Saturday 3rd March 2001
Parra 34 Def Balmain 14
The Harold Matthews made a fine start to their 2001 campaign. Great
attacking play on the right edge from the kickoff saw Joe Delana score
from only the 3rd tackle of the game. The players had adopted the game
plan beautifully and another try was the result from the ensuing kickoff.
Good passing and support play saw Matt Eckler score to give the team a
12 - 0 lead after just 4 minutes of play.
However complacency had set in after this tremendous start. Too many
handing errors saw a very poor completion rate, allowing Balmain to get
back into the game. They managed to break our defence twice before
half-time.
The second half saw an improvement in the ball control and we
managed to put good pressure on the Balmain defence. Some
enterprising play saw tries to Chris Young and Feleti Mateo.
Good performers this week included Valu Nasio, Chris Young, Matt Eckler and John Williams.
Chris Young was voted the game ball winner by the players.
Areas we need to improve on is our ball handling, especially grip and
carrying the ball and also our positional play.
Parramatta 34 (Chris Young 2, Joe Delana, Matt Eckler, Brett Ryan, Feleti Mateo tries; Joe Delana 5 goals)
def Balmain 10
Joe Delana had a big game scoring 14pts
| Saturday 10th March 2001
Parra 16 Def North Sydney 14
The Harold Matthews played their second game in miserable conditions
yet again. The heavey rain made controlling possession very difficult and
led to far too many handling errors. As a consequence Norths had much
better field postion and manged to score first, to lead 4-0.
We managed to hit back with a try in the corner to Michael Basan.
Unfortunately our ball retention was poor and completion rates for us
very low. Norths managed to score again and went to the break leading
12 -4.
The second half saw an improvement in the ball control and we
managed to put good pressure on the Norths. We managed to score
after 10mins and were now trailing 14-10. Another try scored by Feleti
Mateo saw us hit the lead for the first time in the match with only 10mins
to go.
The last 10mins were an arm wrestle and it was great to see that we
"dug deep" to ensure a victory.
Michael Basan, Chris Young, Brendan Oake and Brett Delaney all played
well.
Parramatta 16 (Michael Basan,Brett Delaney, Feleti Mateo tries; Joe Delana 2 goals )
def Norths 14
Parra centre John Williams on the burst
| Saturday 17th March 2001
Parra 22 Def Illawarra 6
The Harold Matthews scored quite a solid win over a quality oppositon in
the Steelers, to make it 3 wins from as many games.Great attacking play
on the right edge from the kickoff yielded 80m in the first set. This set the
tone for us in the match. Improvement in our ability to control the ball
enabled us to maintain good field position too. Good passing and support
play saw Joe Delan score the first try. Patience as well as better catch
and pass allowed us to pressure on the Illawarra defence for most of
this half and we managed to go to the break leading 18-0.
The second half saw a turn around in the possession stats. This was
mainly due to the Steelers gettting plenty of "soft" penalties, mainly for
our line being offside. The piggy backs that they got allowed them to
attack our line constantly. It was very pleasing to see that our defence
didn't crack and crumble under this pressure.
Joe Delana, Bas [Michael Basan], Feleti Mateo, Brendan Oake- Oakey
and Valu Nasio all had good games. Bas was
voted the game ball winner by the players.
Areas we need to improve on is our last play options, reducing offside
penalties and ruck control.
Parramatta 22 ( Joe Delana 2, Michael Basan 2 tries each; Joe Delana 3 goals )
def Illawarra 6
solid performance from lock Feleti Mateo
|
Saturday 24th March 2001
Parra 18 Def Canberra 12
The Canberra Raiders made the long trek to Cabramatta to play the
Harold Matts. This was probably the best oppositon we've played to
date. The fisrt half was a tough grind with not much ground being given
on both sides. We managed to complete 60% of our sets, our best half to
date. The control of the ball enabled us to maintain good field position and a
repeat set allowed Stranger [Heath L'Strange] to zip over from dummy half.
The second half saw a turn around in the possession stats. The ball
handling errors, and the ref giving the Raiders the benefit in any 50-50
decisions allowed them back into the game. Some good lead-up work
from Rocky[Chanel Toefaeono] and JD [James Donlan]
as well as a great offload by Tom[Tom Vainga] saw Jonno [John Andrews]
score to take us to a 18-6 lead. Lack of
tackle control and "silence" in our defence saw Canberra get far too close for
comfort and we managed to win the game 18-12.
Good performers this week included Rhino,[Brett Ryan] Youngy[Chris Young], Ratha Bun and
Stranger [Heath L'Strange] Youngy was voted the game ball winner by the players.
Areas we need to improve on is our shape and support play and tackle
control.
Parra: 18 Heath Le'Estrange2, John Andrews tries; Joe Delana 3 goals. def
Canberra 12
Heath L'Estrange Scores first for Parra
| Saturday 31st March 2001
Parra 36 Def Western Suburbs 20
Well it was another solid performance from the Harold Matthews boys
as they accounted for the Magpies 36 - 20 on Saturday.
Statistically this was our best game
in attack as we managed to complete seven from our first nine sets.
Because of this ball control we managed to put plenty of pressure on the
Western Suburbs defence. However, we missed quite a few oppotunities because
of a lack of guys pushing up in support of our ball carrier.
We must
concentrate more on the current play rather than concerning ourselves
with the next play or the one which is 2 down the track.
Defensively we were fairly good too with better tackle domination but a
couple of lapses saw the Magpies get a bit too close for comfort.
We must ensure that we don't bundy off when we think that we have the game
sewn up.
Feleti Mateo, Youngy,[Chris Young] Stranger,[Heath L'Strange]
Oakey [Brendon Oake]and Froggy [Brett Delaney] all had very
good games. Feleti Mateo was voted the game ball winner by the
players.
Parramatta.36 Feleti Mateo 3, Brett Delaney, Brendon Oake, Heath L'Estrange,
Chanel Toefaeono Tries; Joe Delana 3, Brett Delaney 4 Goals; def. Western Suburbs 20
Parramatta's Chris Young
| Saturday 7th April 2001
Parra 46 Def Canterbury 6
Well it was a convincing 46- 6 win against the Bulldogs at Begnall Park.
Due to some injuries and traffic problems we had to make a number of
very late changes and considering that disruption, I was very pleased
with our efforts.
There was some very good passing movements, mainly due to having
options in support, which led to some entertaining tries. Our defensive
efforts were very good too and we managed to achieve our goal of only
allowing Canterbury to sneak one try.
Jonno (John Andrews), Feleti Mateo, JD (James Donlan)
Brendan Oake and Ratha Bun all had very impressive games.
Also good to see Meti and Milo play confidently after many weeks on
the sidelines. Brendan Oake was voted game ball winner by the players.
Were at the business end of the season and its now sudden death from
here. Let's make sure we're the team with the greatest hunger and
enthusiam in that playoff game in 2 weeks.
Parra:46 Tries; John Andrews 2, Chris Young 2, Brett Delaney, Meti Meti,
Brendan Oake Goals; Joe Delana 3/5, Brett Delaney 2/4
Def
Bulldogs: 6
Parramatta's big win over the Bulldogs
|
Saturday 21st April 2001
Parra. 22 Def Canberra 12
Quarter Final
As the saying goes" rugby league is a game of 2 halves" and that
certainly was the case for us. We started off exceptionally well,
controling the footy, good support play as well as good decision making
in off loading. This put us in good stead to go to the break leading 18 - 0
However things did turn around in the second half and we relaxed too
much. Our inability to value possession saw Canberra hit back with 3
quick tries. We must not be complacent if we are in a similar position in
the semi next week.
Youngy - Chris Young, Oakey - Brendan Oake, Matty Eckler
and Ryano Brett Ryanplayed well as did Stranger Heath L'Estrange
who was voted the game ball winner by the players.
Parra: 22 Matt Eckler 2, Joe Delana, Feleti Mateo and Brett Delaney
tries, Joe Delana 1 goal def Canberra 12
Parra's great win in the Quarter Final
| Saturday 28th April 2001
Parra 0 .V. Penrith 22
Semi Final
Experts say that wind can have a profound effect on athletes. Well I'm
not sure if it was the windy conditions or something else that effected us
but we certainly didn't play to our potential. Whilst we had some good
opportunities we certainly didn't show the hunger which was necessary
to win a pressure game like this. Full credit to Penrith who played like
their season was on the line. All I can say is that we can put this down
to a learning experience ---- but an extremely tough one at that.
Having said that, I should say that it was a pleasure to coach you guys
and on behalf of the coaching staff of the Matts I'd like to thank you for
your efforts for the 2001 season. Good luck and I'm sure I'll see you
around the footy fields of Parra.
My say:
I feel sure the players would like to thank you Veg and your coaching staff
for your combined efforts during the year. Your record looks pretty damn good
over the past few years.
N.C
Parra loses Semi Final.
| Saturday 5th May 2001
Sharke 28 .V. Penrith 8
Grand Final
It's a Grand Final between The Sharks & Penrith. Once again we bow out in
the semi, we must make sure we don't play at Kogarah Oval next year. It's a cold windy terrible
place.
Coach Peter Serrao has had several very successful seasons with Harold Matthews sides bowing
out last year in the semi and again this year one short of the Grand Final.
I do believe there are several players young enough to back up again next year in Matthews which
should make 2002 look tempting for Peter to back up again as coach.
I thank Peter for his help during the season, for his willingness to email me his report each week
so this site can reflect the feelings and insight of a coach into the game and players, no one
could know better than the coach.
N.C
Well Done Boys
On your efforts
throughout
season 2001
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