University have overcome a pair of gruesome injuries to claim a thrilling 24-17 victory over Shamrocks on Saturday.
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The Bulls have been plagued by disruption throughout the season with a steady injury toll and the repeated absence of their five NSW Country representatives preventing the side from establishing a settled lineup.
With the representative season now complete, coach Dion Miller was hoping his team could kick into high gear in the final six weeks of the season.
However, Miller must now return to the drawing board after both John Melville and Sam Latu suffered season ending leg injuries on Saturday.
“We desperately needed the victory,” Miller said. “To come here and beat Shamrocks is no easy feat. We’ve got a couple of serious injuries which dented our armour, we can’t seem to take a trick, we get two or three serious injuries a week at the moment.
“We’ve been focusing on getting that cohesion and we’re still not quite there. But now we’ve got to make up a new set of forwards and a new set of backs, we’re very saddened by those two injuries.”
The injuries came midway through the first half, with Uni holding onto a 14-5 lead. The Bulls quickly regained the ascendancy following a lengthy delay as Latu was treated, but they were unable to extend their lead prior to halftime.
Uni started the second half as they finished the first and it was fullback Donovan Nepia who laid the platform for his side to extend their lead early in the second. Nepia and five-eighth Tom Baker then played a crucial role in ensuring the Bulls controlled the territorial battle for the remainder of the match.
“The injuries meant our strike plays had different personnel, so we couldn’t execute what we trained with. But the boys adapted very well, now we’re looking at a different style of backline in the coming weeks.
“Brayden [Grehan] came on for Sam and was exceptional. Now as coaches we have to adapt to his style and give our backline a different set up.”
Despite struggling to maintain possession for sustained periods of play, Shamrocks defended tirelessly for the full 80 minutes. The home side forced numerous University errors, one of which led to a 73rd minute try.
With a missed conversion, the deficit stood at two, however Uni veteran Paul Tuala crossed in the final minute to secure the victory.
While disappointed with the outcome, coach Ron Davis was pleased with his side’s defensive effort.
“The defence kept us in the game today [Saturday],” Davis said. “In attack, we talked about holding on to the ball before the game, minimising the loose carries and what we talked about is exactly what we didn’t do, which was disappointing.”
In other results, Shoalhaven put an end to Vikings seven-game winning streak with a 44-36 victory, Tech defeated Campbelltown 29-27, Bowral outplayed Kiama 52-7 and Avondale walloped Camden 67-14.