NRC Wk 1: Bright Stars Fade As City Lights Shine In Competition Opener
by Paul Cook -
Brisbane City ran in 37 unanswered points to recover from 20-8 down and defeat Sydney Stars 45-20 in an exciting opening match of the inaugural Buildcorp NRC at a wet and wild Ballymore last night.
Ten tries and not one penalty shot at the posts was certainly a vindication of the law changes that have been introduced as Australia’s third tier competition got underway but a combined tally of over 60 missed tackles would have had the defence coaches watching through their fingers.
A bright start from the visitors saw them bag four tries in an opening forty minutes of pace and precision but on a tough night for kickers, flyhalf Stu Dunbar couldn’t land any of the innovative 3pt conversions, restricting his side to 20pts from a potential 32.
Those eight point tries proved crucial when