Round 15 Saturday 6th August
Warilla Gorillas v Berry Magpies
Author: Sophie Gleeson
Round 15 the Gorillas were up against the Magpies at Berry Showground, after a great victory in the previous round supporters were excited to see what the boys had up their sleeves.
This game was a great showcase of the Gorillas talent; with plenty of bit hits, huge line breaks and impressive tries, the team really worked together to create a masterpiece and really "put on a show". We also got to see the return of Blair Grant who has been out for the past 6 weeks due to injury.
The first points of the day went to Jamie Burns, after a Magpies player lost the ball, it fell into Burns arms and he charged towards the try line. The try was successfully converted by Henry and we were up 6-0 after 13 minutes of play. The Gorillas seemed unstoppable when Burns went over for a second time just one minute after, Burns smashed through four Magpies defenders to add extra points onto the scoreboard. The try was successfully converted and we were sitting at 12-0. Warilla showed enormous pressure when it came to defence, they came up quick off the line and you could hear the hits on the hill. However, 25 minutes into play, Berry's Soames found a small hole in the Gorillas defence, the try was successfully converted and the score was 12-6.
During the 28th minute the Magpies kicked a long bomb landing in the hands of Justin Jones who passed onto Koziie Mafu. He made a huge 40 metre run, beating mutliple defenders before being put to the ground. A few plays later, Lleyton Hughes scooped the ball up from dummy half and made a great line break, his eyes were for the try line, however, with a few defenders drifting towards him, Hughes quickly found Beau Henry, who not only scored for the Gorillas but also converted the try making it a 18-6 ball game with 10 minutes to go in the first half. Just a few minutes later Blair Grant used his magic and the ball was given to Darnell Walker, Walker took off with his quick speed and found a small gap in the Magpies defence, he added an extra 4 points to the board before half time. The Gorillas were not stopping before half time, they still had more to show. Nelson was one again unstoppable, he made a huge line break 30 metres out, he found support player Justin Jones, who flew across the try line cementing a 30-6 lead going into the sheds at half time.
While being on the sideline it felt like the side had a great vibe, all the boys had a smile on their faces, they had worked together for 40 minutes, the bench was in good spirits and the supporters were projecting positve commentary towards the players. With a lead as big as 30-6, it was important the Gorillas entered the second half with the same attitude, one of camaraderie.
The second half began and just 4 minutes in, it was Mafu who once again took off, stepping 3 defenders, at just 20 metres out he found Fullback Justin Jones who went over for the second time. Moments later, the Gorillas had the ball again and after a quick pass by Henry, Jones was off again stepping multiple defenders to make his third try of the day. It was definitely the Gorillas day, with so much posession they could not be stopped. After Jones third try, it was the man Jamie Burns time to bag his third, crashing over the line, after a quick play by Roberts and Grant. The try was succesfully converted by Henry and the score was 44-6, 49 minutes in. The boys were putting on an absolute show and it was clear Fullback Jones was not finished there, after a huge linebreak by Grant, offloading to Mafu, Jones was in support, when the defenders moved towards Mafu he quickly passed to Jones who was over AGAIN. Unfortunately, after this try a player from the Magpies gave Jones an elbow to the face, Tyrone Roberts retaliated after watching his team mate get hit and was sent off for 10 minutes.
During this period of time in the game there were HUGE hit ups by both Henry and Goody. These hit ups caused the Magpies to create mistakes, meaning more posession for the Gorillas. After a penalty for Warilla in the 63rd minute, Matt Murray made a massive run, playing the ball to quick thinking Hughes who found the hands of playmaker Brisbane. Brisbane found Liam Quinn who shot through the middle and put the ball under the post, the score following the try was 56-6. Despite the amount of posession and attacking undertaken by the Gorillas it was evident on the sideline that they still had more to give, they were relaxed and knew they were in the clear, maybe they thought adding as many points as they could, could benefit them in for and against? The boys packed the scrum 4 minutes after Quinn's try and the ball found a charging Brisbane, Grant was not far behind in support who received the ball of Brisbane. Jones once again used his speed and good footwork to outsmart Magpies defenders and scored on the left hand side, the score was then 60-6, the conversion as unsucessful. Only a quick 2 minutes later, Lleyton played the ball, striking Guy Rosewarn, a man on a machine, one I wouldn't like to be up against, he bumped off two defenders and offloaded to a flying Jones about 50 metres from the try line, however, he couldn't be touched and he scored his SIXTH try of the day. After Jones final try the score was 66-6 and the Mercy Rule was put into place, meaning the game was abandoned in the 70th minute.
I spoke to returning halfback Blair Grant about Round 15. He said he "felt really good to be back playing with the boys, it's been tough watching from the sideline the last 6 weeks". I asked him how they managed to get away with such a big win, Grant responded with "I think we just worked really well as a team, everybody was playing for each other and concentrating on their own individual jobs". Next week the Gorillas take on 1st placed Gerringong Lions, I asked Grant what they were looking to focus on going into next week, he replied "going into Gerringong, main focus will be just to build off that performance and continue to do the little things right, also lots of work will go into our ruck defence as that's where Gerringong really ty to exploit you". After having to use the Mercy Rule on the Magpies, I wondered if it was a good feeling, Grant said "Marins aren't always everything it was just nice to see our shape really start coming together because that's something we work really hard on at training, in saying that though the margin is a bonus coming towards the end of the year with the top 4 so tight, for and against might play a big part".
I want to commend the Warilla Gorillas on their performance over the last few games, especially Round 15. It has been clear they have come together as a team and that they are really finding a good balance between team work and doing what they are required themselves. This Saturday 13th August the Warilla Gorillas take on Gerringong Lions at Gerringong. This will be a HUGE game, however, we still have about 3-4 key players unavailable, therefore, it is so important that the 17 perform at their best. Either way the Gorillas supporters are super proud of the direction Warilla is going in.