BULLS FIRED UP FOR FINALS LONG SHOT
Kalamunda's long shot at a place in the finals looks even longer this weekend when they face competition leaders Nedlands at Hartfield Park in the RugbyWA club competition match of the round, sponsored by KWIK Transport and Crane Hire.
Fifth-placed Kalamunda are five points adrift of fourth-placed Palmyra and the equation for a finals spot is a tough one. At the minimum, the Bulls must win one more game with one more bonus point than Paly in the remaining two weeks of the competition. And if the two clubs end up on equal competition points, the Bulls will need to score a few extra points on the field to boost their percentage, which at present is slightly behind Palmyra's.
Both clubs face a game against the top two sides; Kalamunda this week against Nedlands and Palmyra next week against Cottesloe.
The remaining two fixtures will see Kalamunda take on Wests-Subiaco in round 18, a much harder task this season as the young Wests team have come of age and knocked over a few more fancied outfits. And on Saturday Palmyra play Wanneroo at Kingsway. Wanneroo have been wildly variable this season and they may threaten Palmyra, as they did Nedlands a few weeks ago; or they may collapse without warning, as they did last week against Wests.
If Palmyra beat Wanneroo on Saturday, Kalamunda will need to win both their remaining games, starting with Nedlands, and that's a tall order.
However, it's not impossible. Nedlands started the season with near-perfect club rugby but the second half of the season has seen their form fluctuating. Palmyra and Associates ran Neddies close, the Royal Blues scraped home by one point over University, Cottesloe defeated them at home and then in the upset of the season, Wests-Subiaco defeated them 19-17 at Rosalie Park.
Kalamunda also started well but fell into the doldrums with losses to the top four and an upset loss to Wests-Subiaco preceding an embarrassing 20-10 loss to Wanneroo at Kingsway.
“It's been a season of would of, could of, should of,” Kalamunda coach Paul King said.
“But we've only got ourselves to blame for being where we are.”
But the next week the Bulls bounced back to humble Palmyra 37-17 and, filled with new found confidence, went on to draw with premiers Cottesloe 15-15 at Harvey Field.
“We outscored Cottesloe three tries to two, but they attacked the whole second half. We were hanging on by the skin of our teeth,” King said.
“But we did hold on and right at the end we had a chance to win it, but we threw it over the sideline.”
The Bulls trounced occasionally troublesome Perth-Bayswater 48-12 last week at Pat O'Hara Reserve, and look to be running into form at the right end of the season.
Kalamunda go into the Nedlands game with no new injuries and have the troops to trouble any team on their day, their solid forward pack featuring big prop Aliitaeao Asiata, hooker Abe Haira and talented young number eight Cruze Ah Nau; and an attacking back line with dangerous running flyhalf Dave Kara and busy wing Conrad Gillingham, boosted by elusive new fullback Tane Puki from Southland, New Zealand.
“He came to our club through his brother,” King said.
“He's very good; it's great to have him with us. But you'll never beat Nedlands with individuals; you have to beat them with a team effort.”
Nedlands will need to call the best from their team, with plenty of experience up front and mobile loosies Richie Naylor and Joe Egan terrorising the breakdown. Their backline is oozing with talent, from half back Nathan Roberts, to centres Tukia Muli and Juan Pretorius, to slippery fullback Jake Stevens.
King is keeping an eye on the competition’s permutations but first and foremost is focusing on the task at hand against Neddies.
“It's one game at a time for us,” King said.
“We're five points behind Palmyra. It's no secret, we need to win and we need bonus points. We've got nothing to lose so we're going for it.
“Whenever you play Nedlands it's a hard game. And I can assure you we will leave nothing in the tank.”
One factor in the Bulls’ favour is the venue of their home ground at Forrestfield.
“We haven't much luck against Nedlands at the Foreshore,” King said.
“I don't think I've ever beaten them there, it's a bad hunting ground for us.”
The Bulls will be waiting for news of the Wanneroo-Palmyra contest at the other end of town on Saturday.
“Naturally we'll be cheering for Wanneroo,” King said.
“Wanneroo at home, let's hope they can pull something out of the bag. It would certainly help us.”
In other games, both Rockingham and University will be aiming to salvage a little pride when they meet at Lark Hill, second-placed Cottesloe will be on their guard against much improved Wests-Subiaco at Rosalie Park and third-placed Associates will be treating desperate wooden spooners Perth-Bayswater with caution at Pat O'Hara Reserve.
by Rick Boyd | RugbyWA
