Gloucester started confidently and was guilty of overplaying the possession they had, trying to go wide before establishing momentum. They soon corrected this when the forwards started making inroads up the middle, giving the halves more time to control the attack.

Jason Boorer went close to scoring down the right-hand side. The next tackle Hayden Tull got a cross kick in for Kieran Burley to reach above the pack and score. Corbin Predebon converted for the Magpies to lead 6‐0 after 15 minutes.

The Magpies continued to complete their sets and apply pressure on the Roo’s defence. In a good sweep across to the left, Jonah Mason scored in the corner for Gloucester’s second try. The next came after good lead up work from a scrum feed deep in Roo’s half. On the 6th tackle, Riley Collins threw an audacious dummy and slid over the line.

Scott Wratten converted for the Magpies to jump to a 16‐0 lead. Gloucester continued to apply pressure and forced a line drop‐out to come achingly close to scoring. The Roos scored just before halftime off the back of three penalties inside Gloucester’s 20 meters. This try was a blow to Gloucester’s hopes of retaining their big lead at halftime, and they knew that to score next was necessary.

The Magpies started the second half strongly with Dane Lahey and Mitch Turnbull making good ground in the middle. Gloucester was getting hammered in the penalty count and to their credit, they crossed for what seemed a fair try but were denied by the referee. The Roo’s were next to score after the strong lead-up work, with their halfback crashing over.

The Roo’s were pressuring the Gloucester line when the ball was forced loose. Jason Boorer went on a 90-metre dash only to be pulled down short of the line. In the next ruck, a Roo's defender managed to force a knock on. Gloucester should have received a penalty but had a scrum awarded against them.

The Karuah five‐eight was proving a handful for the Gloucester defenders and scored next, for the Roos to hit the lead 18‐16.The Roos scored again off a kick on the 6th tackle against a tiring Gloucester defence, to run out 24‐16 winners.It was a game the Magpies should have won. 

They showed glimpses of what they are cable of achieving this year but need to get more numbers into tackles against bigger opponents.

3 points: Dane Lahey 2 points: Scoot Wratten 1 point: Johnny Cornelius, Jonah Mason Players Player: Dane Lahey. The Magpies are at home next week against the Windale Eagles kick off 3pm.

Dave Parker