EWF A 25 QLD II XV 26

[no.8]

Qld Reds 26 Emirates Western Force Accamady 25 - Qld ran away with things in the frist half however the lads got a grip in the second - if the game had lasted another 10 mins they would have had them James O'Conor No 10 got the points on the board- the front role and lineouts were impressive in the second half.

My vote for man of the match was EWF A full back Nigel Staniforth. More performances like that and he could be joining his brother in the big time!

[no.8]

Young Reds outlast Force Academy
Saturday, 23 February 2008

Four tries in an impressive first half performance by the QAS Reds 2nd XV paved the way for a 26-25 win over the Force Academy in Perth on Saturday night.

The young Reds scored all of their points in the first half to lead 26-6, but a drift away from the game plan allowed the Force Academy back into the game in the second half.

The home side had all the ball for most of the second half, but the QAS Reds' defence proved up to the task.

For the young Reds, tries were scored by wing Caleb Brown, flanker AJ Gilbert, fullback Brando Va'aulu and scrumhalf Ben Lucas. Lucas also kicked three conversions in an impressive overall performance that bodes well for his likely callup to the QR Reds in the wake of the groin injury to Sam Cordingley.

Veteran Andrew Walker showed the benefit of his experience at flyhalf with some solid tackling and clearing kicks in the defensive zone, while wing Blair Connor also played well.

[inactive]

was a good come back by the boys only a one off. not a bad effort considering the line up the reds had!!

[Shaun]

Andrew Walker is pretty young...

[JediKnight]

What the hell is Andrew Walker doing playing in this sort of game? Surely these are to develop young talent for future success not ex-mungos with a propensity for white line fever!!!!

[travelling_gerry]

he was late for training and got dropped..

[JediKnight]

he was late for training and got dropped..

Well buy him a bloody watch instead of having him take the place of a youngster trying to show their talent is sufficient to play for the Reds.

[AndyS]

Looking at the two player lists and then watching the game, I thought this was potentially the most significant result of the weekend. Our young guys looked good (especially in the second half) and certainly not at all out of place against professional and semi pro opposition. For those under the misapprehension that this was the Q'ld Academy, it wasn't...it was the Q'ld 2nd XV and included the Reds players not in the match 22. That is why players like Walker and Johannson were there.

The future looks very bright!

[gotheforce]

I went to watch the game yesterday and was treated to a fantastic match. Thought the Academy boys held their own really well. I was massively impressed by the young ones and considering the average age of the team was like 21. Some outstanding players were James O'Connor who i'm convinced will end up making the squad soon. He's such a small dude but has an unbelievable side step and a strong run and a hard tackle. Barry Mansfield was impressive as well, and he would have scored a try if the ball actually went out to him even more. But it seemed the no.5 for the WA team was too eager to run the ball up himself, even when there was always a good overlap. And i thought our no.8 had an awesome game. It's a good showing of future force and super 14 players and a bright future for WA.