One intercept try wasn’t enough for Maroochydore.
Neither were two.
The plucky Swans swooped on three intercept tries to bury the Fraser Coast Mariners 32-12 on a wet track at Walkers Rd Oval on Saturday.
Leading 7-3 after James Gunn scored off his own chip kick in the 10th minute, the Mariners, who welcomed back stars Trent DeVere, Scott Carter-Lowe, Troy Ngatai and Jason Cudby, appeared up for the challenge.
But the home side’s willingness to persist with expansive tactics backfired as the Mariners crashed to their fourth straight loss of the Sunshine Coast Rugby Union competition.
As entertaining as it was, it was equally as frustrating to watch as time after time the Mariners put the ball down in attack.
“Once we got behind like we did, 15-7, we probably should have tightened up a bit,” returning skipper DeVere said.
“But once they got that next try, we knew we needed to push it but it led to another intercept try from there.
“We did push it a bit too hard but that’s the style we play and we’ve got the attacking weapons to do it, but probably not on a day like today.”
The Mariners effort, despite the avalanche of errors, was second to none though.
“We put in the effort for 80 minutes and we could have scored one or two tries there at the end, but Maroochydore’s defence was exceptional,” DeVere said.
Gunn was the Mariners’ main attacking option and scored a double in the hard-fought slog.
Australian indigenous schoolboys’ representative Scott Carter-Lowe continually frustrated the Swans with his short-kicking game and burst of speed, while fullback Mark Tregaskis was rock solid at the back.
“Scotty and Mark, they’re 19 and 20 years old, and a day like today is just going to lead to experience for them,” DeVere said.
“Scotty threw a couple of intercept passes. It was bad luck on his behalf but he’s the sort of kid that will learn from it and he won’t make those mistakes again.
“If those two stay around for a couple of years, we’ll have an exciting back three.”
My Griffith Thomas
