THE Gaters have continued their winning-streak following a hard-fought win against an on-fire Aspley outfit, edging the home team out 24-22 in the Brisbane Second Division competition.
Far from playing with the easy confidence of a team thats only tasted defeat once this season, the Gaters were shaky to start with, and their normally electrifying backline was barely seen.
Aspley on the other hand came flying out of the blocks, with fullback Byron Whitaker drawing first blood and putting them up 4-0 to the delight of a vocal home-crowd.
The hosts werent lacking on the defensive front either, tearing off the line to put pressure on the opposition playmakers and limiting the impact of their backs.
Even so, the Baysiders came achingly close to scoring several times, before a quick-fire double to Kieran Turner tipped the scales their way at 8-4.
Aspley returned the favour 10 minutes later, from a perfectly constructed set play from the scrum that sent Trent Williamson diving over the line through untouched, and wrenching the lead back for Aspley.
But it was the away team who closed out the half on top, scoring in the final minute to lead 14-10 at the break.
The back half of the game proved to be as entertaining as the first, with the forwards from both teams dominating the opening 10 minutes.
Aspleys own man-mountain Kelepi Tupou and workhorse Brody Baker were met with equal ferocity from Brightons Nathan Turner and Brendan Tailford in the battle for supremacy up the middle.
But it was winger Marlon Doak who kicked of the scoring, with a classy effort down the right wing that had the Aspley defence sprawling and the Gaters scoreboard notching up six more at 20-10.
The try not only extended their lead, but seemed to give the Gaters backs a much-needed wakeup call.
Selo Mataele and Brent Boyd, after having a disappointing first half, finally began finding some width and linking up with the quick men, giving them the space they needed.
The change paid dividends as well, as Kieran Turner went charging through a hole to cross the line again and pick up his third try; giving the visitors a comfortable 24-10 lead.
The home team put on a show in the final 10 minutes stacking up two more tries.
But ultimately it wasnt enough, as the fulltime whistle blew and the Gaters walked away victors at 24-22.
