Axemen are happy with win
July 28, 2008
By GREG WHITE
ORARA Valley had a warm glow at the end of a freezing Coramba afternoon after registering a handsome 30-12 win
over tough rivals Sawtell yesterday.
After both clubs stalked each other like old lions, looking and waiting for an opening to appear, the Axemen broke the
stalemate when fullback Ryan Walker crossed in the 19th minute.
And from that moment, the home side always looked the candidate most likely.
Star of the show was rookie halfback Jason McGrady Jr who left sidelined coach Darryl Fisher ecstatic at the youngster's
performance.
"We know he can run the ball but some of his tackles, especially when he took big blokes on and put them on their
backs, was right out of the box," Fisher said.
"The match didn't start with ferocity but it was very technical with tit-for-tat and good field position for both teams.
"With the mobility in our team you'd expect them to start shifting Sawtell about so we got on top and that's what
happened."
Three tries in the opening session and not having their line crossed had Orara sitting in the box seat.
The inevitable scent of aggression spread across the ground soon after the resumption but the Axemen weathered the
storm by racing in two more tries before Sawtell could finally lodge their first points.
"I'm not worried my boys switched off or got a little undisciplined under the circumstances," Fisher said.
"When things get physical you answer as the situation demands or when things are a bit of a dead set lottery."
Head Panther Craig Wallace said his troops had measured up defensively but had lost direction at vital stages.
"Whenever our handling fell away it gave Orara a piggyback, in particular close to the line where they are very
dangerous," he said.
"It didn't help when we lost some blokes to injury and with the bench we were down to 15 men ... things like that are
unexpected and part of footy and you can't anticipate how it will hurt until it happens."