Tallon Smith
A hat-trick to former NRL star Brent Naden propelled the Thirroul Butchers to a 24-18 victory over Collegians at a wet and muddy Thomas Gibson Park on Saturday afternoon.
With a number of key players missing, including former Queensland Origin representative Corey Allan, the ladder-leaders crossed the tryline five times to secure the two competition points in conditions certainly not suited to free-flowing football.
Thirroul coach Jarrod Costello said he was happy with the performance given the forced changes to the team and the strength of their opponents.
“[I’m] really pleased with [the win], we had a lot of players missing and a lot of young guys got their opportunity to play first grade for the first time, or play in positions that they are not really used to, and I thought they did a great job,” he said.
“[I’m] really proud of everyone’s efforts from a club point of view with as many players as we had missing.”
Naden strolled in off a right hand side shift to open the scoring for the Butchers after five minutes, before Nic Hall rose above Liam Morath to take a Blair Grant kick and put Collegians ahead 6-4.
Thirroul regained its lead 13 minutes later when Jordan McGrath broke the line from dummy half, sending the home side into the break up 8-6.
Two former NRL players traded tries on the other side of half time, with Charly Runciman hitting a Max Devlin short ball at speed to crash over, before Naden scooped up a lost ball following a kick for his second.
Flynn O’Mara extended Thirroul’s advantage to 20-12, scoring from an incredible long range grubber and regather from dummy half, a margin Naden added to with a runaway third try, with Hall’s second eight minutes from full time not enough for Collegians as the Butchers held on for a six-point victory.
When asked about the impact of the sloppy conditions on the match, Costello said he thought his side handled them well, with the Butchers still playing disciplined football despite the obvious challenge of moving the ball.
“When you are playing in conditions like that it prevents you from being able to move the ball, and that played into our hands no doubt,” he said.
“In saying that we completed at 91 percent in the first half and 85 percent in the second half, and there were still [eight] tries scored, so while the conditions hampered how you could play, there were still enough points in it to make it a contest.”
On the other side of the ball, while the wet weather hindered Collegians’ attack, the Butchers kept their opponents to just 18 points, under the Collie Dogs’ average of 22.5 throughout their opening six games.
While he was overall pleased with the way in which Thirroul defended, Costello still identified a couple of areas which his side could improve.
“[I was] impressed with our defence, probably disappointed with a couple of tries that we conceded,” he said.
“The first try from the kick, Nic Hall is hard to handle in those situations, he did really well, but I was disappointed in those other two tries, we just didn’t get off the line and sat back and didn’t get our numbers right on the second try.
“All in all Collies are a very good side, so happy with how we went overall.”
As for the three-try hero on the day in Naden, Costello said the veteran of 88 NRL games has been a massive part of the Butchers’ success so far this season.
“He’s just pure class, you don’t get players at this level of his class often, and we are really lucky that we have got him in our side,” he said.
“He’s just got that instinct, he’s able to pick up a loose ball and run the length, he has done that a couple of times and it just changes momentum in games, and the way he leads and talks and gives our young guys confidence, he has been exceptional for us, we are really lucky to have him.
“Him and his family have really bought into the club and we are stoked to have him in our crew.”
Next up for Thirroul is a clash with Dapto again at Gibson Park, while Collegians will host Corrimal at Collegians Sports Complex.
