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Cottesloe overpowered a gutsy University team 36-17 on the back of complete first half control at McGillivray Oval in the club competition match of the round, sponsored by KWIK Crane and Transport Hire.
With their scrum crushing the Uni pack at will, the Seagulls massively dominated first half territory and possession and led 17-3 at the break. They went into cruise mode for much of the second half as Uni worked back into the game but two quick tries later in the half squashed any thoughts of an upset.
Halfback Dave Cloete starred for the Seagulls with a dynamic attacking performance behind a dominant forward pack, scoring two tries and kicking a swag of goals for a personal tally of 21 points.
Cottesloe won an early kicking duel and dominated early territory, Cloete bouncing the ball off the post in a penalty goal attempt after three minutes. Flanker Josh Gugich almost scored in the corner two minutes later as Cott pressured Uni's line. Uni conceded a string of penalties as they desperately defended, losing hooker Mike Horrocks to the sin bin, and Cloete made no mistake with his second penalty kick from in front after ten minutes.
Uni created a few minutes of attack but Cottesloe won turnover ball and returned to pressuring the home side’s line. Then from a penalty lineout after 17 minutes, the forwards drove up and prop Mark Darling claimed the try. Cloete converted from the sideline and the visitors went ahead 10-0.
There were a few more creative moments for Uni but again Cottesloe turned over ruck ball, the ball going blind where Cloete ran 20 metres ran through a gaping hole to score beside the posts, and converted the sitter for a 17-0 lead to the Seagulls after 25 minutes.
Uni had their chance just before half time with a five metre scrum but Cott's big pack had the Uni eight back-pedalling and the students lost possession. They settled for a 30 metre penalty goal for offside by fullback Wynston Cameron-Dow a minute later and trailed 17-3 going into the break.
Cottesloe resumed service into the second spell, turning over Uni's scrum at will, but dropped their concentration and made errors as Uni stoically defended their 22.
Instead, Uni moved play downfield and when Cott skewed a clearing kick into touch in their 22, Uni attacked eagerly. From a free kick the ball went blind on a Uni overlap, Cameron-Dow crossing out wide to touch down closer to the posts with a certain vested interest, converting himself to close the gap to 17-10 after 14 minutes.
Uni evened up the possession stakes as the half progressed and launched waves of attacks in Cott's 22 but the visitors broke out following a free kick and the loose forwards tore downfield, handing on to reserve wing Tim McCormick for a try in the corner after 27 minutes.
Two minutes later the Seagulls were in again; centre Sam Parker breaking wide down the touch line for a try in the other corner. Cloete booted the second sideline conversion to extend the Cottesloe lead to 29-10 on the half hour.
But Uni didn't give up and swarmed downfield for a try in the corner to wing Mark O’Toole, Cameron-Dow also landing a sideline conversion to close in 29-17.
In the closing 15 minutes the beleaguered Uni pack opted for uncontested scrums and a period of messy play ensued, but with minutes to play Cottesloe forced a lineout and the forwards drove up, the ball going out to Cloete for the try. Cloete converted his second for the winning score of 36-17.
Describing the win as "pretty pleasing", Cottesloe coach Ian Fowler said the opposition had played as he expected.
"They were missing one of their big front-rowers, but I thought we'd have them in the scrum and that proved to be the case," Fowler said.
"We dominated the first half and tried to play our structure, but in the second half we had an injury and had to move the back line around.
"We sort of switched off for a while but then Uni scored and the boys thought it was starting to get close again, and they cranked it up. We put a couple of tries on them in three or four minutes and then cruised again.
"We've got to put sides away. Uni are a good, young, enthusiastic side but I always thought we'd be able to do a good job here."
Fowler was particularly impressed with his team's set pieces.
"We pinched a few of their lineouts and certainly smashed their scrums," he said.
"They went uncontested and that's disappointing in first grade. But Jerry [Mataceva] said they just don't have a tighthead at the moment, and they've got some injuries. That's up to them."
Fowler named Cloete and flanker Carl Leery as his standout players.
"And the front row, smashing the scrum, obviously did a good job," Fowler said.
"In periods they all played well and looked really sharp but then eased off and looked for someone to do something, and Dave [Cloete] was the one who did that for us."
In other games, inconsistent Perth Bayswater hit the afterburners for a strong 26-12 win over premiers Kalamunda at Pat O'Hara Reserve, while Wanneroo stormed home for a big 45-7 win over Rockingham at Kingsway.
At Rosalie Park Associates had a relatively subdued 34-10 win over struggling Wests-Subiaco and at Tompkins Park, fifth-placed Nedlands announced their return to the heavyweight division with a knife-edge 32-31 win over competition leaders Palmyra, just the second loss the born-again Melville club has suffered this season.
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Originally Posted by RugbyWA
