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The unbeaten record held by the Glendale Raptors at Infinity Park is no longer. In a blazing shootout that saw 13 tries between the two sides, the Seattle Seawolves took the spoils in a 53-36 result that casts major doubt over Glendale’s ability to make the playoffs.
It didn’t take long for Glendale to get on the board. A thunderous run from John Ryberg was stopped but left Ben Cima knocked out in the tackle attempt. The Raptors went right and then came back to the left where Ryberg was waiting and this time there was no stopping the big man as he dotted down in the corner. Robbie Petzer’s wide angle conversion was bang on target.
The required backline shuffle saw Phil Mack come in to replace Cima and JP Smith moving to flyhalf. They had no trouble adjusting but it was the forwards who went to work, and after a strong lineout drive Stephan Coetzee reached out from the tackle to dot the ball down for the try. Brock Staller uncharacteristically sliced the extras but the Seawolves were right back in it.
Glendale gave away a soft penalty immediately from the restart and Smith gained 60 meters with a massive clearance off his left boot. Clean ball came from the lineout and Nakai Penny took on the line. The quick recycle gave Mat Turner room to move and he stepped out of one before finishing the routine two-on-one with Staller on the end and into the right corner.
Seattle made it three tries in only seven minutes from a set lineout play. Brad Tucker took it off the top and Api Naikatini crashed ahead. A waving George Barton took the ball straight from Mack and smashed cleaned through two defenders to race in for a seven pointer.
The Raptors fired back with a Petzer penalty but the Seawolves were in a try-scoring mood and would break through again immediately. Attacking from deep in their own end, Smith hit Suniula looping outside Barton and Turner dragged in Ryberg to set Staller free. After a 40 meter sprint he popped the return pass to Turner who had too much gas for the cover.
Smith’s clearance from the restart didn’t find touch, and Murphy Taramai brought it back into Seattle territory. Glendale went right and then brought it back to the left for Ryberg to go on another mad dash. He beat one and popped it back inside to a trailing Brendan Daly for a fine team effort. Petzer curled in the sideline conversion to close the game to a converted try.
The comeback was complete just a couple minutes later. Ryberg made inroads to get the ball over halfway and then Petzer cut through a confused midfield. A few more phases softened the defense and then Luke White charged clean through on a flat ball from Ata Malifa.
There would be time for one last score before halftime. Jeff Hassler replaced Barton at outside center and he made a break with his first touch. The ball moved wide right and Staller somehow regathered his own chip ahead. Hassler ran into a crunching hit from Chad London but Seattle had advantage, and Staller would take the easy three for a slender lead at the break.
Another booming touch finder from Smith gave Seattle a 5-meter throw-in to start the second half. The lineout drive worked a charm with Coetzee peeling off to the left and diving over for his double. Staller’s radar was on target and the Seawolves were 10 points ahead.
Dylan Taikato-Simpson would create a try out of nothing in response. Brad Tucker’s grubber down the sideline looked to have pinned the Glendale fullback in his own end, but after eluding three chasing defenders he handed off to Ryberg who summarily dismissed the challenge of Hassler. The desperation tackle from Staller hauled him to ground but Ryberg managed to offload to Taikato-Simpson who jogged in under the posts for a remarkable finish.
The celebration was short-lived as a loose pass from Petzer found Smith instead of London for the easiest of run-ins. That seemed to take the wind out of Glendale’s sails, and if not they were certainly deflated when Smith got his second. This time he took the ball at first receiver and pulled off the show-and-go to finish off a dominant Seattle attack.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 66th minute when Turner dove over in the corner for his second of the game. It came off the back of a prolonged attack with the ball going through several sets of hands. The sideline conversion proved a touch too difficult for Staller but the Seawolves were home and dry. A consolation try from Kody O’Neil was too little, too late for the Raptors.
With a five-point gap to make up and only two matches remaining in the regular season, Glendale’s fate now rests in the result of their match in Toronto next Sunday. Seattle are in much better shape in third place and will head home to welcome Utah on the same day.
SCORING
GLENDALE 36
Tries – J. Ryberg (2’), B. Daly (30’), L. White (36’), D. Taikato-Simpson (46’), K. O’Neil (72’)
Cons – R. Petzer 4/4 (3’, 31’, 37’, 47’), W. Magie 0/1
Pens – R. Petzer 1/1 (23’)
SEATTLE 53
Tries – S. Coetzee 2 (10’, 42’), B. Staller (13’), G. Barton (17’), M. Turner 2 (27’, 66’), J. Smith 2 (48’, 62’)
Cons – B. Staller 5/8 (18’, 28’, 43’, 49’, 63’)
Pens – B. Staller 1/1 (40’)
Yellow cards – S. Suniula (79’)
TEAMS
GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Noah Barker (18 Max Lum 52’ {17 Blake Rogers 68’}), 2 Zach Fenoglio (16 Chad Gough 52’), 3 Kelepi Fifita, 4 Brendan Daly (20 Will Munro 68’), 5 Luke White (19 Kody O’Neil 54’), 6 Malon Al-Jiboori, 7 Peter Dahl (21 Connor Cook 59’), 8 Murphy Taramai, 9 Shaun Davies (capt.), 10 Ata Malifa (22 Will Magie 52’), 11 Harley Davidson, 12 Robbie Petzer (23 Mika Kruse 54’), 13 Chad London, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Kellen Gordon 59’), 2 Stephan Coetzee (16 Dan Trierweiler 68’), 3 Tim Metcher (18 Jake Ilnicki 53’), 4 Api Naikatini (19 Samu Manoa 54’), 5 Jérémy Lenaerts (20 Eric Duechle 20’-24’, 59’), 6 Brad Tucker, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh, 9 JP Smith, 10 Ben Cima (21 Phil Mack 3’), 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs (23 Dion Crowder 69’), 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 George Barton (22 Jeff Hassler 32’), 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Elgan Williams (WRU)
Assistants: Paul-Henri Courbier (USAR) & Steve Gore (USAR)
