All Lower Mountains teams on the weekend wore black arm bands and had a minute's silence prior to each game to show their respect for a fine woman of rugby league, Jan Cameron. The Lower Mountains club wish to extend their condolences to the Cameron family and to the Katoomba Devils.
Under 7s Lower Mountains v St Clair. Although the score line doesn't show it, the boys showed a lot of improvement in their game. Focusing on defence and staying in the field will lead to bigger and better games. Our first try of the season went to Hunter Jackson with a storming run up the field. Jordan Kime, Liam Hicks and Josh Mitchell showed a lot of promise for the season ahead.
Under 8/1s Lower Mountains 22 v Rooty Hill 28. It was a very even match with each team losing the lead on numerous occasions. Unfortunately the boys used their get out of jail card the previous week and we didn't quite get up, though Patrick nearly pulled it out at the death only to be denied by great defence. There was some great running by the forwards up the middle with Liam and Bradley leading the way. Jett and Mark made countless long runs on the fringes and some great hits in defence. Wil picked up man of the match, scoring two tries, tackling his heart out and guiding the boys around the park.
Under 9/1s Lower Mountains 42 v West City Tigers 8. The boys continued their impressive start to the season with a great team effort once again. All the boys put in outstanding efforts for the entire 40 minutes to play the whole game a player short once again. The boys started well scoring two early tries and were in control from there on. Our defence was good holding our opposition out on all but two occasions. Ben Leaney put in another first class performance, tackling well and picking up three tries. He was supported well by Hayden Stevens and Oliver Wickerson. Jack Babbage also had a massive game also in both attack and defence. Harry Watson picked up players' player.
Under 9/2s Lower Mountains 30 v St Clair 14. The team got off to another flying start and dominated ball possession to lead 24-0 at half-time. St Clair came back in the second half to test the team's defence, but Lower Mountains hung on for a well-deserved victory. All players worked hard in both attack and defence and they are all showing great skills and commitment. Two tries each to Luke Arnold, Aiden Lewis and Will Ticehurst. Matthew Lineham ran strongly to record his first try of the season and Jake Gordon slotted a confident conversion.
Under 10/1s Lower Mountains 12 v Glenmore Park 28. The team played their first home game for the season and they played hard in very cold conditions. Sam Squires, Riley Milton and Jack Hobson ran the ball forward with strength. Lower Mountains trailed 16-6 at half time. In the second half, Glenmore Park scored another converted try before another explosive run by Jed Freeman saw Lower Mountains in, 22-12, then Glenmore Park scored again. Lower Mountains played strongly but unfortunately couldn't come up with the win. Coach's award: Tom Debien.
Under 10/2s Lower Mountains 20 v Doonside 16. Slow start for the team with an impressive second half to secure a solid win. The team remained scoreless in the first half, however once they posted points in the second half there was no stopping them. Solid hit ups from Jai Mansfield, Clayton Malouf and Oskar Titovs paved the way for Max Murphy and Shadi Moussa to contribute with outstanding runs to secure the win. Jai's impressive performance earned him this week's player of the match. Tries: J. Mansfield 2, C. Harvey 1, S. Moussa 1. Goals: C.Morrissey, B. Muddle.
Under 12/1s Lower Mountains 42 v Mincinbury 0. Congratulations to all the boys for winning their first division one game in only their second game in the top division. The team exploded out of the blocks in the first half and led 28-0 at half time before finally scoring eight tries for the game. Wonderful defence also prevented our opposition from scoring or making a break during the game. There were many highlights but special mention must go to Mani Foeken who played division six last year and now has a first division try. Will McLaren showed us all what he can do with a spectacular 60 metre try; Jackson Death got himself three tries with some smart finishing while Jason Oxley and Ben Crilley were great in attack and defence. Tries: Jackson Death 3, Ben Crilley 2, Will McLaren, Jarrod Hackney, Mani Foeken Goals: Jesse W, Ty C, Ben C, Tom K, Cameron C.
Under 12/2s Lower Mountains 6 v Emu Plains 20. It was a tough game for the boys. We started very well with Jake Hayllar putting in a cross field kick for Dayne Vassallo to score in the corner. Tallis Cranney converted the try to make it an early 6-0 led. The boys went into the sheds at half-time all locked up at 6-all. The second half saw Emu Plains put on some early tries to take the lead. Great tackling by our man of the match Connor Hume wasn't enough to stop the big Emu Plains forwards. Darcy Salmon made some big second half runs but couldn't quite get to the line. Toby Giesker, Will Bush, Jack Fagan and Ben Nixon made some great breaks and never gave up.
Under 13/1s Lower Mountains 12 v Colyton-Mt Druitt 30. The boys were clearly challenged by the size and mobility of a number of opposition forwards and found it difficult to contain them in the first half. Colyton-Mt.Druitt scored 4 tries to nil before half time. The second half was a different story; improved defence contained the opposition attack. Better use of the ball and field space allowed the Lower Mountains attack to put a lot of pressure on the defence and posted two second half tries to one. Tries: Tommy Okladnikov, Ricky Martinello. Goals; Tommy Okladnikov (2/2).Under 14/1s Lower Mountains 24 v Quakers Hill 6. From the start our boys were dominant in both defence and field position. The first try was scored by Owen White who went on to score a hat trick of tries. The boys went in leading 14-6 at half time. In the second half they kept Quakers try-less. Their defence was outstanding and will put them in good stead for the season. The other tries scored were a dummy 'n' run from Ryan Mulvaney and a last minute dash from Luke Palmer to score under the posts.
Under 15s Lower Mountains 36 v Glenmore Park 14. In our first game of the season and in second division for the first time the boys carried on their great form from winning the third division grand final last year. While a little rusty at times every player contributed in both defence and attack. Alan Davies led the forward pack of Zac Powell, Jake, Joel, Jaime and Pieter who all did very well to contain some big opponents. Alex and Owen steered an electric back line of Harry, Jayden, Riley, Johnathon and Darcy around the park with great results. Harry Davies also kicked some great goals in windy conditions. Alan Davies was a very deserving man of the match and a big thanks to Dave Hart who helped us out this week.
Under 16s Lower Mountains 16 v Blacktown City 30. Playing their first game of the year the boys went up against a very big Blacktown City side. Thanks to Jake Ayers, Henry and Alan Davies for backing up from the Under 15s to lend a hand. All three were outstanding. The side has only just come together and in patches this was evident. However, their commitment and courage was terrific. Playing against a much bigger side and without the ball for the majority of the game the result certainly didn't reflect the effort put in. Co-captains Christian Slade and Billy Hayes were great with Max Hayes, Lachlan MacFarlane and Matt Holburn not far behind. Tries to Lachlan MacFarlane, Matt Holburn and Max Hayes with Max converting two tries.
Under 17s Lower Mountains 12 v Glenmore Park 12. Great comeback from 12 points down against the wind in the second half. Liam Bauerhuit led by example and the rest of the team followed with many great performances. Almost snatching their first win in division one. Tries: Matt Murray 2. Goals: Corey Koutsoukos, Max Hayes.
Under 19s Lower Mountains 26 v Minchinbury 18. The boys got off to a good start scoring a try from a set play then scoring again 10-0. A mistake from the kick-off gave the opposition the ball and they scored and scored again soon after, going to the break 10-12. The second half saw some great runs and great determination, with three tries scored. All put in and played really well. Tries: J. Hayes 2, H. Kwok 2, K. Wilson. Goals: B. Fisher 3.
