Aspley continued their dominance in open 1 North with a hard fought win against a determined Dayboro side 26-16.
In muddy conditions both sides were brutal in defence which saw some big hits up the middle, but it was the little men who showed formidable toughness which saw the first try of the afternoon belonging to busy Dayboro hooker Adam Harris who burrowed his way under the Devils defence to score beside the posts.
Kyle Razberesk had no trouble with the easy shot at goal and Dayboro were finding holes early on in the Devils defence.
Not to be outdone on home soil, the Devils booted a huge downtown kick that was taken by Dayboro fullback Jeremiah Alimpus, but his opposite number Byron Whitaker had other ideas and a one on one strip resulted in the Aspley fullback racing away to score under the posts. Hooker Tyrone Lockrey added the extras to see the score locked up at 6-6.
That score was extended seven minutes later when Devils five-eighth Trent Williamson delivered a beautiful pass to Whittaker who tapped the ball onto a waiting winger Adam Sells who dived over in the corner to score a beautiful try. A superb touch line conversion from Lockery saw the home side kick out to a 12-6 lead.
Things didn’t get any better for Dayboro and from the kick off were penalised for being offside. A penalty to Aspley right on the half way line saw them surge again into the Cowboys defence. Prop Brody Baker and second-rower Sam Smith were causing problems for the Cowboys and after repeat sets of six, held out the Devils in a true show of muscled up defence.
After those near try scoring opportunities for the Devils, the teams would go in at halftime with the score still at 12-6.
The second half started well for Aspley with another try in the 46th minute. Halfback Augustine Law, impressive with the ball in his hands, was creating mayhem and set the tone for probably the try of the afternoon.
A beautiful show and go saw him zip past some paper thin Dayboro defence, put up a huge towering spiral bomb which was dropped by the Cowboys winger Ruben Sullivan and bounced into the arms of Andross Cole who planted the ball down just inside the in goal. Lockery missed with the conversion and now saw Aspley gaining some momentum leading 16-6.
With the game being a bruising ‘up the middle battle’, tackles were traded for punches and a melee erupted amongst the players. Dayboro second rower Dan Harris was dispatched to the sin bin for his involvement and saw both teams let off some much needed steam as the persistent niggling was rampant all throughout the game.
When order was restored it was Dayboro lock Micky Weber whose power up the middle crashed through the Aspley defence to score a well deserved try beside the posts. Razberesk with another easy conversion slotted the goal to keep the Cowboys well within striking distance of the Devils.
The halves pairing of Law and Williamson was the difference between the two sides and Law’s performance was literally mesmeric as he set up Aspley’s next try as if he had written the script himself. A brilliant pass to Williamson found replacement Mitch Houghton who with his sheer size and power crashed into the Cowboys defence and took three players with him over the line to score a great Devils try. With the conversion hitting the upright, the Devils still had a small lead at 20-12.
Aspley lock Cody Herrington delighted the home crowd with the next try when Lockrey delivered a nice pass out of dummy half and found his lock running solidly onto the ball and crashed his way over to score a fantastic try. With Aspley having kicking goals all sewn up, the Devils lead extended to 26-12.
But it was a case of anything you can do I can do better and a superb open field dash by Justin Tyson found fullback Alimpus who grubbed a kick for his winger Sullivan who scored out wide. With the conversion waved away it was a well fought victory to Aspley 26-16, a result which showed why they are leading the competition.
