Joondalup Giants 18 – Fremantle Roosters 28
By PETER ROWE
A gutsy come from behind win saw the Fremantle Roosters take the points to secure their spot in the top four of this season’s NRLWA Fuel to Go and Play Premiership with forward Gethin Thomas earning an MVP rap from coach Duane Butler for his battling performance in the middles.
Butler said he was concerned in the warmup that his side looked flat and it showed early in the game as the Giants matched them across the park.
“We made 13 errors in the first half and several missed tackles,” Butler said. “So we had to step it up in the second half.”
Tries from halfback Scott O’Brien and Lincoln Williams gave the home side a deserved 12-6 lead at the break, Fremantle’s scoring coming through Te Toa Parkinson.
And with about 20 to go, they led 18-6 after Tiger Williams had crossed, before a series of what Matt Gowland called ‘coach killers’ saw the visitors score four tries in the final quarter.
“We gave it to them for about 50 minutes,” Giants coach Gowland said. “Then a superb Ryan Woolley score turned the tide.”
“Too many individual errors cost us, although I have to praise Joel Irvine for an outstanding game. Taurean Sheehan was also superb and Scott (O’Brien), for someone who hasn’t played a lot of footy recently, conducted our performance from the halves.”
The Roosters were a very different team in the second half, completing 100 per cent of their sets and doing what coach Butler said was the basics perfectly.
“We had to grind it out, Joondalup is always a tough place to go and our four late tries showed we are capable of that,” he said.
Woolley’s try double showed he is back from a lengthy injury and ready to terrorise defences again, and winger Manson Carmody and the ever reliable Eli Beattie were their other scorers.
Gethin took the 3-2-1 honours, closely followed by Woolley and backrower Lleyton Cameron.
The Roosters have almost confirmed their third place on the ladder, while the Giants know there is still a lot of work to be done if they are to claim the fourth playoff spot.
“I can’t criticise them for their effort,” Gowland said. “They know what we have to do in our remaining games to make it to the finals.”