2023 Santos Wheelchair Rugby National Championship - Day 2 Review
Saturday 3 June 2023
Saturday saw the semi-finals of the 2023 Santos Wheelchair Rugby National Championships at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre at Carrara on the Gold Coast.
Eight teams from Australia and New Zealand contested the final Division 1 and 2 pool matches and semi-finals ahead of the Sunday 4 June gold medal matches.
Here are the highlights of Saturday’s clashes:
Division 1 semi-final action
Semi-final 1 – Victoria Protect Thunder d Queensland Cyclones 66-57
Not content with handing the reigning national champions their first defeat of the tournament earlier in the day, the Victoria Protect Thunder stamped themselves the true giant killers of 2023 by comfortably taking last year’s silver medallists Queensland out of the gold medal equation in their Saturday afternoon semi-final,
Victorian try machine Stu Robinson was outstanding in his team’s clinical 66-57 march to Sunday’s gold medal match.
When he wasn’t scoring himself, he was creating opportunities for others to cross the line, indeed his consistency over the past two days has been something to watch.
Robinson was ably supported in the semi-final by ever-reliable lieutenants Jayden Warn and Shae Graham who created plenty of open space out wide, while Ben Fawcett anchored the centre.
Despite Queensland’s efforts at containment, there were just too many headaches for the likes of Maroons Chris Bond, Brayden Foxley-Connolly and the ever-present Ella Sabljak who tried their hearts out the entire match..
An exhausted Robinson said his team is looking forward to Sunday’s decider.
“I think we’ve played really well the whole tournament – we’re lucky that we put in quite a good performance against a strong side today,” he said.
“We’re all really looking forward to the final tomorrow, whoever we play.”
Queensland captain Chris Bond was disappointed at his team not having won a match so far in the competition, but he says it hasn’t been for lack of trying.
“We kind of planned the first day just to run some line-ups and try some different plays together, hoping today that this game was the one we would come out and do well in.
“We did in periods. We just haven’t been able to capitalise and put a whole four quarters together, but we are slowly getting better.
“So tomorrow, bronze medal match, hopefully it all comes together; it’s been a big week,’’ he said.
Semi-final 2 – NSW Gladiators d Brand Makers New Zealand 50-44
A resurgent NSW Gladiators consigned Brand Makers New Zealand to Sunday’s bronze medal match with a comfortable 50-44 semi-final win at Carrara on Saturday afternoon.
In doing so, the Gladiators bounced back from their first national championships preliminary round match defeat earlier in the day to the team they’ll meet in the gold medal decider, Victoria Protect Thunder.
Sunday promises a mouth-watering gold medal showdown with NSW powerhouse Ryley Batt showing no real sign of his recent rotator cuff injury, Andrew Edmondson playing out of his skin and Victoria’s team of rising stars under coach Andrew Harrison undefeated all weekend.
Saturday’s semi-final against a NSW team so averse to losing on the big stage was always going to be a tough call for the Kiwis, but Hayden Barton-Cootes and Cameron Leslie deserve plenty of credit for doing everything in their powers to quell the ‘Batt effect’.
Nathaniol Tairi also chipped in with some handy work in defence while Michael Todd found the try line enough times in the final quarter to keep the opposition within some sort of reach.
For NSW, Nazim Erdem seemed to be everywhere all at once, Jayden Jackson and Emilie Miller were terrific, and Richard Voris did everything right up front.
Miller said she is looking forward to playing in her third national gold medal decider but is wary of the opposition.
“I think Victoria are going to be hard to beat; they were tough this afternoon but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow to see what we can do,” she said.
“I think we’ll go home and have a bit of a review and come back with fresh minds, make some decisions and put together a bit of a plan for tomorrow afternoon.
“But it will be a big rest tonight, plenty of food and plenty of fluid, come back and do it all again tomorrow and hopefully come out on top,”
Division 2 semi-final action
Semi-final 1 - SA Sharks d ACT Buccaneers 54-44
SA took out an early lead in the first Division 2 semi-final of the day when the tournament ladder leaders, with two wins already under their belts, doubled the Buccaneers score by quarter time 18-9.
The shark attacks in the second quarter were relentless despite multiple tries by New Zealand import and freshly minted Buccaneer Jacinta Richards.
It was eight minutes of cat and mouse between the two rookies of the match, SA’s Mitch Bond and Richards, whose quick grasps of the game are a great sign of things to come.
Some slick ball handling by the Buccaneers in the third quarter saw them sneak back a few points and stay in contention with just six points between them at the final turn.
But despite a short stint in the sin bin for SA Captain Andrew Holloway and a depleted field on court, the southerners took the bite out of the Buccaneers to come home with a 10-point win and a deserved place in the gold medal final on Sunday.
Bond said he is pinching himself to be playing for a gold medal in his first wheelchair rugby tournament.
“It’s awesome; the first game of the tournament was my first ever competitive rugby match, so I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “I have a great team to play with and everyone’s hopes are high we can win the big one tomorrow,”
Richardson, who yesterday admitted to wanting to be everywhere on the court, said her team was rueing the slow start that saw them lagging the nine points at quarter time.
“After a start like that you always want to claw back, but it was a tough ask today,” she said. “I was a bit spent after the first half, and took a bit of a break, but when I saw everyone out there flying and things starting to lift, I thought I’ve got to get back out there.
“We’ll have a bit of a rest tonight, look after a few players with injuries and see what tomorrow brings,” she said.
Semi-final 2 –West Coast Enforcers d Queensland Tornadoes 51-41
The WA Enforcers are through to Sunday’s Division 2 gold medal match after throwing down the gauntlet early to the Queensland Tornadoes to set up a 25-15 half time advantage.
The speed of key WA playmaker, the pony-tailed Josh Hanlon, saw him in every area of play as he regularly used the clock to advance the ball in the Enforcers’ front court with a casual assurance.
There were some great one-on-one contests between Hanlon and Queensland’s Luke Matthews whose constant smiles belied their determination to score.
The two #13s, Queensland’s Matt Thompson and WA’s Ron Chaytor, endured some bone jarring clashes throughout - testaments to their resolve to fight to the end.
But the Enforcers had the wind in their sails, and a solid performance by the Tornadoes’ Daniel Clark and his maroon mates in defence during the final quarter wasn’t enough to hold off the imposing West Australians.
Hanlon said it was a relief to beat Queensland on their home soil.
“It was a solid hit out and it feels good to be in the gold medal match tomorrow. I didn’t think it would go quite that well, but we’ve worked throughout the competition to gel the team, and everyone is talking well and it’s getting better and better,” he said.
Clarke was pragmatic about the loss but agreed with Hanlon that communication is the key for his team heading into Sunday’s bronze medal decider.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted, but I am so proud of all the guys,” Clarke said. “We have to work on our communication a bit more and work on our pre-planned moves, but we’ll talk about that tonight and come back stronger,” he said.
Earlier in the day – final pool rounds
Victoria Protect Thunder delivered the boilover of the tournament by defeating the NSW Gladiators 55-53 in their final pool hit out.
For the dogged Victoria, it was three from three in the tournament and a result that delivered defeat to NSW for in this national championship competition at Carrara.
Meanwhile Brand Makers New Zealand scored their first win of the Division 1 tournament with a comprehensive 47-38 win over last year’s silver medallists, the Queensland Cyclones who remained winless heading into the semi-finals.
In Division 2, the West Coast Enforcers were too good for the ACT Buccaneers, taking out their final pool match 58-29 for their first win of the championships, while the SA Sharks made it three from three with victory over the Queensland Tornadoes
55-58.
Sunday’s matches:
9:00 ACT Buccaneers v Queensland Tornadoes – Division 2 bronze medal match
10:30 SA Sharks v West Coast Enforcers – Division 2 – gold medal match
12:00 Queensland Cyclones v Brand Makers New Zealand – Division 1 bronze medal match
14:00 Victoria Protect Thunder v NSW Gladiators – Division 1 gold medal match
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Contact: Chris Nay (CEO, Wheelchair Rugby Australia)
M: 0405 036 727
chris@wheelchairrugby.com.au
Tamara Morris (Media Manager)
0400 658 429
tamara.morris.media@outlook.com
Wayne Hickson (Media Consultant)
M: 0407 028 917
hicksonmedia@gmail.com