Sport
10 May, 2023
Bears women and men narrowly defeated by high-flying Hawks
Gatton Hawks scored a hard-fought clean sweep in all games over Oakey on the weekend.
Gatton Hawks scored a hard-fought clean sweep in all games over home team Oakey on the weekend.
In the Men’s A Grade, Gatton looked slick in patches but the local team was hard to beat in a high-scoring contest at the Den.
Oakey produced the first try in the match with Sione Lopamaua scoring an excellent try in the third minute.
Gatton reacted well to this early setback and led 20-12 at half time.
Luke Self scored in the first two minutes of the second half for Gatton after Tye Gray split the left side wide open
Oakey wasn’t to be outdone when big Rima Kamoe scored beside the posts for Oakey to close the margin to 8, but Gatton’s Tye Gray again sprinted away to stretch the lead to 32-18 for the Hawks.
It looked like Gatton was going to grab the game by the scruff of the neck but Oakey had other ideas, and took advantage of Gatton’s errors surging to cut the margin to four points (28-32).
But it would be the Hawks who would seal it, through Josh Henderson in the 78th minute by scoring out wide to put the margin beyond a converted try.
Despite remaining winless for the season, it appears the Oakey men have turned a corner on the 2023 season with an impressive display against a quality side.
Komiti Vetemotu and Sione Lopamaua were tremendous for their home side whilst Lipp, Self and Tye Gray kept Gatton’s scoreboard turning over.
It was a tough day at the office with all games closely fought contests.
The tightest game was the women’s clash where Gatton nearly lost its unbeaten record when Oakey provided a real scare when the Hawks Women won a nail-biter 20-18.
Oakey led 10-8 at half time, but errors would eventually give Gatton the chance to put themselves in front with ten minutes to play.
The Bears would score late and had a sideline conversion after the siren to level things up, but the kick was waved away.
Centres Clarissa Janes and Annie Tito were standouts for Oakey, making strong runs on the edges for the Bears.
Oakey coach Eddie Dean said despite the loss, it was a huge turnaround from last years results where
the Bears were beaten by over 40 points.
“It’s a wonderful outcome,” he said.
“Yes, we didn’t get the ‘meat pies’ (tries), but the girls are still learning.
Dean said, despite the close scoreline, Gatton was still the better side.
“If you give away the ball, they are double-premiers for a reason,” he said.
“They deserved it.”
A re-aggravation of an existing knee injury meant that Beatrice Arioka was out of the game early on, and may face some time on the sidelines after missing the first match.
Men’s A Grade
Gatton 36 (Tye Gray 2, Tyrell Woodley, Sione Foueti, Blake Appo, Luke Self, Josh Henderson tries Haydan Lipp 4 goals) defeated Oakey 28 (Sione Lopamaua 2, Rima Kamoe, Kaleb Stanton, Komiti Vetemotu tries Dylan Adamson 4 goals)
Webcke Price Medal Points: 3 H. Lipp (Gatton) 2 Sione Lopamaua (Oakey) 1 L. Self (Gatton)
Reserve Grade
Gatton 28 Oakey 12
Women
Gatton 20 Oakey 18
Under 19
Gatton 28 Oakey 20
- Andrew O’Brien
