Illawarra League: Collegians see off Butchers in Gibson Park thriller

The Butchers made all the first-half running with three tries, two while Collies fullback Callum Gromek was in the sin-bin, but couldn't strike a blow in the second stanza that saw the visitors storm home to win.

The Dogs got across the line just three minutes into the contest, but remained scoreless through the ensuing 37 minutes as the hosts ran in three tries and pressed hard for a fourth.

In the end, Josh Martin's conversion of Wayne Bremner's 19^th minute four-pointer proved the hosts final points of the afternoon, with second-half double to Tony Rumble steering the reigning premiers home.

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Having dropped their previous two outings against top-four opposition in disappointing fashion, the win over last year's minor premiers on their patch was major return to form for Peter Hooper's side.

"We spoke about it halftime and said 'it's not gonna be given to us' and we just were relentless for 40 minutes in that second half," Hooper said.

"Against Thirroul, you know what you're going to get. The competition's that close, if you don't turn up week in week out, you're going to get beat and today we were really impressive, just with our attitude.

"We spoke during the week about competing with our line speed and that was working really well for us at the start of the season. We've probably gone away from that, so if we got that area of our game right we'd give ourselves a chance.

"I think the last 10 minutes [of the first half] set up our second half, because if you go in at 22-6 you're no chance at Thirroul. It was all about momentum today and, after that first half, we just had to try and get some fatigue into them and we did that.

"It was just the mindset of our boys. They wanted to be here today, they wanted to be in the contest against Thirroul, you could just tell from the get-go. It was probably the best we've played all season.

"The only other time we've played really well was against Thirroul in the first round, but to do it here at Gibbo, I'm really proud of the effort."

Sam McCann opened the scoring for the visitors off a neat shift, but the Butchers hit back quickly when a Steve Marsters flick put Martin over in the south-eastern corner.

Collies lost Gromek on the Butchers next visit to their end, the Butchers capitalising through Jarrod Boyle, who also provided a beautiful cut-out pass for Bremner's try midway through the stanza.

Marsters went desperately close to another try that could have put the game beyond Collies' reach before halftime, only to be held up over the line by the desperate cover to keep the margin at 16-6 at the break.

Josh Dowel got the visitors second-half ball rolling with a barge-over effort from close range before a well-time shift saw Rumble grab his first try. He had an eyes-up effort from hooker Jack Cross to thank for his second, down the shortest of blindsides to re-take the lead.

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The Butchers pressed hard for a go-ahead try as the match headed down the stretch, Marsters the ever-present danger, but the home side couldn't find the points before Gromek's 79^th minute try sealed the deal.

Having led comfortably at halftime on their own turf, Butchers coach Jarrod Costello admitted it was a chance gone begging for his side.

"We just didn't come out of the sheds in the second half," Costello said.

"I don't know what it was, we were just flat. We were flat in the first half too to be honest. We found 15 minutes of good footy to put some points on the board, but we were just too ill-disciplined.

"We completed at 44 per cent. If you give a team as good as them that much ball, they're going to score points and we just never give ourselves a chance.

"Had we been able to string a few sets together I thought we probably could have stolen one, but we just couldn't. We just kept giving them the ball and then defending our line and leaked points that way.

"We weren't playing great, but it's definitely one that got away the fact that we blew that lead so it's very disappointing. We need to be better because the guys that are coming to town next week (Wests) aren't too shabby either."

The rare Gibson Park double against two heavyweights in Collegians and Wests is one the Butchers need to capitalise on, with Saturday's loss putting further emphasis on this coming Saturday's showdown with Wests.

"I thought we had a really good opportunity today," Costello said.

"We had a few missing, like everyone this time of year, but we had a strong side in the field and I thought there was every opportunity playing at home, the sun was out.

"We need to use that, we need to front up and use it as a bit of motivation because [Wests] are a very good side. They haven't been beaten, they're a really well organised side, they've been together for a long time.

"We need to better but it's not insurmountable. It was three or four tries-all last time we played them. We need to improve a few key things that concerned me, the ill discipline and stuff like that.

"We need to sort it out but we've got a week to do it and we'll turn up and have another go next week."

Elsewhere on Saturday, De La Salle overcame Dapto 38-20 at Captain Cook Oval, while Wests saw off Corrimal 38-8 at Parrish Park.

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