Premier report courtesy Bernhard Brewman
The JBAA Premiers concluded their 2019 campaign with a 37-21 victory over the visiting Nanaimo Hornets at a crisp and cold MacDonald Park on Saturday afternoon.
JBAA led 24-0 at halftime courtesy tries from JC Fidinde, Jake Slobodian, and a brace from Nathan Tough. Thomas Burton succeeded with two of four conversions.
The first twenty minutes of the first half saw most play take place between the forty metre lines. All of JBAA’s first half scores came as a result of sustained pressure in midfield followed by either clean or filthy breaks through the Hornet’s defence.
At eight minutes, JC breaks off the JBAA Blue Crush, and dances his way through a number of Hornets, touching down to the left of the posts. Thomas can’t convert. At fifteen minutes, from the forty, Mike Nieuwenhuysen steps, jaunts, and fends before finding a speeding Nathan Tough on his outside. Tough shows Nanaimo a clean set of heels as he dots down under the posts. Thomas converts.
At twenty minutes, play stops thanks to a bit of tussle between Mike Nieuwenhuysen and his opposite number. Everyone gets involved. A few fists fly. A few attempted insults are thrown. But cooler heads ultimately prevail. What follows is something we’re still scratching our heads about this morning:
The referee and his assistant engage in discourse for quite some time. A punch was definitely thrown, a punch definitely connected, and as a result, someone has to see red. Unfortunately, no one knows who tossed said punch. The referee asks for the responsible party to step forward, but no one does, so Blake van Heyningen, showing leadership and taking ownership, submits and accepts the red card – albeit, not too quietly. We’ll wait to see the film for who really was responsible, but for now, kudos to Blake for doing what needed to be done. He enjoyed some fried chicken courtesy famed Vic West eatery, Chicken on the Run, earlier than usual on Saturday.
At twenty-six minutes, with the combined penalty count now nearing the twenties, Jim de Goede, looking faster than ever, draws in a number of defenders before finding Nathan Tough in support. Nathan scores again with Thomas slotting the conversion.
At thirty-six minutes, after a number of phases, Jake Slobodian boshes his way in to score. Thomas can’t convert. 24-0 JBAA at the half.
Just minutes into the second half, Mitch Sora works the ball to JC who finds Alex Jordan who gains an extra twenty metres. Rhys Gregory provides quick ball from the base of the ruck to Thomas, who, for some odd reason, grubbers when he has numbers outside. The play is destined to result in a twenty-two metre drop out, but Nathan Tough again shows off his wheels, and beats the Hornet to the ball, touching down. The fourteen-man Bays lead 29-0.
The Hornets get on the board eight minutes in with a converted try after sustained possession and pressure. At fifteen minutes, though, Nanaimo sees yellow. Fourteen aside now, and three minutes later, Tough scores one last time from about halfway. Credit to Bays front row Nico Krawczyk, for tossing a perfect pass, finding Tough early and with space. 34-7 Bays.
Noah Barker sees yellow shortly thereafter. With respect to both sides, the second half of the match is a bit of a mess. Play deteriorates a bit, favouring Nanaimo’s style of play. The penalties continue, and the stoppages are frequent. Credit to the Hornets for scoring two more tries with the low winter sun now practically set at a dark MacDonald Park. The Bays scored three last points via penalty, to ensure no late-match heroics from the Hornets, making the final score 37-21.
Credit to the JBAA forward pack for adjusting for the last hour after Blake saw red. The lineout was impressive on the day, but unfortunately there was little fluidity in the match. The backs did well to create something from nothing with the ball they saw on the day as well. And credit to Nanaimo for putting up a good fight and showing a lot of grit to fight back in the second half.
First Division report courtesy the Black Rat
Prior to the Premier Game which was part of the Barnard Cup challenge, the visiting Nanaimo Hornets played a spirited exhibition game against the JBAA premier reserve squad.
The Bays opened the scoring early when Todd Wilson notched a tally just four minutes into the match. The JT Boehme convert made it 7-nil. Jordan Austin scored the second try for the home team to make it 12-0. Although the visiting Hornets were coming downhill, they remained penned in their own half for the first twenty minutes of the game. A Nanaimo interception changed that as the interceptor went on a serious 50 metre ramble before being run down by the cross cover. A series of JBAA penalties at this stage allowed a Nanaimo forward to eventually crash over for a try to tighten the score at 12-5.
A scant 5 minutes later the Bays' captain, Mitch Pye, dazzled the crowd with a scintillating run to make it a 19-5 scoreline following the JT conversion. Ford scored in the corner as half time approached, giving the Bays their fourth try. Then just before the half time whistle, the husky home team forwards got into the act with Mac Greed leaping in for the score after being dished the ball from the rumbling Andrew McPherson to make it 31-5 for JBAA at half.
Starting the second half with the same tempo as the first session, the Navy Blue struck early with an Andrew MacDonald score after a multi-phased attack coming down the slope. Scoreboard ticked to 38-5. At 8 minutes into the half the JBAA coaches inserted an impact sub into the match in the form of Jacobus de Goede. Jake promptly made the highlight reel with a disturbingly monstrous tackle on a Nanaimo player and then promptly stole the ball from the body on the ground and dished to Etienne Roberts who streaked the length of the field for an 80 metre score between the posts. It was a classic Dutch Hammer moment. The assault continued as one of the Bays giant Kiwis made a break and dished to Bays' fullback Riley Cunningham to make it 50-5. Then a Mac Greed circus pass to lumbering Kerry Park brought the score to 57-5 after the convert by Todd Wilson.
The Dutch Hammer continued the relentless assault as he powered through the game Nanaimo defenders for yet another score. 62-5. The final score of the game was scored by a large Kiwi in a James Bay jersey. The last convert of the game was clogged through by Mitch Pye, to the approval of fans and players alike. 71-5 as the whistle signalled full time.
Photo courtesy and thanks to https://www.facebook.com/John-Richardson-Images-1437339886515074/