Sevens Hailed
Saturday 17th February, 2005

The annual Illawarra League Sevens hosted by the Wollongong University RLFC has been abandoned due to a wild storm which hit Keiraville and surrounding areas just before 4pm today. The storm brought with it wild winds, torrential rain, hail interspersed with thunderous acoustic activity and brilliant electrical activity.

The storm activity eventuated just prior to Wests Illawarra taking the field against the Rosehill Brumbies to decide the winner of Pool 1. Earlier in the day, Port Kembla had defeated Rosehill 20-12. If Wests were to defeat Rosehill, The Devils would have been named winners of the pool and would have progressed to the Quarter Final stage of the competition. Had The Devils lost to Rosehill, Port Kembla, by virtue of a superior for and against, would have gone through to the quarters.

Port's win over Rosehill came on the back of tries to Christian Kupenga, Nick Koziak, Luke Roberts, and a length of the field effort after the final siren to Daniel Matthews. Most impressive for The Blacks was the unearthing of some new talent as well as the solid contributions made by grade newcomers Christian Kupenga and Oscar Ferreira. The two former 18's played a big role in the Brumbies victory, while Kupenga also stood out in the loss to Wests on the Friday night.

Even though Sevens football is not a real indication of the proper form of the game, the signs are good for The Blacks for the forthcoming season. Port's first full trial is on 5th March at Noel Mulligan Oval against Group Seven outfit the Nowra Warriors. First and Reserve Grades and Under 18's will be in action on the day. Start times are to be advised shortly.

PORT KEMBLA SEVENS SQUAD:
Josh Edwards, Oscar Ferreira, Lincoln Hutchison, Daniel Jiminez, Nick Koziak, Christian Kupenga, Daniel Matthews, Junior Phillip, Luke Roberts, Mark Simon, Jason Sullivan, Tom