Trident rookies under fire

Fire and Rescue NSW were too strong for the Navy Tridents in a tough encounter at the annual Community Cup.

CAPTION: Able Seaman Manuel Grundy-Quay runs the ball as the Navy Tridents play Fire and Rescue NSW in the Community Cup Rugby League game at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Photo by Leading Seaman Daniel Goodman.

After a series of recent wins, the Tridents had been confident going into the game, which was played in the lead-up to the NRL match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Queensland Cowboys at Accor Stadium on August 27.

Both sides made their intentions clear in the opening exchanges, with some heavy hitting defence. A series of errors by the Tridents meant the momentum changed in favour of the Fire and Rescue team who found themselves in a great field position and scored out wide mid-way through the first half. A series of lost balls, missed opportunities and penalties took their toll on the Navy side as they went into half time 4-0 down.

Going into the second half, the Tridents were confident they could prevail and dominated with relentless attack. the Fire and Rescue team did well to hold the Tridents out and unfortunately errors again prevailed and the Tridents were unable to cross the line in a scoreless second half.

“It was a tough game and I was proud of the effort the team put in,” Navy Tridents Captain, Able Seaman Connor McCabe said.

“Noting we were down to 11 players at one point, we kept turning up. [But] our handling errors and discipline caught us out in the end.”

The final score was 4-0 to NSW Fire and Rescue.

Officer in Charge for the event Lieutenant Commander Jamie McCue said the team performed well considering it had 11 debutants.

“With limited preparation and a loss of some key players, I was impressed with their ability to come together in a short period and produce a solid team performance,” he said.

Lieutenant Commander McCue said Able Seaman Manual Grundy-Quay was the team’s most valuable player.

“He was tenacious in pivotal moments and dangerous out of dummy half,” he said. “AB Grundy-Quay was the standout alongside the captain, AB Connor McCabe. I am confident, with the foundation set, the current group players will be competitive at next year’s inter-service tournament and the following game versus the Royal Marines during the Anzac Day weekend.”

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