QUICK WRAP: Clydesdales vs Magpies
28 May 2023 - Western play Souths Logan in round 11 of the Queensland Cup on Sunday afternoon at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba
How was it?
I had a vision of how the 2-7 Clydesdales team hosting the 6-1-2 Magpies would unfold. For patches, we got what I expected and then for other stretches of the game, especially the first 20 minutes and the last 10, we saw what Toowoomba football was about.
Final result
Eye test
We enjoyed perfect south-east Queensland winter weather on the weekend. Clive Berghofer is good enough of a facility to make the game look that just bit more professional (compare and contrast to Logan Metro). The on-field action was both enjoyable, albeit marred by frequent errors and a lot of whistle, but still hit the right QCup vibe for the middle of the season.
The Clydesdales charged out to an early lead, capitalising on some extremely dumb work from the black and whites. It never seemed sustainable, as the Magpies were clearly too fast and too strong and too classy to be contained. Still, it took Souths Logan a while to wrest control of the scoreboard and then put enough points on it to put the match out of reach. The Mags put the cue back in the rack with about 30 minutes left on the clock, leaving just enough time for the Dales to rally and put some points of their own on the board, giving their opponents a real scare. Western were only six down with eight to go, but a Jordan Pereira try put the result beyond doubt.
Stats
This game came down to errors, specifically the Dales’ +5. Western made 45m/set compared to 46m/set for Souths Logan, so the Horses had the capability to go with the Birds, but the Clydesdales lost control of the ball and were forced to make an extra 63 tackles. While they could hit hard on the counterattack through the middle - perhaps something to note for future - but blew their chances when they had them to take control of the game. Fatigue eventually opened them up to the Magpies’ attack to some very soft tries. That left a lopsided count in metres and the advanced stats.
Even then, the difference in scores was down to goal kicking. Bessie Toomaga went 0-from-3 before handing duties over to Cory McGrady, who managed 2-from-3, the last miss coming on full time when it was irrelevant. Toomaga has been the keystone of this team and he will be rueing the missed opportunity to put pressure on a Magpies side that had shown defensive weaknesses to be exploited, and potentially win the Clydesdales’ third game of their return season.
Under the microscope
The main reason I wanted to watch this game was to check out Melino Fineanganofo. I hadn’t heard of Fineanganofo - he’s a 24-year-old dual-code Aucklander, with some not unreasonable comps to Valynce Te Whare - but he popped up as the leading centre by WARG, ahead of Cup stalwart Sami Sauiluma and prospect I’m going to speak into existence, Solomona Faataape. Unfortunately, Fineanganofo broke his fingers and has missed the last few games. This was to be his return but he strained his calf and came off after 28 minutes. He did score the first try of the match, diving on a perfect grubber from Cory McGrady, to celebrate his elevation to the Bulldogs’ top 30 for 2024.
Instead, we switch focus to Cruise Ten, the 22 year old out of Mt Hagan in Papua New Guinea. A Waterford junior, Ten has been hanging around the Souths system for a while and is establishing himself this year as a legitimate Cup-level player. He currently has the most Wins Above Reserve Grade of any interchange player in the league.
Ten can run and attract multiple defenders.
Ten also has a bit of footwork and leg drive for post-contact metres.
He has a Meninga-like stiffarm.
Apparently, he can kick as well.
It’s great to see the investment pay off in a local product. Ten has a diverse offensive toolset, which potentially points to a future as a top line 13.
Boxscores
Notes
Programming - Stats Drop will return next week. Yes, it’s a bold move to take the most consistently popular segment and replace it with QCup coverage, but that’s the brand and you all literally signed up for this.
Both sides loved to run it on the last and get caught with the ball. Weird.
Darryn “Big Diesel” Schonig and Cory McGrady had fine days out for Western.
Blackhawks refugee Jordan Lipp looked a lot more comfortable at the back for the Horses than he did earlier in the year for the Choppers.
Jordan Pereira has been an absolute beast for the Magpies and he’s unlucky that his Cup form isn’t enough to displace the two Origin-calibre wingers and the very good season Jesse Arthars is having on the Broncos’ depth chart. His last try was basically a solo effort, turned back on the inside by Campagnolo, he had to run over the Clydesdales’ edge to get over the line.
Not that it really mattered but Souths really could have used Tristan Sailor. Unfortunately, Sailor was too busy having a good game for the Broncos. I wonder where he fits into the Broncos long term plans, now that the incumbent Maroons fullback occupies Sailor’s preferred jersey?
Broncos fans are frothing for Blake Mozer, preferably to replace Billy Walters at hooker but will probably actually displace Cory Paix, given the latter is not the coach’s son. Mozer played the first 30, handed over to Callum Eggerling to play the next 30 and they shared duties to close out the game. Sample size of one and all that but you can look at the score graph above and draw your own conclusions. Certainly Mozer struggled a couple of times getting passes away from inside the 5 in his first stint.
The Clydesdales have a bit of a Dolphins vibe about them. They’re the new team in the comp and they have a plucky streak in them. Unlike the NRL Dolphins, they have an execution problem and haven’t beaten anyone other than the Jets (which itself must be satisfying for them). But while I expected them to come in and get blown off the park by 40 every week, they’re losing by less than converted try on average. The Capras have shown how quickly that script can be flipped with a bit of help from the NRL level. There are at least three or four winnable games left on their schedule.
After the absolute disaster last year, West End must be feeling pretty good right now. The Birds had a sluggish start with two draws from their first three games, but have only really been beaten by the Falcons. By the same token, they’ve really only beaten Tweed and the rest of the schedule has been a step or two off the pace. Still, Souths have got the right sort of balance of players to contend this year. The trick is to have players that are good but not good enough to be scooped up into NRL systems mid-year, except as injury or Origin cover. Campagnolo, Robinson, Eggerling, Mozer, Sailor and Te Kura all fit that bill. Next week’s clash against Burleigh will be the real test of their credentials.
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