AFTER a nail-biting win against Port Pirates in round two of the Mid North Coast Rugby competition, the Redmen produced another inspiring performance, this time against a strong SCU Marlins outfit.
After another slow start, Grafton struggled to keep pace with the Marlins up-tempo play and looked out of the contest for most of the first half.
With Marlins captain AJ Gilbert orchestrating proceedings, Grafton found themselves behind on the scoreboard 17-0. It was not until midway through the first half they lessened the margin with another Isaac Barker trademark try out wide. And not long after Barker was at it again scoring his second five-pointer after brushing aside four Marlins’ defenders.
Going to the sheds down 17-12, things got worse for the Redmen when the home side scored minutes into the second-half to race to what seemed to be a comfortable 22-12 lead. However, as they did the previous week against Pirates, Grafton banded together to score two late tries to take the lead for the first time in the match.
With 10-minutes left on the clock and with a 24-22 lead, Marlin’s threw everything at the Redmen defence. A penalty goal right on full-time would have secured a Marlin’s victory, however the penalty kick fell agonisingly short of the cross bar.
