The Whitsunday Brahmans received a big wakeup call over the weekend going down to Norths' Devils in both grades in Mackay on Saturday night.
In what should have been a comfortable win to the Brahmans in the A Grade, the combination of a poor referring decision and poor ball handling saw the Brahmans record their first loss to a team below them in the competition this year.
In the first 10 minutes of the A grade clash, the Brahmans raced to a 12 nil lead thanks to some strong defence and slick attack.
The boys looked in complete control until the 15th minute when backrower Todd Hounsell was sent off the field for an accidental trip on an opposing player. In what seemed to be a very harsh move, the referee opted for the send off instead of 10 minutes in the bin, no thanks to an ordinary account of the incident from the touch judge.
Now having to play the rest of the game one man down, the Brahmans still looked in control of the match and went into half time leading 18 points to 10. After scoring first in the second half and extending their lead out to 24-10, the Brahmans should have put the game to bed but failed to complete their sets and turned over possession to the opposition.
This resulted in North’s scoring 3 tries late in the match to post a 28 to 24 win. The Brahmans did have a chance in the final 5 minutes to hit back and clinch the win but failed to make the most of their opportunities. After the disappointing loss, the Brahmans will now have to quickly regroup before they face completion favourites Souths’ this weekend at Les Stagg Oval.
This game provides an opportunity for the Brahmans to show that they will not only be making up the numbers in this year’s final series. Although they will be missing 4 front rowers this weekend, they are expected to put a very competitive team on the park and should be buoyed by having their first home game in over 5 weeks.
Hopefully a big crowd will be out in support.
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