Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles suffered a 30-26 loss to Mounties at GIO Stadium today in round 23 of the Canterbury Cup.
Michael Oldfield opened up the scoring for the Mounties six minutes in, making an easy run through a gap in the Blacktown defence from 20 metres out.
Three minutes later and it was the Blacktown Workers who were able to come up with the next try. Jade Anderson made a break down the sideline to put his side in great field position assisting centre Tim Simona to cross the line just moments later.
In an odd fashion, Mounties halfback Brendan O’Hagan kicked a loose ball towards the wing which was pounced on by Tony Satini to extend their lead.
The Mounties continued with their momentum scoring five minutes later through five-eighth Sam Williams for a 14-4 lead.
The contest was quite physical and fairly even in what was starting to feel more like a tennis match, but it was the Mounties who were eventually able to wear down the Blacktown defence.
Mounties' Royce Hunt was almost untouched as he bolted through a gap in their defensive line to score 32 minutes into the game with Tony Satini also crossing for the Mounties in the right corner just moments later for a 26-4 lead at half-time.
The Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles had a rough start to the second half, with the kick off going out on the full giving the Mounties an early advantage.
The Mounties were unable to capitalise on their advantage, and Blacktown were able to escape with the help of a penalty getting them out of trouble.
Their defensive efforts were eventually rewarded when Tyler Cassel crossed the line for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles six minutes into the second half.
The visitors were hungry to get back into the competition with back to back tries from Tyler Cassel and Jade Anderson in a matter of minutes to take the score to 26-20.
With 15 minutes remaining and only a converted try the difference, it was anyone’s game, but it was through Blacktown’s Tyler Cassel’s third try of the day that leveled the scores setting up an exciting finish.
Mounties' Sebastian Kris was able to storm through the visitors’ defence with a strong run to extend the Mounties lead to 30 – 26 with 10 minutes remaining.
Blacktown’s Cade Cust was sent to the sin bin with a minute remaining with Mounties holding on for victory.
Match report - Laura Gale
