Round 10 - Women’s – Whites avalanche buries Royals in Phillip Oval score-a-thon
by Brodie Campbell
The Queanbeyan Whites have produced yet another confidence boosting victory for their bid for the finals, beating Canberra Royals for the second time in two weeks with a 35-28 victory on Saturday morning at Phillip Oval.
The Whites have managed to turn their season around in a big way, overcoming a 1 and 2 start to the year and producing a 5-game winning streak to elevate themselves into 3rd position on the BentSpoke Premier 15s ladder. Their most recent victory was a dominant 36-7 win against the Canberra Royals in front of a home crowd at Campese Oval, and there was plenty of eagerness to make it two in a row against the Royals for their round 10 clash.
It would not take long for the Whites to make a statement as they were over to score in the first five minutes of the contest, with Clementine Utumapu sneaking through to score the first five-pointer of the contest. Royals didn’t take to respond scoring back-to-back tries to take a 14-5 lead at the 20-minute mark. However, as Queanbeyan have done all season long, they found a way to claw themselves back into the contest scoring three quick tries with Jacquiline Eneliko going over to secure a double and Elsie Ford also crossing to give the Whites a 20-14 lead at the half.
It wouldn’t take long for Queanbeyan to continue using their momentum, as they increased their lead by a further ten points. Rosina Tupua was the first to cross as she went over to score just a minute into the second, before Jessie Abnett crashed across just six minutes later to give the Whites a 30-14 lead. The Royals cut the lead down to nine points when they went over to score in the 45th minute, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed by Niamh Billiards, when she went over to score a in the 55th minute. Despite one last throw of the dice by the Royals eight minutes from full time, the Whites defence proved to be the game sealer as they held out the Royals to secure a 35-28 victory.
The victory gives the Whites their sixth consecutive win for the season and helps them maintain 3rd spot on the ladder, trailing closely behind the ViQueens and Lionesses. Queanbeyan will get the chance to knock off one of the two, when they take on the ladder leading Lionesses at Jamison Oval on Saturday morning.
Tries: Jacquiline Eneliko (2), Clementine Utumapu (1), Elsie Ford (1), Rosina Tupia (1), Niamh Billiards. Conv: Nil