Gold coast to comfortable win over Anthem

NOLA had no trouble in North Carolina as they coasted to a 40-5 victory over Anthem on Friday. The home side struck first but then it was all Gold as they scored six tries to claim a bonus point result on the road to leave them with an even record through the first half of the campaign.

It was an ambitious opening for Anthem, who were keen to move the ball early. After attacking wide to the right, they spun it all the way left where David Still was waiting. The big winger stepped on the accelerator and beat three players on a 60 meter gallop down the sideline to score a superb solo try. Oscar Koller’s kick attempt was wide but it was 5-nil to the home team with as many minutes played.

After a few minutes of stalemate the visitors struck twice in rapid succession. Rodney Iona took an inside pass from Dorian Jones over for the first after a long sequence of phase play. Cliven Loubser’s clearance attempt was then charged down by Jonah Mau’u, and Luke Campbell jinked his way through the defense to touch down under the posts for the second.

Still turned to villain when he took out an airborne Taniela Filimone to earn a yellow card. Just a minute later Jones sold a dummy to run through a big gap after Mau’u and Iona had made ground. Ross Depperschmidt reached out of a tackle to score in the corner on the end of an overlap, earning the bonus point and leaving the score 26-5 to the Gold with 40 minutes played.

The second half was all NOLA with the exception of a bit of individual brilliance from Conor McManus, who stripped the ball clean in a tackle, chipped ahead and regathered himself. His efforts were for naught, however, as Shneil Singh was sent to the sin bin for a late shoulder-charge on Dougie Fife.

Just a minute later Filimone finished off a sweeping move out wide for the fifth NOLA try. It wouldn’t be until late that further points went up on the board, and it was Filimone again claiming his double on the end of another attacking sequence from the Gold. The final minutes ticked away with no incidents.

Anthem face a short turnaround as they head west for a road game against the Seattle Seawolves on Friday night. NOLA will enjoy a week off before returning to action against the same Seawolves at The Gold Mine on Saturday, May 11.

SCORING

CAROLINA 5
Tries (1) – D. Still (5′)
Cons (0) – O. Koller 0/1
YC (2) – D. Still (33′), S. Singh (46′)

NOLA 40
Tries (6) – R. Iona (18′), L. Campbell (23′), D. Jones (34′), R. Depperschmidt (40′), T. Filimone 2 (47′, 73′)
Cons (5) – D. Jones 3/4 (19′, 35′, 48′), No kick (23′), R. Botha 1/1 (74′)

LINEUPS

ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (capt.) (17 Dan Hanson 63′), 2 Connor Robinson (16 Jack Manzo 71′), 3 Joe Apikotoa (18 Stephan Bernal-Wendt 63′), 4 Lucas Gramlick (19 James Rivers 46′), 5 Reagan Leslie, 6 Shneil Singh, 7 Joe Basser, 8 Dylan Fortune (20 Logan Weidner 66′), 9 Conor McManus (21 Sean Yacoubian 71′), 10 Oscar Koller (23 Tomasi Alosio HT), 11 David Still, 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Te Rangatira Waitokia (22 Dom Iacovino 55′), 14 Cael Hodgson, 15 Cliven Loubser

NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 Bart Vermeulen 53′), 2 Pat O’Toole (16 Ale Lopeti 50′), 3 Jarred Adams (18 James Irey 59′), 4 Malcolm May, 5 William Waguespack (20 Cam Dolan 55′), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Jonah Mau’u, 8 OJ Noa (19 Callum Botchar 59′), 9 Luke Campbell (21 Damian Stevens 55′), 10 Dorian Jones (22 Reece Botha 68′), 11 Julian Roberts (23 Jack Webster 57′), 12 Rodney Iona, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Taniela Filimone, 15 Dougie Fife

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 27
Venue: Truist Point, High Point
Kickoff: 19:30 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 72°F (22°C), wind S 5-10mph (8-16km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Marquise Goodwin (USA)
Assistants: Lex Weiner (USA) & Dave Edwards (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)

HIGHLIGHTS