After trailing 12-0 at halftime, the Kaiviti Silktails stormed home with five consecutive tries to secure an unlikely 28-18 victory over St Mary’s Saints in Round 16 of the Ron Massey Cup.
Both teams struggled to capitalise on early chances with multiple stoppages in the game preventing either side from gaining any significant momentum.
However it was St Mary’s who made an impact on the scoreboard first, scoring back-to-back tries off the back of some skilful lead-up play.
Following a quick attacking spree from St Mary’s, Kaiviti were able to win back some field position only to be hampered by poor attacking discipline.
With the half entering the latter stages the errors and penalties began to build for the two sides, but St Mary’s still managed to run into the sheds holding a 12-0 lead.
The Silktails started the second half in a completely different manner to the first, putting the Saints immediately under pressure and crossing for two early tries to even the scoreline.
With Kaiviti continually moving the ball and keeping St Mary’s on the back foot, they went on to score three more tries in the space of only 10 minutes, giving them a sudden yet commanding 28-12 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest.
The Saints crossed for a late try to move the margin back to 10 points with four minutes remaining, but the composure of the Silktails side allowed them to hang on for the 28-10 win over a strong opposition.
In a match full of skilful attacking plays and strong defence, the key moment came in the 64th minute when the Silktails put in a neat chip kick for Timoci Bola to gather and beat the St Mary’s fullback to score under the black dot. The try gave the Silktails a 12-point lead and ultimately boosted their confidence for the remainder of the match.
The Saints now take on the Glebe Dirty Reds at Henson Park next Saturday afternoon, while the Silktails will be back at Mascot Oval - also next Saturday - when they face the Wentworthville Magpies.
The Silktails’ participation in the NSWRL’s Ron Massey Cup is proudly supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports.
The NSWRL receives funding from the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports to support the Silktails’ participation in the NSWRL’s Ron Massey Cup.
