The demons win tight match against Williamsonians

On a fresh January Saturday once again Bourne Rd was asking the mighty Lemons to answer the call this time against a top Eilliamsonians team. Having come through a scrappy affait against Fottscray in the openi ng 2024 fixture they wanted to create some stability for the upcoming fixtures. The match started at a very high tempo with the Demons showing why they hold the their position at the top of the table. Strong running from Dom Fisher cut through the Wills defence like Navi through the Fabric dance floor. Darts won a penalty following some good phases of play and a nudge to the corner saw their intent on setting a whitewash bound maul. Breaking away from the maul to move infield a quick kiwi down the blind side saw prop Billy Wilson unload superbly to his captain and mentor. JOB was brought down agonisingly close to the line and made the decision to recycle instead of the risk of th long reach. Twomore phases saw George Keefe cross the line with Ali providing the extra points, 7-0. Darts were up and running but this proved to be their only points for next 50 minutes. Wills showd their intent to play with lots of running rugby and clearly enjoyed playing on the grassy dry pitch. Using their hard running centres to create go forward ball they were able to exploit our tight centree defensive line up by going out wide. Paddy Adams and \charlie Williamswere made to earn their showers with lots af great defensive interventions. The second row pair od Adam Selley and Jonathon Akinsetti were doing the donkey work around the field disrupting the Wills rucks and stopping their ball carriers on the gain line. It wasnt pretty but it was very effective.Despite theri strategy of running everything in each of their forays into the Demons 22 they opted to go for the 3 points with two successful kicks taking the halftime score to 7-6.
The second half continued much in the same vein as the first with inconsistent handling, unforced errors and soft penalties limiting any fast flowing rugby. Ill discipline at ruck time cost the Lemons a lot of possession which meant they were defending for long periods. The heart of wearing the Demons jersey was epitomised by Joe Carey who came off the bench to the front row and earnt himself an interception and two turnovers in his first 5 minutes . Darts never say die!. A MOTM effort once again from Ali Barker and constant martialling of play at scrum half from Danny Taylor kept the team going throughout the second half. Ali slotted a penalty to give a slightly extended lead 10-6.Without the experience of the senior players the Lemons may have succumbed tp what was a very mentally, physically and emotionally draining game of rugby. The mighty Demons finished the day in joint first place on 60 points behind Becknham on points difference and the season as it stands is still in their own hands.This was a match which could have gone either way but the lads held on to the end.