Port 22 def. Collegians 20

All the hype pointed towards a cracker of a game and the two teams at Noel Mulligan Oval didn't let the crowd down. One of the biggest crowds seen at Noel Mulligan since Wollongong and Port opened proceedings in 2002 witnessed a great spectacle when undefeated competition leaders Collegians visited Port's den. The Blacks came out victorious on a day which also saw Victor Daly celebrate his 250th Grade Game for Port Kembla.

First Grade opened with a penalty to Port just twenty metres out from Collie's line and right in front. Mark Simon opened his account guiding the ball between the sticks for an early 2-o lead to Port. Johno Johnson then made his presence felt with a deft 40/20 kick which earned Port good field position deep in Collies territory. The Black's couldn't convert possession into points on this occasion.

Instead, Collies equalised through a Dane Dorahy penalty goal after nine minutes of play. Dane's brother Jason almost set up the first try of the match when he grubbered close to the Port line. The ball was pounced on by a Collies chaser, but dropped in clear view of the line under some smothering Port defence.

With Craig Simon still suffering from injury and coaching from the sideline, rookie back Glen McPhee was given the opportunity to start in his debut first grade game. With the Collies defence stretched, Jason Sullivan passed to McPhee who threw a great last ball inside to Mark Simon who crossed for his tenth try of the season. Simon converted his own try and Port had a six point lead after 18 minutes of play.

Four minutes elapsed before Grant Roberts was held up over the Collegians try line after a strong run. From the ensuing play, Mark Simon threw a perfect ball, hitting Luke Roberts on the chest. Roberts crossed for the try, Simon converted and Port led the Dogs by twelve.

Port were almost in again three minutes later when centre Lulia Lulia made a great break, offloading to Simon. Simon got the final ball away to Juita Suka, who was held up over the line to the anguish of the Port fans on the hill. Port squandered possession though when an errant ball went flying over the touch line, seemingly letting Collegians off the hook.

Collies prop Nathan Lakeman then took the ball up on the first tackle of the set. He was hit in a fierce tackle by a number of Port forwards, forcing the ball to pop free. Port went forward with the ball, but Jason Dorahy injected himself in the Black's backline, running 60 metres for an intercept try to get Collies back into the game. Brother Dane missed the conversion attempt and Port led 14-6.

With five to go in the first half, Collies had the play the ball, but some back chat from the Collies player forced referee Mick Dupille award the penalty to Port. Port went ahead with their set, kicking in goal on the third tackle. The ball rolled dead and Collies restarted from their own twenty. The ball made it's way to Port's quarter where the Blacks assumed possession. They dropped the ball inside their own quarter allowing Collies to attack. Jason Sullivan made a try saver by grabbing a Collies jersey before they knocked on on the last tackle. The final event of the first half was a Port penalty after Collies were found guilty of a dangerous throw.

Clint Hill's monster of a first half continued when he opened the second stanza with a bone crunching tackle. The first five minutes of the second half saw ferocious exchanges as both packs went about trying to assert their dominance over their rivals. During the passage of play, Collies' captain-coach Jason Ferris was one of the casualties on the end of some harsh defence, forcing the game to momentarily halt as he was attended to by the medics.

Mark Simon kicked out on the full in the sixth minute handing possession over to Collies, who then proceeded to drop the ball on the second tackle, cancelling out Port's mistake. Five minutes later the roles were reversed when some strong Port defence saw Collies lose the ball, only to see Port do the same in return.

It was the twelve minute mark of the half when a backline movement resulted in Dane Dorahy crossing in the corner for Collies second try. Dorahy could not convert and Port held a four point lead.

Two minutes later Collies scored a huge 40/20 kick putting them in prime position to continue their attack on the Black's goal line. Collies again turned over possession early on in the tackle count. Port's raid saw Johno Johnson break the Collies line, striding well into opposition territory. Johnson lost the ball however trying to offload the pass. Three minutes later and after some enterprising play, Mark Simon sent a ball away to Grant Roberts who went close to scoring before losing possession five metres from Collies try line.

Collies then attempted another 40/20 kick which looked the goods. However, with the ball racing towards the touchline, 20 metres from the Port try line, some McPhee magic saw the ball tapped back in play, regathered, and Port go back on the attack. On the fourth tackle of the set, Johnson kicked for Schrader to chase, only to see the ball go over the dead ball line by inches. Port continues to issue some staunch defence, forcing another Collegians error. However, an uncharacteristic mistake from Mark Simon at the base of the scrum handed Collies back the initiative.

It was Collies who scored next when some quick hands resulted in speedster Chris Barnes going over in the corner. Dorahy's conversion attempt again went wide, leaving the scores tied at fourteen a piece with 17 minutes remaining.

Collies took the lead for the first time in the match Jason Ferris elected to launch his first bomb of the afternoon. The towering punt could not be handled by Clinton Schrader at the back of the pack, the ball bouncing straight into the waiting arms of Mark Booth who strolled over to score under the posts. The conversion gave Collegians a six point lead with 14 minutes of play left.

Port attacked for the next five minutes, unable to invent the play which would breach the Collies defence. Collies made it into the Port forty before they turned possession over to The Blacks. With six minutes remaining, Port received a penalty 10 metres from the Collegians line as The Dogs stripped the ball from a tackled player. Port searched for a hole both sides of the ruck before a clever grubber kick from Johno Johnson saw Mark Simon on the fly, diving and catching the ball in the one movement, planting it in the in goal for Port to narrow the gap to two with a kick to come. Simon's conversion never left the desired line and Port had scores locked at 20-all with under five minutes of play remaining.

With two minutes of play left, Port had worked the ball well inside the Collies half. With possession at a premium, Collies attempted to work their way back up field. The Port defence held firm and forced Collegians to drop the ball on the second tackle of the set. From the scrum, Jason Dorahy took Greg Hooper high. Dupille was alerted by his touch judge and Port were awarded a penalty thirty metres out, just to the right of the uprights.

The ground fell silent as Simon lined up the kick. The ball sailed high and through the sticks, the touch judges raised flags sending the Port faithful into a wild frenzy. Port held on for the remaining minute of play to inflict Collies first loss of the season, and to stamp the Blacks as a genuine title contender.

Port played well across the park, but it was in the engine room that they laid the foundation for a stirring victory. Clint Hill and Grant Bobbin were rocks up front, with Johno Johnson again a handful in attack and a bullock in defence. Andrew Bobbin played his best game of the season, and Mark Simon always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. His perfect five from five goal kicking display was also a factor in the final score with Collies scoring four tries to Port's three. Glenn Mcphee had a memorable debut start in the top grade and will surely push to be retained when the teams are announced for next week.

The victory keeps Port in third spot on the ladder, with a game in hand still to be played (vs Corrimal).

BLACK's TEAM:  4.Glen McPhee, 2.Juita Suka, 3.Lulia Lulia, 1.Jason Sullivan, 5.Clinton Schrader, 6.Greg Hooper, 7.Mark Simon, 8.Clint Hill, 9.Johno Johnson, 10.Grant Bobbin, 11.Nick Nikitaras 12.Andrew Bobbin, 13.Grant Roberts, 14.Luke Roberts, 15.Victor Daly, 16.Daniel Jiminez

The Black's moved into second spot on the Reserve Grade ladder after a hard fought 14-10 win against nemesis Collegians. Victor Daly marked his 250th Grade Game with a memorable display, in the process turning back the clock before a large contingent of his family.

The game was only three minutes old when Daly made his presence felt, stripping the ball n a one on one tackle and galloping 60 metres up field before being tackled. Four minutes later and Daly was at it again, kicking low into the Collies in goal on the final tackle, only to see the ball cleaned up by fullback Daniel Turner, in the process earning Port a goal line drop out.

Everything seemed to be centred around Victor Daly. Twelve minutes into the game Daly tackled a Collies player at high speed, forcing the ball loose and earning Port a scrum feed. Two minutes later, Daly brushed off three defenders, got tackled and then earned a penalty for an infringement in the ruck. Joel Murton potted the penalty goal for a 2-0 lead to Port.

Port made an error from the kick off but Collies could not capitalise on the mistake. Instead, 18 minutes had elapsed when Mohamad Alchaar made a good run, sending a pass in to Paul Lokys. Lokys chipped and chased, earning good ground for Port. The next five minutes degenerated into an error-a-thon, with both sides feeling the effects of a torrid opening 25 minutes of play.

With Collies looking like certain scorers, winger Troy Fleming pulled off a try saving tackle. It proved all in vain though, with Collies earning a penalty shortly after, and turning the possession into points. Zac Ballinger scored through a huge hole, Collies taking a six point lead.

Joel Murton narrowed the gap with a penalty goal in the 31st minute. A Ben Carr break and ball to Luke Roberts looked like resulting in a Black's try one minute from half time, however the linesman ruled the ball forward, sending the teams to the break with Collies leading by two points.

Five into the second half and Daly made a bust down the left side of the field. He tried to pass inside to Don Kane as the fullback approached, but Kane could not reel in the pass.

Joel Murton then matched Daly's skill and went one further, swerving through the Collies backline to put Don Kane in for a try. Murton missed the conversion, but Port led 8-6.

Collies regained the lead fifteen minutes into the half through a Mark Booth try. The conversion attempt missed and Collies led by two. Daly made a break on the fifth tackle of the Black's 23rd minute set of tackles. He passed in to Wayne Harvey who off loaded to Luke Roberts who again looked to have scored. The linesman again ruled a forward ball and Collies had another life handed to them.

It wasn't until the 29th minute when Port regained the lead for good through a Mohamad Alchaar dart. Fittingly, Alchaar sealed the win against his junior club, Port going on to win 14-10. Victor Daly and Joel Murton were Port's best, but were ably supported by Ben Fera, Wayne Hravey and Troy Fleming.

BLACK's TEAM:   1.Don Kane, 2.Troy Fleming, 3.Joel Murton, 5.Victor Daly, 4.Paul Lokys, 13.Wayne Harvey, 7.Ben Carr, 8.Ben Fera, 9.Mohamad Alchaar, 6.Shane Glasson, 11.Daniel Ryman, 12.Luke Roberts, 10.Daniel Jiminez, 14.Jason Hardy, 15.Matt Skora, 16.Matt Campbell, 17.Paul Champion, 18.George Webb, 19.Matt Richards

Thirroul scored first after twenty minutes of arm-wrestle like play. Hooker Danny Ostwald darted over for the converted try. The Butchers scored again three minutes later, causing some groans from the Port supporters.

But it only took three minutes for Port to hit back through a Nick Henry try. Scott Crowther included himself in a backline raid and found some space down the left side of the field. He threw the final ball for Henry to score, Keith Lulia to convert, and Port to go to the break just four points down.

Port's defensive effort in the second stanza won them the game, not only denying The Butchers a try, but doing so with Thirroul pounding their try line at close range time after time. It took 18 minutes for Port to score the try which would win them the game. Keith Lulia, backing up from a victory as part of the Illawarra Divisional side the day before, busted the Butcher's line, jaunting to the Butcher's quarter line. The Wollongong Asphalt Under 18 Blacks received a penalty on the next tackle for off-side. From the play, Christian Kupenga crossed the try line. Keith Lulia converted and Port took the lead for the final time in the game.

For Port, Scot Crowther and Aaron Troiano had big games. Joseph Gander was solid in the forwards, while Ellis Dale made some important defensive plays at times.

BLACK's TEAM:   1.Scott Crowther, 2.Aaron Troiano, 3.Oscar Ferreira, 4.Keith Lulia, 5.Joel Court, 6.Matt Michalowski, 7.Christian Kupenga, 8.Anthony Harris, 9.Kane Armstrong, 10.Jon Koot, 11.Keiran Jack, 12.Osman Elmir, 13.Joseph Gander