Hounds News

Hounds almost pull off remarkable comeback

The Hounds were beaten 34-20 by Wests Mitchelton at Purtell Park on Saturday. After a dismal first half the Hounds went into half time with the score at 24-6. In a spirited comeback in the second half, the Hounds fought back to 30-20 before a late Wests Mitchelton try put the game beyond reach.

Wests Mitchelton kicked off in the first half, giving themselves a chance in the opening minutes after charging down the Hounds clearing kick on their first set of six. A dropped ball on their third tackle let the Hounds off the hook, but the Mitchelton fullback did not waste any time scoring on the fifth minute, exploiting some lazy Hounds defence. A few minutes later the Panthers half Barry Berrigan put in a wonderful chip kick to the left hand corner, putting his winger in for a try in the seventh minute. A conversion put the Panthers ahead 10-0. Mitchelton did not have to wait long for their third try, with their centre running 60 metres shortly after the restart, to score under the posts. With the score line favouring the Panthers 16-0 after 10 minutes, the Hounds were looking down the gun barrel of a humiliating defeat.

Some hard work from the Hounds forwards after the restart let Normanby’s exciting stalwart Mitchell Chambers make a 40m break down the left side of the field. On the next tackle the Panthers tried to intercept a wayward pass, with the Mitchelton player touching the ball as it sailed over the sideline. From the ensuing scrum the Hounds made the most of their field position with Sandy Kirk running a great line to touch down next to the posts. The conversion from Mitchell Chambers brought the score back to 16-6.

The celebration from the Hounds was short lived however, when a dropped ball after the kick off allowed the Panthers number 19 to push over for a soft try, bringing the score to 20-6. A few minutes later the Hounds first half humiliation was complete when a dummy from the Panthers fullback put him into some space, and he ran 60 metres to score his second for the match. The missed conversion was little consolation for the shell shocked Hounds, who went into the half time break down 24-6.

Despite a fiery start to the second half by Hounds forward Michael “Hightower” Hinchcliffe, the second half looked like going the same way as the first when a Berrigan pass put the Mitchelton centre in for a soft try in the opening minutes. The conversion pushed the score out to 30-6.

A few minutes later the Hounds forwards hard work paid off when Kristian Johnson put up a towering bomb, pounced on by winger Chris Pomfret to score in the right corner. Pomfret was jubilant in scoring a try in his return to his beloved Hounds after his (very) short stint with London Skolars. The kick proved too tough for Mitchell Chambers though, with the score remaining at 30-10.

West Mitchelton were quick to go on the attack, recovering the ball off the kick off, before a poor pass went to ground, and the Hounds were on the attack again. Veteran Ryan Pierce made a break, offloading to Chris Pomfret, who set Grant Weiss up for a great team try.

With the score now 30-14, the Hounds had a sniff of victory. Not long after Mitchell Chambers made a break, making a break but unfortunately lost the footrace to the line, being tackled a few metres short of scoring under the posts.

In the 32^nd minute Hounds centre Ross Jenkins made a break, scoring a magnificent 80 metre solo try, with the Mitchell Chambers conversion making it 30-20.

The Hounds were on the verge of completing a miraculous comeback when the Panthers scored a try right in the closing minutes to put the game out of Normanby’s reach, with the final score being 34-20.

Coach Dean Mulhall was furious with the team’s performance in the first half, but said that the team had plenty of enthusiasm and commitment but very poor execution. The second half proved that the Hounds could have been competitive if they were able to eliminate poor execution from their game. Mulhall singled out forwards Michael Hinchcliffe, Dan Finter and Clancy Fallon, as well as fullback Anthony Dunphy as the Hounds top performers.

The Old Boys points went to 3 Sandy Kirk, 2 Dan Finter and 1 Anthony Dunphy.

The hounds have a week off next week due to the Second Division representative games, but will be back in action 3pm Saturday 26 April vs Aspley Demons at Harry Kirby Park, Kirby Rd Aspley.

Normanby Hounds 20 (Kirk, Pomfret, Weiss, Jenkins tries; Chambers 2 goals) were defeated by Wests Mitchelton Panthers 34 at Purtell Park on Saturday 12 April at 3pm.

In other results Banyo remain undefeated in Northside 1, on 10 points, after beating Aspley 40-12. Valleys Juniors beat Dayboro 50-16 to be in second place on 9 points, while Pine Rivers beat Deception Bay 24-20 to be on 8 points, leaving Deception Bay on 7 points, with Sandgate Brighton, who had the bye. In the other match Samford recorded their first win of the season, beating Nundah Devils 32-14.

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