When a defending champion is held at bay in the very first round of competition, you’re quick to realise that reputation means nothing and performance means everything.
MENS 20’s:
In the Mens 20’s, defending Champions the Southern NSW Suns were held to a 7-7 draw by the Sydney Mets, who are here to avenge their quarter final ousting in 2005. Trent Touma scored three times for the Mets, while Matt Finemore repeated the effort for the Suns.
The theme of the draw though, was only going to get more apparent in the Mens 20’s as the day progressed.
The Suns also drew their matches against the Sharks 5-5 and the Cobras 5-5, leaving the defending champions languishing in sixth position after day one. To make matters worse for the Suns, their next game is against a Northern Eagles side keen to make up for their grand final loss in 2005…not to mention their good form from day one.
The Northern Eagles and consistent semi-finalist the Brisbane City Cobras also fought out a draw, the 2-2 battle highlighted by some brilliant diving touches from both sides.
The Eagles then went on to record a 7-1 win over the Queensland Country Rustlers and a 5-3 win over the Sharks, leaving them sitting in second position on the ladder.
Surprisingly it was the Hunter-Western Hornets who recorded three wins on day one, with comfortable wins over the Crusaders and ACT before proving they are not worth discounting with a 5-4 win over the Sydney Mets.
Gian Guerra led the North Queensland Cyclones with four touchdowns, as they recorded a 14-3 win over the Barbarians before narrowly going down 7-6 to the Brisbane City Cobras.
Day one in the Mens 20’s has certainly provided action, with picking a winner nearly impossible, the results have been up and down, draws were aplenty and to even try and guess as to the make up of the final four…well, we’ll take another look at it tomorrow.
WOMENS 20’s:
In the Womens 20’s, 2005 runners-up Brisbane City Cobras were also held to a 4-4 draw by a spirited ACT outfit, who have been touted as a side that could challenge the South Queensland Sharks domination of the division.
The Southern Suns inflicted the largest loss of the day on the Sydney Scorpions, the 16-0 win showing they have not lost their scoring power, despite the move of players such as Nicole Beck, Ashleigh Dobbins and Amanda Skwarko into the Opens.
They backed up their big win with a 3-0 win over the North Queensland Cyclones, Jessica Absolum leading the Suns with 8 touchdowns on day one of competition.
The local Northern NSW Eagles girls are looking to improve on their third place from 2005 and started well, with a 6-3 win over the Queensland Country Rustlers, but their 6-3 loss to the ACT, moved them down to fourth in their pool.
The Sharks, who have won the Womens 20’s title six of the past seven years, started their day with a 4-1 win over the North Queensland Cyclones.
However, in an emerging trend for the 2006 NTL, the title of ‘favourite’ meant nothing, as the Hunter Western Hornets calmly disposed of the Sharks 6-3 in their second match.
The Hornets also showed they have plenty of scoring options, running over the Sydney Rebels 12-1 in their first round match.
MIXED OPEN:
Hot favourites for the Mixed Open title, the Sydney Mets are looking for their third straight title but may not find the going easy, as they were held to a 6-5 win over cross-town rival, the Sydney Scorpions.
The South Queensland Sharks wasted no time showing everyone at the NTL they’re not letting the Mets take home the title again and after finishing runner-up for the past three years, they began 2006 with a strong 12-2 win over the North Queensland Cyclones.
However their 5-5 draw with the Southern Suns moved them out of the top two in the competition.
The Brisbane City Cobras also went on a scoring spree; a 12-5 win over the Southern Suns was a strong start for the Cobras side and didn’t slow down with a 10-1 win over North Queensland and a 6-3 win over the Sydney Scorpions.
The Scorpions, Rebels and Queensland Country Rustlers are all still in the hunt, but will need good results on day two to stay in Touch with the Mets, Cobras and Sharks.
WOMENS OPEN:
While most other divisions were up and down like a yo-yo, the results in the Womens Open went pretty much as expected.
The Barbarians are carrying the hopes of WA and NT and with players like Shelley Matcham and Bo Dela Cruz at the helm, followed by youngsters such as Charli Simpkins, you’d be very unwise to consider them as finals fillers rather than serious finals contenders.
They began their campaign with a 12-2 win over the ACT, before backing it up with a 7-4 win over the Crusaders. The Crusaders may not have recorded a win on day one, but their 7-1 loss to the defending champions, the Sydney Mets, and their hard fought tussle with the Barbarians, has won them respect amongst the competition.
The ACT recovered from their loss to the Barbarians, playing good quality Touch to hold the Southern Suns to a 3-3 draw, a result which may hurt the Suns come finals time.
The Sydney Mets didn’t seem to quite make it into the higher gear, with their 7-1 win over the Crusaders and the 8-4 win over North Queensland solid indeed but not dominating.
The Brisbane City Cobras left no doubt who was in control of their match however; their 11-3 win over the Sydney Rebels was not the start the Rebels were after.
The Cobras then backed it up with a 7-3 win over the Northern Eagles, to finish day one at the top of pool two.
In other pool two results, the Rustlers and Hornets are quietly going about their business; the Rustlers coming away with a narrow 6-5 advantage over the Hornets after their 7-2 win over the Sydney Scorpions.
The Sharks will be the team to watch on day two, as they beat the Sydney Rebels 6-1 after sitting out round one with the bye. You can expect the Sharks to move up the ladder and cause the Cobras, Rustlers and Hornets a headache or two!
MENS OPEN:
Pool one in the Mens Open competition was full of drama on day one, as the defending champions, the Sharks, started well with a 12-3 win over the North Queensland Cyclones, but slipped towards the end of the day with a 7-6 loss to the Sydney Mets.
The Mets are looking a very balanced and determined team, with starting with a 12-1 win over the ACT before backing it up with their upset of the Sharks.
The Brisbane City Cobras are proving they have scoring depth, as a variety of scorers led them to an 11-2 win over the Sydney Rebels and a 12-2 win over North Queensland. There real test will come tomorrow though against long time rival, the South Queensland Sharks.
The Scorpions are leading pool two, although they found the going a little tougher in their first round match, a 5-2 win over an improving Barbarians unit promising much for the players from Western Australia and the Northern Territory. With their round two 13-2 victory over the Northern Eagles however, it was two wins on day one and a very positive start for the Scorpions.
With the experience of players such as Mark Boland and the youth and experience of young guns like John and Maurice Kennendy, the Scorpions will still be around come finals time.
The Southern Suns are determined that 2006 will be their year and are second in pool 2 (on percentage only) at the end of the first day’s competition. With an 11-1 win over the Northern Eagles and a hard fought 8-4 win over the Hunter Western Hornets, they look in good form.
The Queensland Country Rustlers have a long list of talent, led by Australian Open Captain Gavin Shuker and are sitting in fourth in pool 2, after a 7-3 win over the Barbarians and a bye. They will probably be a big mover tomorrow as they play in all three matches.
Well, what a day it was. We saw some brilliant diving touches, incredible touchdowns in the dieing seconds or against all odds, draws were happening left right and centre, sending spectators rushing from one game to the other.
We know now that the title favourite means nothing…other than the fact the opposition will only try harder to take you down.
The Mens 20’s and Womens 20’s is the most open competition in history, while who will finish day two on top in the Mens, Womens and Mixed Open is anyone’s guess.
Stay tuned tomorrow for reports on all the action from the 2006 NTL.
Round matches will continue throughout Saturday and Sunday, with quarter finals being played Sunday afternoon.
Semi finals will be held on Monday morning, followed by the Open divisions and Under 20’s grand finals from 12:30pm-6pm.
Competition in the Senior divisions will start on Wednesday, March 15 at 8:30am.
