The two dominant Sydney sides in 2003 have been the third placed Fairfield Stallions and the fourth placed Hawkesbury Mavericks. Whilst Fairfield have stunned everyone, Hawkesbury have lived up to expectations after last year’s Premier League wooden spoon. The winner of this match would face premiership favourites, Capetown.
Hawkesbury Mavericks Fairfield Stallions
1 Brett Hodgson 1 Aaron Mercer
2 Matthew Rieck 2 David Hodgson
3 Joe Roff 3 Phillipe Bernat-Salles
4 Wise Kativerata 4 Danny Bampton
5 Marc Stcherbina 5 Rupeni Caucaunibuca ©
6 Karle Hammond 6 Matt Crowther
7 Mick Van Der Wall 7 Martin Crompton
8 Solomon Haumona 8 Matt Kennedy
9 Patrick Varune © 9 Aaron Raper
10 Barrie McDermott 10 Laurent Carrasco
11 Ben Roarty 11 Shayne McMenemy
12 Anthony Himmler 12 Steve Bell
13 Inoke Ratudina 13 Scott Magro
++Interchange
14 Darren Treacy 14 Danny Sculthorpe
15 Adam Perry 15 Jarod O'Doherty
16 Maleky O'Connor 16 Darrell Trindall
17 Adrian Lam 17 Mick Higham
Hawkesbury were clearly the dominant side in the early stages of the clash, the likes of Patrick Varune and Anthony Himmler drawing on their Premier League finals experience from last year (Varune with fourth placed Manly and Himmler with last year’s minor premiers, Central). It didn’t take long for the Mavericks to make an impression on the scoreboard either, Joe Roff capitalising on some lazy Caucaunibuca defence at marker to score a soft opener. Thankfull for Fairfield, Hodgson missed the conversion, and the scoreboard read 4-0 after five minutes.
Hawkesbury could do no wrong, it seemed, and everything they touched turned to an opportunity. Whether it was Van Der Wall slicing through the middle with a left footed step or Roff breaking way down the sideline- Fairfield seemed unable to combat the ruthless Hawkesbury attack. Likewise, they struggled to crack the Mavericks’ line, with Roarty, McDermott, and Varune continually repelling raids.
It all came down to execution, for both sides. Whilst Hawkesbury squandered some excellent opportunities- the Stallions just made funademental errors on their own line. The spectactle soon devolved, with fans agitated at both sides’ inability to control the ball. Danny Sculthorpe and David Hodgson gave the Fairfield faithful and league fans in general plenty to cheer in the 38th. The English star, Sculthorpe, strode out of an attempted Lam tackle and found David Hodgson on the outside. The pacy winger, playing in the run on for the first time, raced away to score out wide despite the attentions of Matthew Rieck. The conversion was missed, but as halftime approached it was 4 all despite Hawkesbury’s dominance of possession and field position.
HALFTIME: Hawkesbury 4 level with Fairfield 4
Hawkesbury were the first to cross the whitewash after half-time, the quicksilver Maleky O’Connor shimmying through some weak defence and racing away with only Caucaunibuca a chance of catching him. The big Fijian did more than catch the little Irishman, he monstered him and forced the youngster to drop the ball.
After such a dominant year, it seemed sadly ironic that Scott Magro have a nightmare game in Fairfield’s most important to date. On top of his shocking first half, Magro conceded possession from the resulting scrum when he dropped the ball cold fifteen out. Hawkesbury needed only one tackle to make the Stallions pay, Himmler powering over from the tap to score another soft try. This time, closer to the posts, Hodgson had no trouble. 10-4 big buddy. The Mavericks looked the goods.
Two minutes later. Another Fairfield mistake, this time through Laurent Carassco, and another try to the Mavericks. It was almost identical to the one preceding it- this time retiree Darren Treacy crashing over despite the attentions of Danny Sculthorpe and Aaron Raper. Hodgson was again able to convert, and the Stallions- down 16-4- now had a mammoth task if they wanted to pull back the game and have a crack at promotion.
The call went out from outspoken coach, Brian Randell, and the Mavericks’ strategies changed drastically. What had been slick, open attack changed suddenly into a grinding defensive machine. The entertaining plays seen only minutes before gave way to stinging defence and routine sets of six.
For about ten minutes, it seemed to be working perfectly. It was then that Aaron Raper and Aaron Mercer chose to inject themselves. Raper, an underrated hooker, began to make dummy half darts that made easy metres- whilst Mercer’s pace gave the Fairfield backs plenty to work with everytime he got into space. It was again finishing that prevented Fairfield from scoring a crucial try- with big name signing, Phillipe Bernat-Salles, struggling to hold onto the ball under the pressure of Rieck’s defence. Hawkesbury’s brutal defence was not fautless, and the side gave away too many stupid penalties for everything from lazy marker defence to lifting tackles.
In the 66th, Fairfield seemed to have struck gold with another attacking raid, but somehow Brett Hodgson got underneath David Hodgson to prevent the Stallions from scoring a crucial try. With Hawkesbury frittering away possession with routine sets- it seemed only a matter of time before good old desperation got Fairfield on the board. Promising runs from Danny Sculthorpe and Scott Magro failed to produce dividends- but another penalty put Fairfield five out. It took all five tackles, but eventually Newcastle bound Mick Highham smashed his way across to score a crucial try. The Mavericks now looked less comfortable, Scott Magro’s conversion making it 16-10.
If the try lifted Fairfield’s spirits, David Hodgson killed them, throwing an obviously forward pass as the side mounted another raid. Dangerous Maleky O’Connor almost made them pay again- but was again dragged down by his constant companion- Caucaunibuca. Hawkesbury seemed content to wind the clock down, and did so quite well up until the 76th minute. Another penalty put Fairfield where they wanted to be, and Aaron Raper weaved his way over after taking the tap. The fans were ecstatic at the prospect of extra time- but Scott Magro narrowly missed the conversion and left it at 16-14 with three minutes of play remaining. Could Hawkesbury hold on and keep their dream of readmission to Premier League alive?
Nerves, the old enemy of every favourite, came back to haunt Hawkesbury. The Stallions were able to make seventy metres off their return set- and after some frantic passing on the line- the ball found pacy Steven Bell who scored the possibly match winning try. Scott Magro added injury to insult by converting- and suddenly it was 20-16 in favour of Fairfield and Hawkesbury looked out on their feet. The influx of forwards for the defensive ploy meant all of their playmakers were benched. Lam and Hammond rushed back onto the field in hopes of scoring a late try and stealing the game.
It didn’t happen, but it came close, Patrick Varune again menacing the defence before being hit high and late. The tap came to nought, Maleky O’Connor pushed back easily by some big hitting forward.
FULLTIME
Fairfield 20
David Hodgson
Steven Bell
Aaron Raper
Mick Higham
Magro 2/4
def.
Hawkesbury 16
Darren Treacy
Anthony Himmler
Joe Roff
Hodgson 2/3
PoM Points
Aaron Raper 3
David Hodgson 2
Maleky O’Connor 1
After the game a slightly down Brian Randell trundled out for a press conference.
"Congradulations must go to Fairfield, anyone who can pull it out like that is amazing. I would also like to thank the fans of Hawkesbury and the club and administration for supporting me this year through thick and thin. We all look forward to a successful off season and a return to Hawkesbury glory once more."
After the press conference Randell was seen sneaking into the dressing sheds of the Falcons where he was said to be celebrating the night away with Michael Magro. The two were seen smoking cigares and comsuming copious amounts of alcohol. The morning after Randell found himself with a new car and a new home courtesy of a 'bonus' he had recieved. Mavericks officials when asked had no idea what we were talking about.
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Michael Magro denies claims that he was involved in foul activity with Brian Randell.
"Look.. I wasn't with Brian Randell, after the match Anthony, David and I went to an All You Can Eat Kebab shop cause Anthony was depressed after the Falcons lost. My god he is a fat shit, he ate 6 kebabs with Homus, Taboulih, Garlic Sauce, Tomato... feckin everything and then he ate about 15 Bakalava."
