Mebourne come up short but secure a bonus point

By Matt Derbyshire

From the off it became apparent that Southwell were looking to play a fast and abrasive game putting in some big hits and clearing rucks at an unusually fast pace. Some big tackles were being put in by both teams but loose passes from Melbourne led to some early pressure by Southwell and a penalty for Melbourne driving over at the ruck.

Southwell kicked to the corner and set up a rolling maul and Southwell's rampaging openside Half went over for the early score which was converted by Hunt 7-0.

Southwell continued to pressure Melbourne for most of the half but Melbourne were well disciplined with enough in defence to hold firm. Melbourne were not up to speed and slow to react with injuries having yet again meant a shuffle in the backline and the talented Iliffe moving to fly half.

However, the greens struggled with their overall kicking game and this allowed Southwell to maintaon pressure as kicks failed to find the target or touch.

Southwell were pressing for more points and their hooker appeared to illegally turnover the ball as he failed to release the tackled player yet Melbourne were penalised at the breakdown and were marched back 10 metres for dissent. Enabling Southwell to kick 3 points 10-3 after 15 minutes who in fairness were good for every point.

Melbourne got some points on the board after a turnover in midfield saw good play a e quick thinking from Melbourne spotting a shorthanded defence on the blind side and a smart pass saw Howard use his pace to split the defence and score under the posts. 10-7.

Next up Southwell's captain sped through a gap in the Melbourne defence and scored out wide, Hunt missed the conversion 15-7.

Melbourne could not get a grip of the game and yet made Southwell.

Momemtum was with Southwell and soon the openside Hart powered through the defence to score his second of the day, missed conversion 20-7.

Melbourne had kept themselves in the game wothout playing to their standards and sensing that this game could get away from them the Greens stepped up a gear.

Taking a lineout on Southwell's 22 metre line Melbournes 8 broke off the back and caught Southwell napping bulldozing through their defence, conversion made HT score 20-14.

The second half ensued with Hall moved into second row for his first appearance of the season. Southwell's prop caught the ball and collided at a pace with Melbourne's Nugget who was flattened in the collision but without injury.

The match entered a bit of stalemate, Melbourne dominated the set pieces including the scrum and applied plenty of pressure. Melbournes pack were starting to ramp up the performance and intensity causing Southwell problems that affected their discipline.

Melbourne had a penalty and went to kick for the corner to continue their momentum and pressure but the touch was missed and southwell's Hunt ran back the kick to just inside the Southwell half and some neat passing and offloads by a series of forwards saw Southwell score.

Melbourne were pressing again soon after and a deliberate act of knocking the ball out of bounds resulted in a 5 metre lineout Southwell didnt engage but Melbourne were aware of this ploy and rather embarrassingly the catcher bullocked his way through the defence and ran unopposed to the line.

Southwells openside sealed a perfect day with his hat trick score which saw a number of defenders beaten roo easily and took the score to 32-19.

Cresswell and Ballington were introduced and Melbourne continued to battle and fight. To the players credit they kept coming at Southwell a poor lineout saw Melbourne score in the corner 32-24 which also ended Fosters game as the grounding resulted in a dislocated shoulder for his efforts. This piled the pressure on the home side and things were a bit nervy and Melbourne looked as though they could snatch something from Southwell with a bit more pressure and luck. A poor offload by southwell saw the ref award a penalty deep into the Southwell 22 only for a reckless stamp from a Melbourne player reversing the penalty essentially sniffing out the last bit of hope for Melbourne.

The performance was gritty but poor by our own standards. Southwell deserved the win.