RON MASSEY CUP MATCH REPORT
Western Suburbs put in a brave performance but fell short against Hills District, going down 20-16 to Lidcombe Oval.
A good crowd was on the hand to see the Magpies open the scoring after five minutes when Dane Francis scored. The try commenced when Kurtis Preece put in a short kick before finding Logan Muir. He then sent the ball to Francis who passed to winger Edene Gebbie. The Papua New Guinea player looked to be heading over the sideline but managed to get a good ball away for Francis to take and cross for the try.
The Bulls crossed in the 22nd minute when Tim Robinson scored adjacent to the posts but the kick at goal missed the target. The visitors hit the front on the half hour when MaileLi scored. But it was Western Suburbs that took a 12-8 lead at the half-time break when Kurtis Preece scored. The half-back was able to get into dummy-half and his quick thinking saw him get the ball over the line after Brock Pelligra went close to scoring.
The Magpies began the second half by kicking out on the full and Hills District made them pay as Blake Goodman was able to race through and score under the posts after throwing the dummy. Goodman added the conversion to make it 14-12 and the visitors extended the lead when Jake Brennan crossed in the 58th minute.
The Magpies then registered a wonderful try when John Trimboli gave them some good go-forward and he was able to get the ball away for Etuale Lui to send Gebbie over for the try.
The Magpies tries hard to level the scores in the final 20 minutes of the game but some poor handling and good defence from the Bulls stopped them from getting the two competition points.
Hills District 20 (Tim Robinson, Maile Li, Blake Goodman, Jake Brennan tries; Goodman 2 goals) d. Western Suburbs 16 (Dane Francis, Kurtis Preece, Edene Gebbie tries; Max Altus, Brock Pelligra goals) at Lidcombe Oval.
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