Monaro Colts Johns & Daley Cups: Round One Wrap
The Monaro Colts were defeated by the Central Coast Roosters in Round One of both the Andrew Johns and Laurie Daley Cups at Morry Breen Oval on Saturday.
Andrew Johns Cup
Central Coast Roosters 26 d Monaro Colts 10
Monaro faced the tough challenge of coming up against last year's premiers to kick start their campaign.
The Colts started strong, with lock and captain Billy Jay Pumpa getting over the line for the first points of the match.
It didn't take long before Roosters snagged the lead through quick back-to-back tries from winger Semi Leweniqila.
Central Coast scored another four-pointer before halftime, going into the break leading 16-6.
They continued to carry momentum in the second half, scoring two more tries, including Leweniqila securing his hat-trick.
Monaro second rower Tyla Hope crossed the line in the dying minutes, providing his side with a bit of what his surname suggests, however, the scores remained 26-10 when the fulltime whistle blew.
Laurie Daley Cup
CC Roosters 14 d Monaro Colts 0
In what was a tight match, the Colts were shut out by a Roosters side that was clinical in both attack and defense.
Central Coast winger Samisoni Talakai opened the scoring after 10 minutes and centre Sam Gillespie added to their lead with a late first half try to bring the scores to 8-0 heading into the break.
The game went into a bit of a stalemate before Roosters fullback Sean Bullen crossed the line with 10 minutes to go, sealing their impressive round one win.
Both Monaro sides put their losses behind them and look ahead to their round two clash against the Illawarra South Coast Dragons in front of a home crowd on Sunday.
