THERE was a subdued atmosphere in the Grafton Redmen dressing room as players wrestled with their emotions in the wake of their 24-21 loss to SCU Marlins on Saturday.
Down 17-0 at the break, Grafton almost dramatically snatched an unlikely victory in the shadows of fulltime but fell agonising short in a high-quality game.
The home side raced to a 24-0 lead just after halftime however to their credit Grafton stayed patient and slowly clawed their way back into the contest to set up an epic grandstand finish.
Marlins produced a flawless first half with their “wolf-pack” style line defence shutting down Grafton’s attack.
Grafton could not be accused of lacking heart but giving away 24-unanswered points proved to be their undoing.
Grafton’s attack at times looked flat and unimaginative while their clean-out at the breakdown lacked that physical edge and intensity.
For Grafton number eight Mosese Tuvoliu and Johnny King were the pick of the forwards while in the back’s winger Atunasia Vodovodo is proving to be a strike-weapon out wide.
