The Shoals played at home again on Saturday in Round 3 of the Illawarra Rugby competition when they played Wollongong Tech Waratahs. There was a pretty good crowd on hand to watch the games in very good conditions, with the ground recovering very well after the first round game which was played in pouring rain on a very wet field.
The Shoals came away with victories in both Firsts and Seconds which was a great club result, and bodes well for the rest of the season.
In First Grade the Shoals won the game 52-14, and played some great structured rugby against a Tech Tahs side that found it difficult to combat the vastly improved Shoals set piece. It has been a number of years since we have seen the shoals scrum shunting other packs backwards, and the Shoals line out dominating their opponents, and it was a sight for sore eyes for some of the older Shoals supporters in the crowd.
With the forwards doing their job to set a good platform, the Shoals backs were allowed the freedom to use their pace and get outside the larger less mobile Tech Tahs players. In the end the Shoals scored 8 tries which were shared equally between the backs and the forwards. The Shoals rolling maul from the line out was very effective, and despite the Tech Tahs having size on their Shoals opponents, the great technique was enough to put them away.
The good news for coach Paul Connor is that his side probably left quite a lot of points on the field with a number of dropped balls with the line open and wayward passing in the halves making it difficult to get the ball over the line in the first half. Best players for Shoals were prop Will Ridley and Number 8 George Miller who was absolutely everywhere during the game. In the backs, captain Steve Brandon had his usual excellent game.
Shoals head to Wollongong University on Saturday to take on a Uni side who have had a tough start to the season with 2 away losses to Bowral and Shamrocks. The Shoals haven’t had a great record away from home over the past few seasons, and this game will give an indication on whether the Shoals re the real deal in 2021.
In the seconds game, Shoals absolutely dominated Tech Tahs to come away with a 47-0 victory. It was a very strong looking Shoals side that took the field, with no less then 6 of last years First Grade side in seconds due to the depth the club has this season.
The Shoals scrum was solid and the backs looked very polished as they put away a weakened Tech Tahs side (due to injuries caused by some brutal Shoals defence).
In the second row, Kain Curtain had an absolute blinder and his strong carries and great backing up was very impressive. Front rower Hayden Callahan was also strong in the tight.
Five eight Kieran Brandon controlled the play very well and centre Dave Priestman was elusive every time he got the ball.
With both sides putting in such a strong performance it will be vital for all players to get to training to secure their place in the starting side.