TRU Round 10 Wrap: Flyin' Lions still in finals hunt after Stags do

Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 1:00 AM
TAS Rugby
by TAS Rugby
STILL IN THE HUNT: Hobart Lions are still in the finals frame after defeating Glenorchy 45-10 at Hutchins War Memorial Oval in Round 10 of the TRU Premiership. Picture: Facebook
STILL IN THE HUNT: Hobart Lions are still in the finals frame after defeating Glenorchy 45-10 at Hutchins War Memorial Oval in Round 10 of the TRU Premiership. Picture: Facebook

Hobart Lions aren’t counting their chickens just yet but club president Aleem Khalfan says confidence is high after another win edged his side closer to a TRU finals berth.

The Lions overcame a slow start against Glenorchy to run out 45-10 victors at Hutchins War Memorial Oval, scoring six tries to two with Ian Clack’s goalkicking a standout.

The bonus-point win saw fifth-placed Lions close the gap on Burnie, who fell to a 29-16 loss against Taroona, but there’s no shortage of hurdles with consecutive games against Launceston, Taroona and Devonport coming up.

“It was good to see us kick into gear late against Glenorchy, there’s a few new combinations we needed to try out and great that we were able to come home strongly,” Khalfan said.

“It’s an exciting position to be in (fifth) and we’ve got three massive home games coming up against the top three sides, plus our Ladies Day and 40th club anniversary so plenty to look forward to.

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“I think we gave Taroona and Devonport a good push last time around, and now we’ve got an opportunity at home to build some momentum against those top sides.

“We haven’t had the best couple of years but we’ve shown in patches that we’re able to match it with the best and now we’ve got consistency and belief to hopefully take us further in 2023.”

In other TRU Premiership results, Launceston trio Leone Vonoyauyau, TJ Pieters and Marika Nadaulevu bagged hat-tricks in the Tigers’ 97-6 win over Hobart Harlequins while Devonport broke University hearts with a last-gasp 22-18 win in Sandy Bay.

Launceston also emerged victorious in the Championship, running out 69-3 winners over Eastern Suburbs at North Warrane Oval, with the women’s competition set to return this weekend at University Oval.

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