It was a tough local derby in Southern Inland Rugby Union first grade as the Phantoms fell to a 38-15 defeat at the hands of Griffith on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Blacks were able to make a fast start as a quick ball on the inside from Mahoni Lualua was able to put Reni Marela Kirirua through for the first try after just five minutes.
The home side was able to find their footing and turned defence into attack, but their attacking raid was ended after a forward pass.
Despite falling to 14 men, it was the Phantoms who were able to score next off the back of a scrum and break down the short side.
The Blacks wasted no time hitting back with Nate McGregor, one of two try scorers in quick succession, to see the visitors leading 19-5 at the break.
The momentum continued after the break with Andrew Fauoo getting over, but the Phantoms hit back quickly as after Petero Taitusi put a kick in behind the Blacks' defence which wasn't dealt with properly as Harry Daudravuni got over.
The Blacks lost one to a sin-bin, and the home side made the most of it with Taitusi getting over to reduce the margin to 10 points with 18 to go.
RELATED
Two quick tries to the Blacks put the game to bed with Fauoo getting over for his second while James Johnathan Pio wrapped the game up as the Blacks came away with the 23-point win.
A few issues with player availability in the lead up to the game didn't help the Phantoms' preparations for the clash, according to coach Quinton Longhurst.
"Just a bit unorganised with a couple of boys still in isolation. We are just fighting that like a lot of the other clubs would be as well," he said. "It's still early in the season, and the spirits are pretty high."
It was a physical battle with their nearest rivals, and Longhurst felt fatigue played a major role.
"There was a little bit of fatigue setting in, and we lost our structure, and that happened probably about halfway through the second half, and we were playing a lot of reactive footy," he said.
"We were working hard when we had the ball, but when we didn't have it, we weren't working hard enough, and that was where we lost it."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.irrigator.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News