WRIGHT ON TARGET
Ice-Cool Redmen delivers killer blow
PLAYERS dream of nailing a sideline conversion on the stroke of fulltime to snatch victory for their side.
And for Redmen inside-centre and goal-kicker Michael Wright, his dream became reality when he slotted a dramatic conversion center-metres from the sideline to give his side a remarkable 33-31 victory over a shell-shocked Port Pirates on Saturday.
Down 31-26 with three minutes remaining, Ed McGrath received a peach of a pass from fullback Dylan Lewis to dive over in the corner and level-up proceedings.
Only minutes earlier, Wright nailed a conversion from the opposite sideline to keep his side within striking distance. But with the game on the line, the Redmen inside centre owned the clutch moment as he, and his teammates, watched the ball sail between the uprights for an unlikely victory.
Pirates dominated most of the game with fundamental errors robbing Grafton of crucial ball and gifting Pirates field position.
The Redmen looked done and dusted but somehow clawed their way back into the contest with a never-say-die attitude.
Redmen first grade coach Gary Powell was jubilant after his sides come-from-behind win.
“It’s a massive win for us, especially to go down to Coffs and come away with the points,” Powell said after the game.
“To be behind on the scoreboard by fourteen points and come back from that…it’s one of the best wins I have witnessed in the past couple of years.
“We had a disjointed preparation with all the rain around and during the game we had five or six injuries and had to replace players which resulted in them playing out of position.”
When asked about his side’s inability to control the ball, Powell gave a blunt assessment.
“There were patches throughout the game where we were great, but we forced too many passes and going for that miracle ball,” he said.
“I think patience probably let us down at times as well as discipline. We gave away too many penalties and received two yellow cards which made it hard.
“Overall, I thought our fitness was okay and we hung in there. They’re the sort of games we would have lost a couple of years ago.
“I also think the experience we had out their today helped us and the blokes I needed to stand up did.”
Powell was full of praise for Wright and added his goal-kicker deserved plenty of praise.
“Mikey deserves a lot of credit for the win. He puts in a lot of practice before and after training each week,” Powell said.
“The match-winning goal was massive for him and massive for the team.”
For Grafton Dylan Lewis was simply superb at the back with scrum-half Jope Kurimosi also a standout. In the forwards Liam Burnett and Jo Buasporo also produced strong games.
Nico