Gordon Feel Right At Home As Galloping Greens Limp Off

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday April 18, 2005

Ben Kimber

It seems home is where the heart is for Gordon after the Highlanders left Randwick anchored to the lower rungs of the Shute Shield ladder yesterday by handing the visitors to Chatswood Oval their fourth defeat from five starts this season.

Gordon staged a brave fightback against last year's premiers to control the final 20 minutes of the last match in round five but, while the finish proved inspiring, the standard of play was anything but.

"We're building again, so we're under no great illusions here," Highlanders coach Kent Bray said of the quality of his team's 28-21 win. "It's great to get a win under our belts but we've got a long way to go."

Bray said his side had concentrated on home games to find form and believed the spirit of the team proved the difference, a view supported by Randwick coach Tim Kava. "They probably had a bit more passion today," he conceded.

The ailing Galloping Greens find themselves in unfamiliar territory so low on the Sydney premiership ladder, feeling the absence of their missing first-grade players.

Saving blushes at Randwick is the company the Coogee-based club finds itself in: Gordon (ninth) are one point adrift of Randwick, with Eastern Suburbs (10th) struggling and winless Northern Suburbs and Manly sharing the basement at 11th and 12th respectively. Returning players for all these sides are expected to prove the difference as the Tooheys New Cup approaches, but the standard of yesterday's game suggested a significant turnaround in form will be needed by them all.

Randwick looked set to take the points after two tries to Tim LeNevez and penalties to winger Matt Nethery handed them a 21-16 lead with 10 minutes remaining. And with the Greens scrum dominating the Highlanders', the visitors looked set to finish the game comfortably in control.

However, Gordon lifted and with two tries to blindside John Natadra, a recruit from Adelaide, the final winning margin was deserved.

At the top end of the ladder, Sydney University and Warringah continued on their winning ways with 47-6 and 39-19 victories over Easts and West Harbour respectively.

The Students were far too well drilled against a weak Easts at a hugely successful Friday night event at University Oval,a game in which late replacement Dean Mumm caught the eye. The blindside breakaway, who was a bolter for the Waratahs tour to Argentina last year as a second-row option, made an astonishingly athletic run upfield late in the match and continues to be a player worth watching closely for further honours.

In other matches, Penrith continued to shock their opposition, this time by downing Manly 22-17 for their third win, while Southern Districts defeated Eastwood 31-23 and Parramatta were too good for Norths in a 17-15 victory.

© 2005 Sydney Morning Herald

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