A few high-scoring affairs and two quality encounters featured in Round 5 of the Toowoomba Rugby League competition.
Pittsworth remain on top of the ladder following a 30-24 win over Gatton in a game described as one of the best of the season.
Another high-quality game was played at Clifton and saw Highfields triumph over Wattles, Dalby easily accounted for Goondiwindi, Valleys had too many guns for Warwick and Brothers made it two in a row against Oakey.
Gatton Hawks v Pittsworth Danes
Pittsworth held off a fast finishing Gatton outfit on Saturday night with a 30-24 victory.
This match featured great attacking play mixed with some great defence.
The try scoring was locked at five each with the goal kicking of Pittsworth’s Alex Sinclair proving the difference.
Early on, Pittsworth peppered Gatton’s right side and proved fruitful with a Nick Schnitzerling try.
Gatton came back with Woolacott leading the way, scoring a try and assisting in another.
Pittsworth came back to lead at halftime with tries to Schnitzerling and Weber. Two pieces of Tom O’Sullivan magic put the Danes ahead 30-12 with the game seemingly well in their grasp, however perhaps showing the lack of tough footy,
Pittsworth faded a little in the backend of the second half and Gatton dominated play scoring two tries in a late surge.
The Hawks were in position to snatch a late kick into the in-goal but a knock on saw them fall short, allowing the visitors to escape with the two points, keeping their undefeated season intact.
A GRADE: Pittsworth 30 (Nick Schnitzerling 2, Jeff Weber, Tom O’Sullivan, Cameron Millar tries; Alex Sinclair 5 goals) defeated Gatton 24 (Callum Woolocott, Cameron Nichols, Tye Grey, Josh Ryan, Shannon Hicks tries; Callum Wollocott 2 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Gatton 48 defeated Pittsworth 22
UNDER 18: Gatton 28 defeated Pittsworth 18
Wattles Warriors v Highfields Eagles
In a high-quality match at Platz Oval on Saturday night, Highfields finished strong and recorded a 24-12 win over the local Wattles outfit.
In a tight opening half hour of the match, neither side troubled the scorers before Clydesdales representative halves Jarrod Lee (Highfields) and Matt Duggan (Wattles) traded tries and goals to keep the score locked at 6-6 at the break.
Wattles were the first to strike in the second period with a try to James Johnson but Highfields hit back with Lee scoring his second try to even up the contest again at 12-12.
Midway through the second half, Wattles were looking to gain the lead five metres out from the try line when an errant pass was intercepted by Highfields flyer Aaron Hooper, sprinting 95m to break the deadlock.
That try was the game changer as the Eagles scored on the fulltime hooter to upset the home side in a cliff-hanger match.
A GRADE: Highfields 24 (Jarrod Lee 2, Aaron Hooper, Nick Bainbridge tries; Jarrod Lee 4 goals) defeated Wattles 12 (Matt Duggan, James Johnson tries; Matt Duggan 2 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Wattles 44 defeated Highfields 10
UNDER 18: Highfields 42 defeated Wattles 12
Warwick Cowboys v Valleys Roosters
After recording 28 points at the rate of a point a minute in the first half, the Roosters never looked like being beaten by the home side.
Sadly, the Cowboys’ defence was way below first grade standard in the first half.
Valleys appeared to run at will adding an extra 24 points in the second half before taking the foot of the pedal to allow Warwick to add a few points to help the for and against.
It was too little, too late for the Cowboys, going down at home 52-24.
For Valleys, centres Capewell and Simpson terrorised the Cowboys' defence allowing fullback Dylan Chown ample opportunity to show his tremendous speed as he ran in a hat trick of tries.
A GRADE: Valleys 52 (Dylan Chown 3, Emmanuel Cerei 2, Nathan Simpson 2, Liam Capewell, Nick Sargent tries; Emmanuel Cerei 3 goals) defeated Warwick 24 (Dylan Galloway 2, Craig Donn, Dan Watson tries; Dan Watson 4 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Valleys 44 defeated Warwick 22
UNDER 18: Warwick 30 defeated Valleys 14
Goondiwindi Boars v Dalby Diehards
Dalby continued their winning ways with a comprehensive 72-0 win over the struggling Goondiwindi Boars.
Steve Franciscus warmed up for the 47th Battalion this weekend with four tries with fellow Clydesdales Alex Ambia and Dylan Taylor crossing the line for doubles.
Goondiwindi had no answer for the Diehards and were out-gunned in all departments.
In addition to their shining attack, Dalby continued their good record in, conceding only 14 points in four matches.
Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, the Round 8 clash between Dalby and Pittsworth looms as a clash to savour.
The Boars now have two weeks to prepare for their match against Oakey at the Bears den.
A GRADE: Dalby 72 (Steve Franciscus 4, Alex Ambia 2, Dylan Taylor 2, Chris Wilkes, Danny Wassell, Corey Blades, Zac Morris, Eli Wickham tries; Zac Morris 9, Xavier Manley goals) defeated Goondiwindi 0
RESERVE GRADE: Dalby 32 defeated Goondiwindi 16
UNDER 18: Dalby 34 defeated Goondiwindi 22
Toowoomba Brothers v Oakey Bears
Brothers at home at Glenholme proved to be too strong for Oakey with a solid 48-26 win.
A scoring blitz from Brothers winger Jaiden Davis gave Brothers the ascendency at halftime.
At fulltime, Davis delivered a man of the match performance running in a total of four tries and ended the match with a personal tally of a whopping 22 points.
Despite out-scoring Brothers in the second half, the Bears could not overcome the deficit.
A GRADE: Brothers 48 (Jaiden Davis 4, Aiden Watterson 2, Daniel Davis, Michael Cochrane. Mitch Betros tries; Kahl Schemionek 2, Jaiden Davis 3 goals) defeated Oakey 26 (Josh Stanton 2, Ben Isaacs, Allwin Long, Aaron Cherry, Sean Petrie tries; Nathan Thomas, Josh Stanton goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Brothers 26 defeated Oakey 8
UNDER 18: Brothers 46 defeated Oakey 24
In the other TRL Under 18 match, the Southern Suburbs Tigers defeated the South Burnett Eagles 36-18 on Saturday.
After five rounds of competition, these are how the competition ladders stand:
A GRADE: Pittsworth 10, Dalby 8, Valleys 8, Highfields 6, Gatton 4, Warwick 4, Wattles 4, Brothers 4, Souths 2, Oakey 0, Goondiwindi 0
RESERVE GRADE: Wattles 8, Gatton 8, Dalby 6, Brothers 6, Souths 6, Highfields 5, Valleys 5, Warwick 4, Pittsworth 2, Goondiwindi 0, Oakey 0
UNDER 18: Dalby 10, Souths 8, Valleys 8, Warwick 6, Highfields 6, Goondiwindi 6, South Burnett 4, Gatton 4, Pittsworth 3, Brothers 3, Wattles 2, Oakey 0
SECOND DIVISION: Gatton 6, Warwick 6, Pittsworth 2, Brothers 2, Dalby 0, Valleys 0
The competition takes a break this weekend for the Central Division 47th Battalion in Yeppoon.
For full results, ladders and upcoming fixtures of the Toowoomba Rugby League, visit the TRL website.
