Those cats were fast as lightning……
Yes. It’s a reference to that culturally insensitive Carl Douglass classic, as big hits, sideline heckling, tries and the occasional roundhouse kick that would leave Van Damme gushing with pride, were the order of the day for the Devils first hit out of the season.
In the end it was a comprehensive win over a largely inexperienced but committed Nongda outfit as the Devils ran away 43-0 winners.
Coach Ker started the scoring with two early penalties after a disallowed try for a forward pass to flying Winger Ed Bannister. Asked later if the pass was forward Bannister replied, ‘yeah about 13 metres’. A line ball decision then. The Devils shouldn’t feel hard done by.
Playing in the uncustomary number 10 jumper, Ker led the back line superbly and it was his little show and go when pressuring the Nongda line that saw him scoot over for the first Devils try. Im not sure if he got the conversion. He only kicked 1 from 6. It was windy apparently…….(sure it was).
Equally impressive, Man of the Match Dave Archer led the forwards in a dominating display, with one of his two tries coming from a pushover try from 10 metres out.
The match was not without controversy when on the 25 minute mark the frustrations got the better of the Nongda players with Brennan being king hit closely followed by three or four flying kicks from several Nongda players on their bemused Devils opponents. When the Nongda players cleared the bench to join the melee the howls of laughter at the sight of Nongda players flying through the air in all their uncoordinated glory stopped as the seriousness of the situation was realised. Luckily for all involved the referee quickly gained control of the situation with one Nongda player (later nicknamed Kung Fu Panda) being forced to take an early shower. Brennan involved in argy bargy??/?……its just unheard of……..
However by half time both teams were down to 14 men. Some overzealous foot work by new number nine Brian on a Nongda opponent lying all over The Devils side of the ruck saw the referees and linesman in agreement that his day was over. He was seen later that evening wearing the coveted ‘Dick of the Day’ jacket.
Despite a gash in his mouth that would later require stitches from his earlier meeting with a Nongda players fist of fury, Brennan had the last laugh when he crashed over next to the posts to finish off a sweeping set of phases which started near the halfway line. From this point onwards The Devils coasted home with further tries to Dave Archer, Hadz (who only played three positions this week – losing your utility value I think mate), Craig Coulstring and Ed Bannister.
It was an impressive first up display by The Devils with some of the clubs new guys putting their hand up and announcing their arrival. Next week The Devils take on the Brothers.
Devils 43 Tries: Archer (2), Ker, Despain, Coulstring, Crysell, Bannister. Pens: Ker (2 from 2) Cons: Ker (1 from 6) Nongda 0. Referee: Peter Mccombe. Crowd: Huuuuuuge