Brothers have endured their second loss in a row, going down 19-17 against a strong Norths side in round 12 of Queensland Premier Rugby.
A breakdown in Brothers’ defence saw Norths leading in the first twenty minutes of the first half but playmaker Damon Murphy made use of his attacking skills and put some points on the board for the Brethren.
Maintaining excellent defence throughout the game, Norths denied Brothers many near-tries. Even with Norths having a 12-man team at one stage due to three yellow cards, Brothers were unable to capitalise on the opportunity to score two more tries to achieve a much-coveted bonus point win.
Norths coach Michael Bishop was proud of his team’s efforts during this difficult phase of the game.
“We showed a lot of courage today especially with being down to twelve men at one stage but we just persevered with our defence.”
Norths wingers Piriipi Neho-Popata and Varesa Vuki demonstrated excellent speed and attacking skills throughout the game and proved to be stand-out performers in the game.
Brothers’ backline also combined good footwork and speed, with the combination of regaining the ball and gaining possession. Unfortunately, several handling errors from both teams prevented the ability to capitalise on try-scoring opportunities.
The close game demonstrated the turnaround in Norths’ season and coach Michael Bishop believes that it was a well-deserved win.
“We’ve been close a lot of times and we just haven’t got there…we were determined to win and I think we definitely deserved the win.”
With Brothers facing a series of tough games, this upset was not the confidence boost they were looking for.
“Obviously very disappointed, we struggled to match them physically and mentally. We are not far away but we have to improve quickly,” said Brothers Head Coach Matt Kaye.
Brothers now look forward to next week, playing recent dark-horse of the competition Souths at Chipsy Wood oval, while Norths take on an improving Gold Coast side down the coast.
By Rebecca Thompson
Norths 19 (Tonga Maafu, Piriipi Neho-Popata tries, Lasarusa Tabu 2 pen 1 con) defeated Brothers 17 (Damon Murphy, Charlie Freney tries, Dylan Taikato-Simpson 1 pen, 2 con)