April 26, 2025, Round 4 Norths vs Brothers

Brothers have come out of a highly anticipated local derby with neighbors Norths at the weekend with gutsy displays across the ground to win six out of eight matches in front of a hostile crowd with with even more wet underfoot conditions. Norths were highly fancied in this affair, and many had picked an upset given their resurgent form across the grades, however the men and women of Crosby Park ensure that their recent dominance over their north side rivals remained.

First Grade

Brothers have knocked the Eagles back off their perch, clinching a statement victory with 14 men at Shaw Road at the weekend, running out deserved winners 34-22. This victory gives the Brethren much-desired early season momentum with their third win in a row, and has the club placed second on the table having played one less match then most of their immediate opposition due to the Round 1 bye.

With Norths having their best start to a season since 2018, having defeated competition powerhouses UQ by a record margin and edging a barnstorming Souths a week earlier, hopes were high at The Nest of a further upset against a Brothers club against they have had scant success in previous years. As such, this was always going to be a danger game for the Bretheren, with last year’s Round 17 draw still fresh in the memory of coach Ben McCormack on what a Norths side needing no motivation than to hurt Brothers could do.

“Swampy” was how the playing surface was best described in the weekend’s derby grudge match, with incessant mid-week rain ensuring that fields across the South East remained waterlogged, and it didn’t take long for underfoot conditions to turn the lush field into a muddy quagmire, making handling and footwork all the more difficult. Having relished in the heavy conditions in Round 3, Brothers wasted no time in marching the ball forward and going to their now infamous set-piece to post first points courtesy of starting Hooker Theo Fourie bashing through off the back of the maul. However, it wasn’t long before Norths hit back, with Winger Taqele Naiyaravoro finding space out wide of some excellent build-up play to push the home side ahead after the conversion by Alex Flanagan-Smith.

Enter Oliver Harvey, who fresh off his debut First Grade try the round prior, found himself confronted with three defenders 15 out from the try-line. Evading the first tackler, he somehow pirouetted his way through two more to dot the ball down and hit back perfectly, with Jude GIbbs converting to give the visitors the lead once again.

Not content to let their home crowd down, Norths however, found a way forward once again, dominating possession through consecutive phases and giving big Number 8 James Antonio the chance to bash through some lax Brothers defense to once again tie the scores up at 12-12.

Needing some inspiration to break the deadlock, Brothers settled down into a rhythm, and begun sending the ball skyward to bput territorial pressure on the Eagles. However this was about to have dire consequences, with Brothers veteran Seb Hanna being alleged to have mistimed his jump on a contestable kick, and taken out a Norths defender in the air, seeing the referee produce a contentious red card.

Being reduced to 14-men with over 50 minutes to play is a situation Brothers have found themselves in before, and this appeared to galvanize the Brethren, wrestling control of possession back before a delightful sweep right saw Oliver Harvey once again break through to seize the lead before half time, a scoreline that was almost immediately improved on by Gibbs who took a penalty kick on the stroke of half time, leaving the score at 22-12.

Despite having a ten-point advantage, Norths were always going to come out of the break swinging, and their determination to be first to score was rewarded with points to Maika Tuitubou almost immediately after half time, closing the score back to within a converted try. This added both pressure and urgency to the men in Butcher’s Stripes, and the battled their way into the Norths red zone and set up camp, being denied two tries before repeat penalties and edge-to-edge play put David Fusitu’a through to give the visitors breathing room.

Norths, now desperate to close the gap with time ticking down kept trying to claw their way into opposition territory, however their chance at a fight back was squashed by the lightning reflexes of Benn Dalle Cort, who collected an intercept and tore down the wing to turn the screws. Not event a late consolation try to Naiyaravoro could turn the tide, and despite a last ditch from Norths at stealing a losing bonus point against a tiring Brethren, the Crosby Park natives held on to post a statement win and deliver maximum points to their championship campaign.

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Brothers Women have overcome a scrappy first half to collect their third win of the season, in what has been their best start to a campaign since 2019 over Norths, running out 38-19 winners.

With a number of the squads top talent being rested, this was an opportunity for several up and coming squad members to shine against a Norths team who were also rapidly on the improve.

Although the stronger side, the result was never assured until late in the second half when Brothers begun to piece together some rapid passages of play and outpace their northern rivals. Scoring opened with Brothers achieving a penalty try, however Norths got in twice and both teams went into half time at 14-all.

The second half saw momentum head the way of Brothers, thanks to some slick work from Katalaine Tei, Imogen Ryan and Anelisa Vito Sula to score tries, with the ever-reliable Maria Gabriela Graf posting points via a try and off the boot. The Eagles scored a late consolation try to narrow the margin, however the bonus point win sees Brothers rise the second on the table.

Team of the Round: First Grade