Clarence Town Cobras bounced back to form with a gritty 40-24 win over third placed Karuah Roos on Sunday at Clarence Town Park.
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The last home game of the season was sponsors day and the team thanked their loyal sponsors by leapfrogging the Roos to consolidate themselves into the top three.
But the win came at a cost with backrowers Jarod Rits breaking his leg and Tom Rumbel suffering a dislocated shoulder.
Mitch Maytom continued his try scoring spree, since his switch to five-eight, when he stepped through defenders to score the opening try under the posts to give his side an early 6-0 lead.
However, just five minutes later failure to shut down the offload combined with some feeble defence saw the Roos cross next to the posts to level the score at 6-6.
Brad Johnson soon had Claro back on track when he brushed off defenders to hit back with a try to regain the lead at 10-6.
Just two minutes later he again ran powerfully brushing defenders aside on his path to the tryline.
Johnson’s double had the Cobras on top at 16-6 and with all the momentum.
After good lead up work, backrower Tom Rumbel stood in the tackle with defenders hanging from him and offloaded a clever pass to Phil Badior who stepped through defenders only to have the ball dislodged in the process of scoring.
But not long after fullback Kurt Blowes left no doubt when he combined with his winger Zac Simpson with a try in the corner to give the Cobras a handy 20-6 lead.
A good run from winger Shane Lewis allowed Badior to skip out of dummy half and send George Dunn on a weaving run through defenders to to give the Cobras a handy 24-6 lead at half-time.
After the break Claro seemed to go away from the things that were working for them in the first half.
The momentum switched and within nine minutes the Roos raced in two tries to close the scoreline to 24-18.
Lachlan O’Kane and Blake Fisher combined to put Jai Darr over in the corner to give the Cobras a little more breathing space at 28-18.
After losing Rits and Rumbel to injury, the Cobras looked in trouble when Karuah crossed again to bring the scoreline to 28-24.
Ben Trappel was at his brilliant best to pull the Cobras out of trouble when he stepped brilliantly through defenders to score and stretch the lead to 34-24.
The Cobras suffered another blow with just 16 minutes remaining when prop Sam Dunn was sent from the field to leave the homeside with 12 players for the remainder of the match.
The Cobras lifted and after a barnstorming run by Maytom, Badior ducked out of dummy half and with plenty of work to do Johnson was in for his third try for the day and a 40-24 win.
The Cobras face Hexham Jets next week.
Everyone wishes Jarod all the best in his recovery as his leg needed surgery to correct the problem.
Good luck mate and thank you everyone for their assistance.
Members Draw No.18 was won by major sponsor Steve Organ (Erringhi Hotel).
Clarence Town 40: Tries: Brad Johnson 3, George Dunn, Mitch Maytom, Ben Trappel, Zac Simpson, Jai Darr, Goals: Phil Badior 4/8
Best Forward: Ben Bradley; Best Back: Kurt Blowes; Best Benchy: Luke Chapman; Supporters Award: Ben Trappel; Players Player: Brad Johnson
Best and fairest points: 3 Ben Bradley 2 Kurt Blowes 1 Ben Trappel