Blackhawks hold out spirited Capras
Monday, May 16, 2016
Both the Townsville & Districts Mendi Blackhawks and the CQ Capras stood side by side as the sounds of the didgeridoo kicked off a fitting Welcome to Country ceremony led by representatives from the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people during the opening of 2016 Indigenous Round celebrations at Jack Manski Oval.
It was the club’s chance to recognize the traditional owners of the land and also recognize and celebrate Indigenous players and culture. The Mendi Blackhawks took to the field in special edition Indigenous jerseys that were designed in consultation with Wulgurukaba and Bindal representatives.
It took just thirteen minutes for the Mendi Blackhawks to skip out to a 12 nil lead with Noel Underwood showing strength to force his way over for the first and Hezron Murgha showing a clean pair of heels to cross for the second.
The CQ Capras however were certainly not willing to lie down. The visitors scored two tries within seven minutes to narrow the home side’s lead to just two points and then muscled up with some outstanding defence to deny the Mendi Blackhawks several try-scoring opportunities.
Scores were 12-10 with just twelve minutes to play in the first half when the Mendi Blackhawks finally found a crack in the Capras defence as Samson O’Neill crossed for the final points of the first half. The home side went to the break 16-10 leaders after close first forty minutes.
The second half saw Rhyse Martin find his way to the line with some impressive evasive moves before Noel Underwood followed suit, running onto a Kyle Laybutt short ball to score his second try of the match.
The Capras were next to score through Gavin Hiscox taking the score to 28-16 giving the visitors a strong chance with seventeen minutes left to play.
Kyle Laybutt made things more difficult for the Capras after he slotted a penalty right in front extending the Mendi Blackhawks lead to more than two converted tries.
The Blackhawks were the final team to score just two minutes prior to full time after Hezron Murgha finished off a strong performance with a double.
The final result in Indigenous Round was 34-16 to the Mendi Blackhawks.
“Whilst I felt we were a little bit rusty at times after a week off and a disrupted week with players returning late from Rep duties, it was good to grind out a tough win against a side that is going to be a real danger side in this competition.” Coach Kristian Woolf said following the match.
“It was also great to get Ray Thompson back out on the field and playing some good footy after a long term injury.”
In exciting news fans now have the opportunity to bid on the actual playing jerseys worn in our Round 10 Intrust Super Cup win over the CQ Capras on Saturday 14th May 2016. Jerseys will be individually signed by the specific player who wore it during the game.
It will be a silent auction so be sure to bid the highest amount you are willing to pay so that you don’t miss out! The Reserve is $75.00 for each jersey. Bids under reserve will not be accepted. Bids will close at 5pm on Thursday 19th May 2016. You can BID ON THE JERSEY OF YOUR CHOICE HERE. You can find the PLAYING LIST HERE.
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS 34 (Noel Underwood 2, Hezron Murgha 2, Samsen O’Neill, Rhyse Martin tries; Kyle Laybutt 3, Corey Jensen 2 goals) def CQ CAPRAS 16 (Reece Baker, Aleki Falepaini, Gavin Hiscox tries; Matthew Minto 2 goals) at Jack Manski Oval.