Match Result: The Melbourne Rising have held off a late comeback from the North Harbour Rays to win a thrilling NRC match 45-40 at Manly Oval.
With scores deadlocked at 40 all, after the 62nd minute, a late try to Colby Fainga’a kept the Rising undefeated away from home in the competition.
It was a disappointing end to the match for the Rays who fought back from 40-16 down to level the scores.
In the early stages of the match, the Rays dominated, as they had over 75% of the possession in the opening 12 minutes of the match.
They only put one try on the board though through Boyd Killingworth.
The Rising would then rise and get into the match in devastating fashion.
Three tries in ten minutes gave Melbourne 24 unanswered points and a 16 point lead.
The Rays responded, with a second try to Killingworth, before the Rising added two more tries to lead by 24 points at half time.
Jack Debreczeni was the star of the half as he played a part in most of the tries.
It would also be the highest score by a team in the opening half of the NRC.
The Ray bounced back in the 2nd half, courtesy of a yellow card to Rising player Lloyd Johansson.
Two high hits, to Rays players, gave the referee no choice but to send him to the bin.
This allowed the Rays to come back, with the wind, as they scored three tries in that ten minutes to level the scores.
A try to Tom Hill, in the 61st minute, capped off the incredible comeback.
The Rays then conceded a yellow card of their own as Rory O’Connor prevented a try from being scored.
The Rising took advantage of that and scored one last try to secure the game.
This keeps the Rising undefeated away from home and entrenches them in the top 4 in the competition.
They now have a bye in Round 4.
The Rays now face Brisbane City next week, after securing a bonus point, in what could be a battle for the Horan-Little Shield.
Match Preview: The North Harbour Rays are chasing back-to-back wins when they take on the Melbourne Rising at Manly Oval. Join The Roar for all the action from 7:30pm (AEST).
Last week the Rays won their first match of the season, with an impressive display against the 2014 finalists, Perth Spirit.
The 45-26 win was set up by six tries including a double to Boyd Killingworth.
After winning just two matches last year, with two draws, the Rays look improved in 2015.
The Melbourne Rising lost their first game of the season last week, to Brisbane City. That also lost them the Horan-Little Shield after the team defended it in the opening week.
They will be looking to bounce back with a win against a team they defeated in the opening round of the 2014 season.
The Rising have made one change from last week, with Fereti Sa’aga making his debut for the club. The Australian under-20 prop replaces Mike Tyler, who is out with a knee injury.
The Rays have made plenty of changes to the team that won last week. Tyson Davis makes his starting debut, replacing Michael Adams. Lawrance Hunting will also start in place of Wayne Borsak who has back soreness. Finally Mark Johnson swaps with Harry Rorke.
All four matches involving these two clubs this season have seen over 60 points scored, so expect plenty of tries.
Prediction
The Rising will be disappointed after their loss last week, and will come out with purpose. Based on that, and the nine Rebels’ worth of experience in the team, they should win.
Melbourne by 11.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:30pm (AEST). If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
ethan
Guest
Errors and missed tackles by the Rising were poor, yet surprisingly they had double the linebreaks.
qwad
Guest
Entertaining game. Shame about the weather although that probably helped the rays out and made it a better game
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Report to come.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
STATS - POSSESSION - Rays 52% Rising 48% TOTAL PHASES - Rays 104 Rising 113 PHASE SETS - Rays 50 Rising 46 7+ PHASES - Rays 3 Rising 3 TOTAL RUNS - Rays 96 Rising 93 RUN METRES - Rays 600 Rising 706 OFFLOADS - Rays 8 Rising 9 LINEBREAKS - Rays 7 Rising 13 HANDLING ERRORS - Rays 6 Rising 11 TURNOVERS - Rays 10 Rising 18 RUCKS AND MAULS - Rays 72 Rising 71 MISSED TACKLES - Rays 18 Rising 34
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
SCORE - Melbourne Rising 45 Johansson Reid Ili Debreczeni Meehan Fainga'a Debreczeni 5/6 North Harbour Rays 40 Killingworth 2 Angus Holmes Hill Angus 5/5
ethan
Guest
Entertaining game. Yellow card to Johanssen really let the Rays back in it. That strong breeze turned out to be worth a lot of points as well. A quality second half showing from the Rays to outperform the Rising. The Holmes boys played quite well for the Rays and all the pack was hardworking. Killingsworth seemed to be heavily involved. In the backs I thought the centres (Hill and not sure who 13 was) were strong, and Davies has got some toe on the wing. Rising loosies and halves were very good. Ili looked pretty nippy on the wing as well. Rising had the better scrum, but too many lineout errors.
nmpcart
Guest
Rays have been performing well without Super Rugby players in their squad, matched up well to the Rebels laden Melbourne Rising team (and Perth last week who have lots of Force players). Very surprised that the Rays managed to come back from the 40-16 deficit to get very close to winning this match.
Losing BP for the Rays will help. Good second half
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 80:00 Rays play the lineout and create a rolling maul. They don't release the ball though, after it, and concede a penalty. The Melbourne Rising win the match. They hold on in a thriller. Final score - Melbourne 45 North Harbour 40
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 78:20 Now the Rays win a penalty. This is it. Can they win the match?
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2- 77:45 Another knock on by the Rising. The Rays get the ball and attack through the middle. They are building the phases.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 77:01 The Rays win the scrum and attack to the left. They go too far left though and Davis is forced to knock the ball on as he goes out of play.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 76:05 Rising knock the ball on again and the Rays have a scrum in their defensive area. They have time to win the match.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 75:30 Rays kick, after the third phase, and the Rising attack again.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 74:22 Rising almost seal the win through Debreczeni. He runs and breaks through the Rays defence. Unfortunately though he throws a forward pass and the Rays have a scrum. They also go get back to 15 players. Can they win now with one late try?
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 72:40 Debreczeni misses adding the extra three points. Score remains 45-40.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 71:55 TRY TO THE RISING Melbourne turn the ball over, after a big hit, and run to the other side to score. Colby Fainga'a goes over and the Rising lead by 5. Melbourne lead 45-40.
Themate
Guest
Who is Has been the best player Shane? Plus any other standouts?
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 70:15 Rays kick again and the Rising turn it over again. The Rays use the same tactic and it works well. They force the Rising to kick into touch and the Rays have great position to attack with a lineout.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 68:53 Rays kick immediately after winning the scrum feed. The Rising then knock the ball on again between the 22m and 10m line.