A KEEBRA Park blitz has sent the Gold Coast school cart
wheeling into the national Arrive Alive Cup final on
Friday September 22 or Saturday 23rd, beating St Dominic’s
Penrith 20-6 in Friday’s semi final at Townsville.
Against bigger opposition Keebra scored three tries
in the opening 13 minutes to all but seal the result,
establishing a 14-0 advantage by the halftime break.
The highlight of the game came just three minutes in
when former Gladstone junior Damon Harth scored a scorching
try from dummy-half, running 40m to bring the Dairy
Farmers Stadium crowd alive.
Equally at home in the centres or forwards, Harth started
at lock and danced confidently through a stack of defenders
as he plunged over for the opening try.
His incision was followed five minutes later with a
try to centre Kyle Bos down a narrow blindside. At first
glance it appeared Bos had bombed a certain try to the
open side, but made amends with his determination to
find the line.
As has been the case all season, the well-drilled Keebra
side showed maturity beyond their years, responding
well to adversity and quickly recovering from errors.
Their line speed in defence was again something to behold
and they took the match to their southern rivals with
a fierce intensity.
When centre Kingi Akauola – a prominent figure
throughout the school’s charge – dived over
for Keebra’s third try, it was all one way traffic.
Yet to St Dominic’s credit they hung on until
halftime with a passage of football which saw them give
as good as they got.
St Dominic’s had beaten highly-rated St Gregory’s
Campbelltown 28-20 the previous week and there was enough
to suggest they would lift in the second stanza.
Unfortunately for them, before they could muster a response,
the elusive Robert Lui pounced for Keebra.
Playing in front of his old home crowd, the Townsville
Centrals and Upper Ross junior made it 18-0, extended
to 20-0 when Matt Parata added the extras.
Not long after St Dominic’s notched their first
points with a slick try to winger John Feiloakitau,
finishing off a backline movement. Backrower Michael
Mate converted for a 20-6 difference.
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