Logan City Hawks pulled off the upset of the round in the Open 3 Southside competition with a convincing 48-18 win over Logan Brothers.
Unable to make this year’s finals, the Hawks looked anything but a last-placed side, putting on a show for the healthy crowd that had congregated at Leighton Fields Eden’s Landing last Saturday.
Hawks three-try hero David “Casper” Banu was sensational for the home side, terrorising the Brother’s defence in a superb all-round display that was definitely the highlight of the game.
The first points of the day came through Banu as his electrifying pace off the mark was no match for Brothers. He showed a clean pair of heels and ran 60m to slide in for the first of his treble for the afternoon.
Brothers however responded in the 12th minute with hooker Jayden Yee catching the Hawks napping when he dived in under the defence to score under the posts.
But, as the Hawks continued to dominate the game up the middle, fullback Kasey Towney was in the right place at the right time to latch onto a cut-out pass form halfback Dillon Ashee and the custodian swerved his way over to score beside the sticks.
But all of the action was on the fringes of the ruck. Banu again teased the Brother’s defence with his trademark goose-step and a phenomenal footwork saw the centre step another two Brothers defenders to cross under the sticks.
With two minutes remaining on the clock and the Leprechauns barely able to get their breath back from the last try, Banu again raced away for the last of his tries. It was another 60m special which saw the flyer palm off three Brothers players and dive over to give the Hawks a 28-12 lead at the break.
Brothers however showed a tremendous amount of heart; in particular Terrell Fletcher, Maia Sandow and halfback Blake Anersson. However, they were no match for the vastly improved Hawks who were playing some tremendously expansive football.
Hawks lock Jayden Wright posed a problem for the visitors all afternoon and his tough, rugged style of play paid off, with the forward crashing in to score the first points of the second half.
The Hawks extended their lead to 40-12 late in the game through five-eighth Joe Ward who sold not one but two ridiculous dummies to go over unscathed beside the sticks.
Hawks forwards Jaiden Wright, George Hopkins and Veia Holamotu were flying the flag for the home side getting through a mountain of work and in the 59th minute, Hopkins joined the try scorers list forcing his way over to score another easy try.
With Brothers now hanging on for dear life, there was one more try in the Hawks bag of tricks with Kevin Morganson fielding a wobbly grubber kick to scoop the ball up and race away under the sticks.
Final Score: Logan City Hawks 48 Logan Brothers 18
