Gobbledegeek 2.o

The Fighting Miners failed in their quest to win back-to-back premierships when they were defeated by the Puckapunyal Boars 6-5 in a quagmire at Puckapunyal last Saturday.

Torrential rain had covered the playing surface with about 50mm of water which soon cut up to become a quagmire. Adding to the difficult conditions were intermittent downpours and a strong wind.

The Miners had first use of the wind and were soon made aware that the Boars had come to play with spirit and determination. The normally dominant Miners’ scrum was shunted in the first two encounters.

Throughout the first half, the Boars dominated field position and possession. The Miners’ ball retention was poor as passes were pushed, catches spilled and lost in contact. The Boars capitalized on this superiority with a penalty goal in the 30^th minute to set up a 3-0 lead at the interval.

The Boars stretched their lead with a second penalty goal early in the second half.

From this point onwards, the Miners lifted their intensity. Inspired by some dominant tackles by the Tuitupou brothers, the Miners brought themselves back into the contest.

They finally troubled the scoreboard attendant in the tenth minute of the second half when centre Michael Crichton scored a try in the corner after a crisp passing movement by the backs.

Bendigo continued to press forward with Jesse Tuitupou, Konrad Fepuleai and Johneen Fagavao making strong runs.

They were rewarded with a penalty goal opportunity in the midway through the half in a handy position but the kick went wide.

From this point on, play rarely moved out of the area between the quarter lines as the two teams slogged it out in the mud.

The Tyson’s Reef Hotel player of the day award went to Jesse Tuitupou. Others to shine included Fepuleai, Nick Dehnert, Elson Tuitupou, Johneen Fagavao and Michael Crichton.

Scorer: Crichton try.

Team: 24 N. Poingdestre, 2 E. Tuitupou, 3 J. Tuitupou, 4 N. Dehnert (c), 5 B. Westley, 6 A. Saville, 7 D. Fallaver, 8 K. Fepuleai, 9 S. MacDonald, 10 Jon Solomon, 11 J. Learai, 12 J. Fagavao, 13 M. Crichton, 14 Jeremy Solomon, 15 J. Manderson.

Replacements: T. Henderson, L. Tuitupou, S. McGrail, S. Fagavao, P. Thomas.

Reserves: T. Mulvaney, J. Jeffries, S. Queally

Emergencies: L. Eriksen, N. Whittle, V. Liufau

W. Coulter 54439165

The Fighting Miners travel to Puckapunyal on Saturday seeking back-to-back premierships in the VRU Country Division.

The Miners will go in as underdogs against the minor premier Puckapunyal Boars who have beaten the Miners in two of three meetings this year. The Boars will also be rested after a week off while the Miners disposed of the Cobram Dust Devils in a bruising contest last weekend.

The Miners expect to be at full strength with only flanker Allan Saville under a fitness cloud. Saville strained a calf muscle in last week’s game but is hopeful of being fit to take his place.

The Fighting Miners are celebrating their fortieth anniversary this year and are hoping for a twelfth premiership to crown the celebrations.

The Fighting Miners playing squad is the epitome of multiculturalism and family traditions:

• there are five sets of brothers in the squad;
• seven of the players are sons of former players;
• players originate from seven countries – Australian both white and indigenous, New Zealanders both pakeha and Maori, PNG, Samoa, Tonga, Norway and Ireland.

The match kicks off at 3.00pm.

There are still seats available in the players & supporters bus which leaves Shadforth Park at 11.30am.

W. Coulter

Scoring records tumbled as the Fighting Miners humiliated a hapless Border Army team in the minor semi-final at Shadforth Park last Saturday.

Spearheaded by centre Michael Crichton, who scored an incredible nine tries, the Miners completely dominated proceedings, scoring twenty two unanswered tries.

From Crichton’s first try in the second minute of play till Vaai Liufau’s try in the final minute, the Miners were unrelenting. The longest period between tries was eight minutes midway through the first half.

The new records established for the Bendigo Rugby Club were:

•    most points in a match 140 eclipsing the 122  scored against Echuca-Moama in 2002;
•    most tries in a match 22, surpassing the 18 scored against Echuca-Moama in 2002;
•    most points in a match by an individual (Michael Crichton 45) easily beating the 33 scored by former Tongan test player Tevita Asi against Harlequins in 1994; and
•    most tries by an individual in a match (Michael Crichton 9) eclipsing the previous record of five held jointly by Leo Toma, Brent Karl, Warren Meeks, Gideon Tauelangi and Sione Uhi.

Had coach Alan Wilkinson not invoked the mercy rule by replacing Crichton with ten minutes left on the clock, Crichton would probably have reached double figures so easily did he breach the feeble Border Army defence.

The forward pack set the tone for the match when they took two tight heads at scrums in the first minute of play. By half-time, Bendigo had scored ten tries and established a 66-0 lead.

Referee Tony Miller took pity on the out-muscled Border Army scrum when he ordered uncontested scrums early in the second period.

Despite Wilkinson progressively emptying the bench, the scoring rampage continued in the second half. Crichton added three more tries to his first half six before being substituted.

The Tyson’s Reef Hotel player of the day award went to Crichton. Others to play well included Jesse Tuitupou, Johneen Fagavao, Elson Tuitupou, Josh Manderson, James Learai and Steve MacDonald.

Michael Crichton in action

Next week, the Miners will contest the preliminary final against the Cobram Dust Devils at Koonoomoo. The Dust Devils lost the major semi-final to the Puckapunyal Boars 7-12 in sudden death overtime after the scores were deadlocked at 7-7 at the end of normal time at Puckapunyal.

Scorers: M. Crichton 9, S.MacDonald 2, J. Tuitupou, K. Felupeai, Jon Solomon, J. Learai, J. Fagavao, V. Liufau, S. Fagavao, J. Jeffries, P. Thomas, T. Henderson, N. Poingdestre tries; J. Manderson 15 goals.

Team: 24 N. Poingdestre, 2 E. Tuitupou, 3 J. Tuitupou, 4 N. Dehnert, 5 B. Westley, 6 A. Saville, 7 D. Fallaver, 8 K. Felupeai, 9 S. MacDonald, 10 Jon Solomon, 11 J. Learai, 12 J. Fagavao, 13 M. Crichton, 14 Jeremy Solomon, 15 J. Manderson, 16 L. Eriksen, 17 V. Liufau, 18 S. Fagavao, 19 J. Jeffries, 20 P. Thomas, 21 N. Whittle, 22 S. Queally, 23 T. Henderson

By W. Coulter

As I said previously…..they’re all big games in the run in to the finals.

The Fighting Miners will be at full strength for their clash with competition leader Cobram Dust Devils at Shadforth Park this Saturday.

In their last outing, the Miners knocked Puckapunyal Boars out of top position with a convincing win.

Bendigo coach Alan Wilkinson is confident his team can repeat the feat against the Dust Devils. In their two previous clashes with the Dust Devils this season, the Miners have a loss and a draw.

In both matches, the Miners were in a winning position until the last fifteen minutes of play but allowed the Dust Devils back into the games with a drop off in intensity and lack of discipline.

Currently, the Miners are in third position on the ladder with 36 points, trailing Cobram on 47 points and Puckapunyal on 45 points.

If the Miners can win their remaining three games with bonus points, they can get to 51 points. Both Puckapunyal and Cobram have a bye to come and will meet each other in the final round of home and away games. Accordingly, the Miners need to win all their games and hope that other results go their way in order to finish in the top two and get the double chance in the finals.

This Saturday’s game kicks off early at 1.00pm due to the Bledisloe Cup match in Melbourne.

W. Coulter

Please go along and support the lads at Shadforth Park, if you can as I’m sure they will appreciate it.

A resurgent Fighting Miners thrashed competition leaders 46-20 in an eight try romp at Shadforth Park last Saturday.

After an indifferent start to the season, the Miners have now had an unbeaten streak of four matches.

In Saturday’s game, Bendigo ran in three tries in the first fifteen minutes through Jesse Tuitupou, Jeremy Solomon and Michael Crichton before Puckapunyal had gotten out of its own half.

Pucka then camped in the Bendigo half for a considerable period of time before the Miners’ defence was finally broken with a try in the 30^th minute.

On the stroke of half-time, Miners half-back Steve MacDonald pierced the Pucka defence in a strong 30 metre dash to establish a Bendigo lead of 20-5.

Pucka reduced the deficit to 10 points with a try early in the second half and appeared to be about to make a recovery.

However, the Miners switched back on, piling on four tries in the first 20 minutes of the second half to go out to a 46-10 lead

Scorers: Crichton 2, Thomas 2, Jeremy Solomon, J. Tuitupou, E. Tuitupou, MacDonald tries; Manderson 2, MacDonald goals.

W. Coulter

Read the full match report here.

The Miners have another bye this weekend (24th). They will be hoping for a reversal of fortunes against Cobram Dust Devils when the meet the following Saturday. The match is at Shadforth Park, North Bendigo on 31 July and kicks off at 1pm.

Note the 1pm kick-off! This is so that club members have time to get to Etihad Stadium for Wallabies v All Blacks game that evening. Tickets available at the time of this post.

In fact , it looks like they’re all big from here on in for Bendigo rugby team…

The Fighting Miners are at full strength for their clash with competition leader Puckapunyal Boars at Shadforth Park this Saturday.

After two weeks on the road where the Miners beat Border Army and drew with Cobram, they go into the match with some degree of confidence.

In their two previous encounters this season, the Boars have won both but the Miners consider themselves unlucky to have lost the last match at Puckapunyal where they scored three tries to the Boars’ one.

With four matches and a bye remaining before the finals, the Miners are in fourth place on the ladder behind Puckapunyal, Cobram and Border Army. However, three of the four games are at home and the Miners are confident of overtaking Border Army.

To sneak into the top two and get the double chance in the play-offs, the Miners need to win all their remaining games, pick up some bonus points and hope other results go their way.

The match kicks off at 3.00pm

W. Coulter

…so get your backsides along to Shadforth Park and give the boys as much support as you can. See you there!

It’s abso-bloody-lutely belting it down here in Hamilton but the overwhelming urge to trawl the local bars for Welshmen is too strong…..hmm, that came out wrong?

What I mean is, it would be nice to meet up with the Welsh rugby fans who have descended on Hamilton in their droves for the 2nd Test tomorrow and partake of a few sherbets while we reminisce about the green, green grass of home; God’s country if you will.

I’ll have to get a taxi!

Got ticket?

It goes without saying that an essential ingredient of going to watch a live International rugby match is the ticket but after days spent tracking down accommodation, I thought I’d left it too late….

Ticketek were telling me that only crap seats were available and that I might be confined to the temporary stand where die-hard fans actually stand and huddle around a 3 inch portable TV to share the experience. However, in the hope of a minor miracle, I called Waikato Rugby Union’s Sales Manager, John Mudford, who usually deals with the stadium’s hospitality goodness that us mere mortals only dream of affording. I explained my predicament and his response was short and sweet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll sort you out first thing in the morning”. It would have been rude to ask why he couldn’t sort it out there and then but he explained that he was out of the office and that I should send him an email with my preference.

Would you Adam and Eve it? This morning I receive an email confirming that they have reserved one of the best seats in the house for me. Apparently, they hide a few prime seats away from Ticketek and the like, for hospitality/corporate clients….and idiots who leave it very late, it appears.

So, for the icing on what could have been a rather disappointing cake, a big ‘thank you’ goes out to Waikato Rugby Union and especially, John Mudford and Sue Raynor.

I can only hope that Wales perform as well on the day!

Bendigo 12 lost to Cobram 24 at Koonoomooo, 5 June 2010.

The Fighting Miners suffered their first ever defeat at the hands of the Cobram Dust Devils at Koonoomoo last Saturday. The Dust Devils entered the competition in 2008 but have not been competitive until the current season.

In Saturday’s game, the Dust Devils got on top in the second half after the scores were deadlocked at 12-12 at the break.

Bendigo scorers were Jeremy Solomon in the tenth minute and Nick Poingdestre in the 35^th minute.

Bendigo had the upper hand in the first half with a dominant scrum, good rolling mauls and good hit-ups on the fringes of the rucks by the big men. This dominance resulted in a string of penalties to the Miners and kept the Dust Devils on the back foot.

Team: 1 N. Poingdestre, 2 T. Henderson, 3 J. Tuitupou, 4 S. Kelly, 5 E. Tuitupou, 6 S. McGrail, 7 D. Fallaver, 8 K. Fepuleai, 9 N. Dehnert, 10 Jon Solomon, 11 S. Queally, 12 S. MacDonald, 13 J. Learai, 14 Jeremy Solomon, 15 J. Manderson, 16 S. Paterson, 17 P. Clark

Scorers: Jeremy Solomon, Poingdestre tries; Manderson goal.

W. Coulter

Read the full match report here.

The Miners have a bye this weekend but you can still see them in action when they take on an ‘old boys’ selection as part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations. Why not head up to Shadforth Park and watch?

The Victorian Rugby Union Country Division competition resumes with round 6 on 26th June at home against the Deniliquin Drovers.

Despite scoring three tries to their opponent’s one, the Fighting Miners were narrowly defeated by the Puckapunyal Boars in wet, raining conditions last Saturday.

Lack of discipline when not in possession of the ball cost the Miners dearly as the Puckapunyal goalkicker took every chance offered to him, slotting 5/5 with four penalties and a conversion.

Team: 1 N. Poingdestre, 2 E. Tuitupou, 3 J. Tuitupou, 4 N. Dehnert, 5 S. Kelly, 6 D. Fallaver, 7 S. McGrail, 8 B. Westley, 8 A. Saville, 10 Jon Solomon, m11 S. Fagavao, 12 Jeremy Solomon, 13 J. Learai, 14 S. Queally, 15 J. Manderson, 16 T. Henderson, 17 C. Dalley, 18 Conrad, 20 M. Crichton, 21 P. Thomas, 22 L. Eriksen  Reserve: Julius Solomon

Scorers: J. Tuitupou, E. Tuitupou, N. Poingdestre tries; Manderson goal

Next week, the Miners travel to Cobram to take on the resurgent Dust Devils.

Read the full match report here.

Saturday’s opening match of the 2010 Country Victoria rugby season saw the Fighting Miners suffer a 14 – 26 defeat at the hands of Puckapunyal at Shadforth Park, Bendigo.

Defensive frailties on the fringes of the ruck and in the backline of the Miners gave the Boars repeated opportunities to score but the Miners held on to trail by only seven points at the break, 7-14.

Bendigo’s points were scored from a try to five-eighth Steve MacDonald when he sliced through the Puckapunyal defence at the back of a line-out and a conversion by Josh Manderson.

Puck opened the second half with an unconverted try to stretch its lead to 12 points at 19-7.

Bendigo responded with some strong running from improved set play. This led to a string of high tackles by the Boars’ players as the match threatened to become spiteful. Referee Wayne Pick took strong action, sending three Puckapunyal players to the sin bin simultaneously in the twentieth minute of the second half….

by W. Coulter

Read the full article here.

The Bendigo Fighting Miners are still in desperate need of players to sign for the proposed youth squad. If you aged between 14 and 16 and are interested or know someone who may be, please call Mark Luatutu on 5434 5822 (work) or 0427 315067.