Gutsy Gropers’ efforts pay off

Margaret River Gropers U12 rugby team attended the NAIDOC Bunbury 7s in Australind in the July school holidays.

The annual tournament included all four South West clubs and some Perth teams, with wins against the dominant metropolitan sides a rarity in the past.

This year, Gropers got off to a great start with a win over the Mandurah Pirates 36-10.

They took the promise of that result into their next game against North Coast and were leading by two points at the half-time break. But the wave of some very big opposition players eventually buckled the Gropers line and North Coast took the win.

Up next were the eventual U12 winners, Kwinana, and with the Gropers still recovering from the disappointment of the previous game, they couldn’t stop their opponents taking the win.

The last game of the day was against great friends and biggest foes in this year’s regular season, the Bunbury Bulls.

Played at a frenetic pace and drawn at half-time, it was only a late runaway try that gave it to the Bulls.

Gropers played very well as a team and implemented a style of play and game plan that had brought them close to being in the finals, once again dominated by four strong Perth teams. They knew that day two was a chance to wipe the slate clean and focus on the Shield title and its accompanying fifth place, a position they had never achieved before.

It wasn’t looking good – down to 6 players due to injuries and logistics – they couldn’t suffer any further player losses or even rest any during a game. They were up against it.

Their first game was against another, stronger Mandurah Pirates team. Nil-all at half time, the Pirates scored the first try in the second half to take the lead but Gropers Perth-recruit-for-the-weekend, Harry Pratchett got one back with one of his characteristic scything runs to the line.

The result was on a knife-edge when captain Hyrum Jenkins toed a loose ball through to gather it and fall over under the posts for their second try, which he converted to put them 7 points ahead and subsequently the final winning margin of 14-7.

That put the Gropers in the Plate Final, up against Saturday vanquishers, the Bulls. It wasn’t just a game for fifth place, but for the title of ‘Best of the South-West’.

The Bulls were confident, with a team of 12 players to call upon against the Gropers’ six. But the Gropers were not going to let this one get away.

Led by Hyrum Jenkins and Banjo Bradley, Gropers hit every ruck with unrelenting ferocity, Banjo making it his mission to compete for every loose ball.

Half-back Noema S made thumping tackles and strong runs scoring the Gropers opening try, followed soon after by by Perth recruit Tupae Harrison whose silky feet and sidesteps were a threat all weekend.

Down 12-0 at half-time, the Bulls were in shock but came out firing in the second half, eventually scoring two tries to level the score. Markus Van der Merwe, who had been cutting through opposition defences every game, made another of his incredible runs to score down the wing and put the Gropers up 17-12 with only minutes to play.

The Bulls pressed the attack, but Gropers were committed and nothing would stop them.

Their bruising tackles skittled players, and then dislodged the ball forward at the last Bulls play, leaving the Gropers victorious and well-deserved winners.

This weekend the regular season returns with Margaret River hosting its final home fixtures for the season.