Stinging effort by Hornets

Hornets’ Craig Field calls the shots in combination with fullback Jace Sands during yesterday’s win over the Murwillumbah Mustangs at Stan Sercombe Oval.

MURWILLUMBAH Mustangs couldn’t tame Cudgen Hornets yesterday when they locked horns in the annual Charity Shield clash at Stan Sercombe Oval.

Curious local fans were attracted in droves to the round 14 clash of the Northern Rivers Rugby League competition.

The Mustangs started the game slowly and were ordinary in the first half but came back solidly in the second session to be pipped 28-22.

It was a distinctive local derby with both clubs banding together to raise funds for charities, including Tweed Palliative Care, Tweed/Murwillumbah Cancer Support and Tweed/Brunswick Breast Cancer Support Group.

The day was also a tribute to Mustangs five-eighth Matt Goodfellow’s mother Carolyn who passed away earlier this year after a battle with breast cancer.

Coach Troy McLean said it was a great day and there was a massive crowd cheering the players. But he thought his team may have been a bit overawed. “I think the occasion got the better of us and for a while it was like a grand final ...we were down 18-4 before half-time,” McLean said.

“We came back and played some great footy in the second half but they just got away from us early, so we just fell short.”

During the game, the Mustangs organised a collection of donations and after the match they raffled off the pink jerseys at the Court House Hotel.

McLean said his boys were devastated at the loss but had the consolation of a great night ahead of them. “That’s our season. We had to win but hopefully we will finish on a good note next week against Mullumbimby. The boys are shattered,” he said.

“But it’s been a really successful day.”

McLean said the Mustangs had three standout players – second rower Corey Maher, lock Sam Panting and five-eighth Goodfellow. Hornets coach Con Theodossiou said his team had played very well and Murwillumbah put in a really good first half.

“Murwillumbah were really committed and it was a great game up until the last 10 seconds,” he said. “The local derby was always going to be a hard game and I coached there for five years so they were trying to get one over the old coach.

“It secures us a spot for the finals now and we will have a tough one next week against Northern United but if we can knock them off, we will have a home semi-final.”

Theodossiou said his best players were Craig Field, the Kelly brothers Robert and Michael, and Dan Woods.

In other results, Evans Head defeated Tweed Coast Raiders 40-16, Byron Bay lost to Ballina 32-16, Northern United beat Mullumbimby 40-22, Lower Clarence were defeated by Grafton Rhinos 58-16, Grafton Ghosts were victorious over Marist Brothers 36-16 and Kyogle toppled Casino 32-16.