Sport
8 March, 2022
Tough first trial games for Roosters and Gladiators
THE first 2022 pre-season rugby league trial match has seen the Atherton Senior Roosters first grade side battle through uncomfortable conditions against the Herbert River Crushers at Ingham on Saturday.
The Crushers took the points 32-22 in the hot steamy conditions that even had the Ingham faithful complaining about the humidity level.
Errors from the Roosters in the opening exchanges allowed the Crushers to cross for three tries in the first 20 minutes and lead 16- 0.
Centre Keyarn Porter found the line for the Roosters first try five minutes from halftime and the Crushers took a 16-6 lead to the break.
The beginning of the final 40 minutes mirrored the first, with the Crushers going over for three more tries and pushing the score out to 32-6 with 25 minutes remaining.
But to their credit, the Roosters staged an impressive comeback in the dying stages to finish full of running and deliver three late tries on the back of some enterprising play.
Adam Molloy, Ty Grogan and new speedster Favour Kazum all got their first four pointers for the new season.
While several regulars were missing from Saturday’s line-up in Ingham, there was plenty of positives in the performance of the youngsters promoted for the tri-colours first 2022 hit out.
The Mareeba Gladiators shook out their cobwebs before heading into the 2022 season, facing off against Ivanhoes on Saturday night, going down 46-14.
With ex-Gladiator and former Northern Pride player Chris Sheppard at the helm, the Gladiators are looking to improve off last year’s performances however the first trial match of the season didn’t go as planned.
The Gladiators have put a focus on local recruitment this season and debuted seven new players into the A-grade side. Ivanhoes looked in good form in front of the Gladiators home crowd as they put on nearly 50 points against the home side.
All the pre-season trial action heads to Atherton’s Mungalli Creek Dairy Stadium this Saturday with the Senior Roosters hosting the Mareeba Gladiators in three grades from 4pm.
