SEAGULLS FLYING HIGH IN 2009
Thursday, 2 July 2009 3:55pm
by Rick Boyd
Cottesloe and University meet at McGillivray Oval on Saturday, both teams gaining a new lease of life in this season's tight, hard-fought WA club rugby competition, sponsored by KWIK Crane and Transport Hire.
University gained players over the summer to boost their forward pack, including flanker and former Irish under 21 captain Kieran O’Connor, Force academy tighthead prop Sam Palanni from Wanneroo and lock Mark Westcott from Associates.
Despite a demanding start to the draw that pitched them against the top four teams in the first five weeks, Uni bounced back to defeat Kalamunda, Rockingham and Perth-Bayswater; and come close to beating Nedlands. With four wins and six losses, it’s not too late for seventh-placed University to make up lost ground in the second half of the season.
Cottesloe have languished in the bottom half of the table since their last finals appearance in 2005, but after a steady sixth place last year they have gone from strength to strength in 2009.
Cottesloe’s player group from 2008 remains largely the same, but leading try-scorer, wing Ben Mitchell, joined the club from the UK this season. The club has also benefited from the return to first grade of Seagulls regulars number eight Matt Aitken and flanker Todd Edwards, and flyhalf Sam Parker from a couple of seasons with Associates.
Coach Ian Fowler says there’s no secret to Cottesloe’s rapid improvement this year, but rather a consolidation of gradual gains made last season.
“It’s not rocket science, rugby,” Fowler said.
“We’ve got good skills, we work hard at our game, we’ve got some good fitness on board, and everyone’s working for each other.
“We think we’ve got the wood on most forward packs, certainly at set piece, and that gives us a good platform.”
After early defeats by Associates and Perth-Bayswater, the Seagulls flew high in round five to hand competition leaders Palmyra their only defeat of the season to date, 19-17, with a late penalty kick. However, Fowler says the win was no fluke.
“We’ve got really good discipline, and we defend well,” he said.
“It wasn't that close. We had them well beaten everywhere but on the scoreboard. And we missed shots at goal or would have won by more there too.”
Cott went on to topple old rivals Nedlands and stun second-placed Wanneroo 41-5 in round seven, but stumbled to an equally surprising 41-5 loss to struggling premiers Kalamunda.
“We played stupid rugby,” Fowler said.
“They scored in the first 60 seconds and it was all a bit of a struggle from there.
“But we weren’t beaten all over the park. We turned over a lot of ball and then threw caution to the wind a little bit.”
The Seagulls go into this Saturday’s game injury-free but there’s no room for complacency against University.
“Uni are a pretty young side with a big front row,” Fowler said.
“They’ve given a few teams a shake and we’ll need to be on our mettle. There’s no easy games this season.”
The Seagulls have crept in underneath the radar to be well placed at third mid-way through the competition, and now they have their eyes on the big prize.
“We want to win the premiership,” Fowler said.
“We’ve beaten the two teams above us. We’re going quite well and we’re confident we can sustain that.
“For now, we’re in the top four and we aim to stay there, and be in the mix in September.
“They’re all tough games; we’ve got five in a row coming up. There’s nowhere to hide.
“We’re happy not to have been noticed. The guys say, ‘how come we only get a couple of lines in the media’, and I say, ‘don’t worry about it. This is where we want to be’.”
Cottesloe's days of going unnoticed may be over. The only team to have stopped Palmyra this season is on course for a place in the finals, and potentially a repeat of their 2001 premiership.
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In other games, sixth-placed Perth Bayswater are in danger of losing touch with the top four if they cannot handle a rejuvenated Kalamunda at Pat O'Hara Reserve, while Wanneroo will be on guard against giant-killing Rockingham at Kingsway.
After recent reverses, fourth-placed Associates need a good victory over winless Wests-Subiaco at Rosalie Park, and at Tompkins Park, competition leaders Palmyra will be taking the threat from fifth-placed Nedlands seriously after the Royal Blues’ recent winning streak.
