Cockatoos swat Darwin Mozzies
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008
NSWCRU Media Release
The NSW Country Cockatoos blew the Darwin Mosquitoes off the park with a comprehensive 71-0 win in their third match of the 2008 Australian Rugby Shield in Warren.
Australian Rugby Shield
Australian Rugby Shield
After weathering an early onslaught which saw the Mosquitoes lose the ball over the line and miss two penalty kicks, the Cockatoos slipped into gear.
An eleven-try blitz saw the scoreline blowout, with the Mosquitoes fate sealed at half-time with the score at 26-0.
Any chance the Mosquitoes had of getting back into the match went out the door, when the Cockatoos scored 17 points in the opening five minutes of the second half.
The Cockatoo forwards again laid the platform for the win, with No.8 Mike Te Moana and flanker John Norton leading the charge. Both players crossed for two tries with Norton never off the ball and Te Moana causing havoc with crashing runs.
Scrumhalf Luke Sullivan enjoyed the excellent service enabling him give a clean supply of ball to the free-running Cockatoo backs, and was voted players' player. Teenage fullback Blake Creighton revelled in the free-flowing match making numerous long runs, two of which resulted in him scoring tries.
The Cockatoo backs had a field day, scoring seven of the eleven tries and looking dangerous on every occasion they had possession of the ball.
Darwin never threw in the towel, but other than for the opening ten minutes of the match they were completely outclassed by the Cockatoos.
The Cockatoos defence was again first rate, with Darwin's limited attacking opportunities snuffed out with bone jarring tackles.
David Kennedy piloted over eight conversions to finish the day with 16 points, which keeps him in the top bracket of ARS pointscorers.
The win keeps the Cockatoos undefeated record in tack, and sets up a grand final style finish against Adelaide in Adelaide next week.
NSW Country Cockatoos 71 (Blake Creighton 2, John Norton 2, Mike Te Moana 2, Paul Dan, Dwayne de Vries, Heath Riggs, Marcus Simpson, Richie Steele tries; David Kennedy 8 cons) d Darwin Mosquitos 0 at Ocean Park, Woonona.
Standings: QLD Country 15, NSW Country 13, Adelaide, 5, Darwin 4, Melbourne 1.