The Mad Brad show delighted the fans, but West Coast lock Brad Houston's two tries and rampaging runs weren't enough to stop bottom-of-the-table Mid Canterbury taking a deserved 29-24 victory in their Heartland Championship match at Rugby Park, Greymouth, today.
Having piled on a 19-0 lead inside 10 minutes, Houston brought Coast back into contention with two tries in the first half and set up replacement forward Dave Crouchley in the second, flying through the Mid Canterbury line before offloading to Crouchley as the defence caught up to him.
He made what could have been a game-winning break late in the match, as his side trailed by five points with three minutes on the clock, but a lack of control led to them losing possession and their chance to steal victory.
West Coast were looking to break a three-match losing streak but their chances were severely cut down when Mid Canterbury scored three unanswered tries before the 10-minute mark.
Second five-eighths Manase Nonu was the first to crash over, barely a minute into the game, followed by centre Ben Kitching then prop Hakarangi Tichborne.
All three were well-constructed, with the visitors noting the Coast's weak points on defence and when they had an overlap.
West Coast worked their way back into the contest, with Rob Thomson making several breaks through the first half and kicking a couple excellent up-and-unders to put pressure on the visitors.
Houston's first five-pointer was a result of good, hard running close to the line and his second, minutes later, came after he looped around behind a ruck having spotted a hole to run through. McClure and Thomson's accurate kicking ensured Coast caught up to their opponents, with both conversions and a penalty just after the start of the second half closing the gap to 19-17.
A flurry of quick runs from the breakdown put Mid Canterbury in range, as first five-eighths Richie Catherwood responded for his team by darting over the line.
Fullback Solomona Paraki added a penalty not long after to put his side ahead even further, before Crouchley crossed in the corner.
Coast had possession for the last five minutes but were unable to capitalise, losing the ball as they launched an attack on the right side.
Aside from Houston having his best game of the season, No 8 Sam Gammie lived up to the billing coach Nathan Mauger gave him, hitting hard while running the ball and even harder when defending, and Thomson was excellent at the back.
Kitching gave Mid Canterbury some explosiveness in the midfield and flanker Nick McKain pilfered plenty of possession at the breakdown.
West Coast 24 (B Houston 2, D Crouchley tries; S McClure 3 cons; P Thomson pen), Mid Canterbury 29 (M Nonu, B Kitching, H Tichborne, R Catherwood tries; S Paraki pen, 3 cons).
- Matt Kersten of the Hokitika Guardian
