Banyo Devils secured a spot in this weekend’s Open 2 Northside grand final with a sizzling 34-12 win over Normanby Hounds last Saturday at Kev Mckell Oval, Arana Hills.
Led by five-eighth Callum Davies, the Devils were too strong for a disappointing Hounds who tried hard, but were outclassed.
Towering Devils prop James Molyneux was the first to cross for Banyo after nine minutes after he broke free of some defence to crash his way over to score beside the sticks.
Davies then produced some magic from the scrumbase, throwing a superb cut-out pass to centre John Collins who fended off his opposite number to go in under the sticks.
Davies again proved a real problem for the Hounds and another cut-out pass found winger Kees Wanma who had no trouble dashing down the sideline to slide over in the corner.
While Normanby showed some brute force in defence through prop Michael Hinchcliffe and lock Michael O’Brien, it proved no match for the Devils attacking weapons and within two minutes of the Devils last try, they were in again courtesy of Davies who broke the line and stepped his way over.
At 24-0 down, Normanby did have a chance to go in before the break, but a wayward pass sailed into touch right on the hooter.
Normanby began the second half on the front foot, and were the first to score three minutes into the second stanza.
Replacement Mark Perkins showed why being a good support player is vital, and was on hand to catch a round-the-corner pass from halfback Matt Doherty to streak away to score under the posts.
The Hounds had started to uncover some defensive flaws in the Devils armour, going in to score again through five-eighth Beau Ryan who was outstanding for in a losing side.
However, the Devils haven’t got this far on pure luck and it was only a short lived comeback for the Hounds.
Banyo winger Wanma again used his blistering speed to go in untouched after zipping down the sideline.
To make matters words for Normanby, from the restart Banyo surged 60m upfield to score probably the try of the game via Lachlan Clarke.
The win set the scene for a climatic showdown between the Devils and North Lakes Kangaroos this weekend.
Final Score: Banyo Devils 34 Normanby Hounds 12
