mulhall on the left edge where he was able to find a weakness in the Gorillas defence, adding 4 extra points for the Lions. It seemed as though these would be the final points of the half, but Warilla had other plans. After some Hughes magic, the ball was played by Beau Henry, who threw a long sharp pass to Roberts, he found Jones deep on his left, managing to come clear of the defenders and charge over the try line to bag his second try of the day. Roberts plays some of the best football I have witnessed, he is always two plays ahead and is extremely smart. The half time bell rang and Warilla were ahead 16-10. As a supporter it was extremely exciting to be going into the second half ahead, however, knowing how talented the Lions are and how quickly the game can be thrown upside down, the 6 point lead wasn't enough to make anyone feel comfortable.
The boys ran onto the field looking pumped, there was lots of talk between team mates and this energy was evident on field. Just 12 minutes in, Warilla had one of the first opportunities to score in the second half. The ball was played by Hughes just 15m out, he swung the ball left to Roberts, Roberts found Nelson who tried to step past the Lions defenders, however, was taken to ground. Hughes once again played the ball to Roberts who grubbered the ball which deflected off a Gerringong defender and back in the hands of Tyrone Roberts where he crashed over the try line. Henry successfuly converted the try and Warilla was up 22-10 with 26 minutes remaining.
Warilla's defence was impeccable, the Lions had multiple attacking chances and came close to their line numerous times, the Gorillas held them out time and time again. You could hear the screams and directions from the players from the opposite end of the field. It was quite evident that over the past 3 rounds of play that the teamwork they have displayed is second to none. Every single player that ran onto the field played their part and supported those around them. When I mentioned the magic of Roberts, it was clearly displayed in the 57th minute when he hunted down the ball and intercepted between two attacking Lions players. He took off flying for 60 metres, the Lions were on the chase but Roberts was too quick, he was over for the second time in this match. It was only a few short plays later, when Warilla would be over again. This time Brisbane played the ball 15m out directly under the post to Hughes, Hughes reached Roberts and the ball then found the hands of Nelson who crept his way through two defenders and put the ball down for a 32-10 win against the Lions. What a valiant effort by the Gorillas who kept Gerringong scoreless in the second half.
I can’t fault any of the 17 players who stepped onto the field, everyone put in the work. The defensive pressure forced mistakes and our attacking was unstoppable. The Gorillas used every attacking opportunity to secure points. A huge mention to Tyson Brown for his great defensive pressure in the middle and Jake Brisbane who has abundance of talent, an amazing playmaker and a great team mate. I spoke with Brisbane after the win, he said it was "obviously great to beat Gerringong especially down there", he mentioned that "the energy at half time was good, everyone was trying to catch their breathe back, so all ears were to the coaches", Brisbane hopes to "bring that defensive mindset and patience in the next two games". The Warilla Gorillas won the Darryl Staples Shield, which has been won by Gerringong 10 times and on Saturday the Gorillas claimed it for the 7th time.
The importance going into the next two weeks is to continue the teamwork, for everyone to attend the designated training sessions and do it for each other. It has been a major difference in the past 3 weeks and when you can get the teamork element right (which they have) the defence and attacking element come effortlesly. I myself, with all Warilla supporters are so proud of how well the boys did on the weekend. All four teams who have played over the last two weeks have come away with a win, it has been a great effort by our Senior Warilla Gorillas players, coaches and all involved.