10th June, 2006
Roos break the Bristol Jinx
by Adam Bennett

At the weekend, the IX Europe Reading Kangaroos put the past well and truly in it's place, breaking the Bristol Dockers' iron grip on their perfect home record, recording the first Regional win in the Western city. With strong wind shifting the advantage back and forth, the Roos came out solidly on top, 105-51.

With a journey across the country and an early kick off so the lads could catch the England match, the Roos had to be on top form and focus to avoid starting slowly. Going with the elements in the first quarter, the lads quickly notched up some goals, with the forwards slotting home majors after great work in the middle to secure the ball.

A great feature of the Roo's play this season has been the improvement of the supply into the forwards and this paid dividend time and again. Against a physical Bristol side, including three GB players, the Roos battled hard and continued to show great improvement when protecting the ball-carrier and hitting the leads of the forwards.

The second quarter showed the difference the wind makes, but the Roos adapted well, shifting to a short ball and hand-pass game plan and running the ball far more. Paying dividends in the wind, the Roos centre really stood out and should provide a stern challenge to the more experienced London teams this weekend in Reading. There were outstanding performances by Andy Craig and Adam Croxford in the middle, breaking up the pack and distributing well, while up front Andy Whiteaker continues a great run of goal-scoring form.

This weekend, the Roos host the Brit Cup at King's Meadow on Saturday afternoon. With teams of EU-only players attending from across the UK, this is a real challenge for the Roos to rise to. With the team developing well, this is the best indication of how the local lads are developing under the tuition of the Roos Australians. Play commences at 12 Noon at King's Meadow, at the Tesco's end of the field.