Sport
29 May, 2024
Rugby league match abandoned as lights fail at Alec Inch Oval
The points were split between Town and Wanderers.
A lighting issue at Alec Inch Oval could have ramifications on the Mount Isa Rugby League ladder as points were split between Wanderers and Townies on Saturday night.
Townies led 28-6 when the lights went out as players entered the sheds for half time and because the second half didn’t resume, the match was called a draw.
Both sides were disappointed with the outcome. Townies had a point to prove after a strong start when missing several key players, while Wanderers wanted another 40 minutes to redeem themselves.
“We wanted the chance to put them to the sword,” said Townies coach John Doyle.
“Twice this year against the Wanderers we’ve had good starts and taken our foot off the pedal so we wanted to be able to run the game out.”
Wanderers actually scored first when big forward Sietoa Teesi Uitime barged over for a try on the back of consecutive penalties, but it was all one-way traffic after that.
Doyle said his undermanned forwards set the tone for Townies.
“I’ve been telling them all season to stick to the game plan and complete our sets,” he said.
“It was good to see the guys execute.”
Doyle praised “unreal” five-eighth Harlem Russell, who scored three tries in the opening half, as well as fullback Zemic Patuwai.
“He’s Mr Reliable back there – he gets past the first three defenders every time.”
Wanderers coach Tim O’Sullivan said it was disappointing not to get the chance to fight back in the second half.
“We would have backed ourselves to make it a close contest,” he said.
“They were missing a few players and we had a bigger bench – the last 20 or so minutes would have been interesting to see if we could run over the top of them.
“But we just weren’t in the game early. Even when we scored first we looked flat – the boys tried to push it wide too early instead of doing the work through the middle.”
Both coaches said the lighting at Alec Inch Oval was in desperate need of an upgrade to prevent further outages.
“We might need someone from Ergon to be there on grand final day,” O’Sullivan said with a smile.
Wanderers will play Brothers this week in the men’s A-grade match at 7.30pm.