Michael Adams’ crossed for a first half double against the Students.
Photo: Adam MacDonald
| Courageous Marlins go out swinging |
| By: Adam Lucius |
| What: Qualifying final |
| Who: Sydney Uni v Manly |
| Where: Uni Oval |
| Result: Uni 47-31 |
80 minutes in 80 seconds:
Manly had to be innovative, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic and on their game for the full 80 to have any chance against the Sydney Uni juggernaut on a bitterly cold afternoon. And they delivered on just every one of those challenges. We jumped out to an early 7-0 lead through a Michael Adams try before Uni struck back to level it up. Another beauty of a try to Alex Dalzell after wonderful lead-up work from Adams, Ben Crearer and Harry Bergelin restored our seven-point advantage. Again the Students responded with their second try before the Marlins’ best patch of the game. A penalty try and a further long-range five pointer to Adams had us dreaming at 28-14. Manly fans were by then in full voice as the out-numbered Uni contingent sat in silence as their ground announcer tried to keep spirits up with an Israel Folau gag. It fell flat but the scoreline kick-started something in the Students. They scored just before the break and kept the heat on after the interval. We did our best to stay with them but their relentless scrummaging machine and endless supply of quality reserves told in the end. Season over but certainly plenty to be proud of the way we went out.
Where it was Lost:
This was a game of game of wildly contrasting styles. Manly went all out attack while the more conservative Uni were happy to use their advantage in the forwards. All our tries were long range efforts while Uni scored from 5-10m out. It was boring but effective and paid off in the end. As one Manly man said to us at fulltime: “You would have paid $25 to watch us and $5 to watch them.”
Marlins' best:
Every single player put in. There wasn’t a bad player out there.
What They Said:
“The effort was everything you could ask for. I wouldn’t be surprised if Uni end up saying that was the toughest one to get through (in the finals). It’s been an incredibly challenging year and if we’d had our full list for 18 rounds we likely might have fired a shot or two more. That’s the way it goes. We leave here disappointed but holding our heads high.” – coach Brian “Billy” Melrose
“We were causing them some real issues but they scored a couple of easy tries on the back of our penalties. It’s very hard to stop them when they get some momentum. We’ve had a lot of adversity this year and we can be very proud of the way we went out.” – fullback Ben Howard
Worth a mention:
It was a difficult season in many ways. Coach Brian Melrose didn’t get the chance to name the same side two weeks in a row due to the frequent unavailability of some of his key players for a variety of reasons. That lack of continuity was evident throughout the season. A run of four straights wins mid-season was followed by three losses and a draw over the next six weeks. We ended up with nine wins, seven losses and a draw to finish sixth and leave us in the sights of Sydney Uni in week one of the finals. The boys gave it everything but the mountain was just too steep. Bring on 2020.
Where to From Here:
It hurts to say it but that’s season over for the Marlins’ Shute Shield side. Our first grade Colts side take on Randwick on Saturday for a spot in the GF. Good luck boys. Thanks to all who took the time to read the match reports and support the Marlins throughout 2019. Until next time…#boomboom
