Noosa is outclassed by Caloundra

Caloundra’s Nick Paterson is caught by the Noosa defence in the Caloundra RSL Cup match at Caloundra.

Warren Lynam

Some scintillating play from halfback Justin Otto, combined with patience and composure, was the recipe Caloundra produced to dispose of Noosa 28-6 at Shark Park on the weekend.

The defending premiers wore Noosa into the ground and pounced on every opportunity to register the 22-point win and cement its position on top of the Caloundra RSL Cup ladder.

Otto provided the spark, while the forwards produced the grunt needed to clinch another two crucial competition points.

Caloundra coach and forward Nick Paterson said he was impressed by how well his team stuck to its game plan.

“I said to the boys, ‘We’re going to be in for an arm wrestle today’ and that’s exactly what it was,” he said.

“Noosa are a very good team and have some young kids coming through who are playing some good footy now. It’s a credit to (Noosa captain-coach) Dane Campbell and what he’s doing up there with the club.

“Our boys just ground it out. We were a bit unlucky early on. We lost Chris Kaasberg (knee) very early on. To lose a player of his calibre early sets you back a little bit but we just stuck to what we wanted to do. Our line defence was exceptional. We just kept turning up for each other. We’ve got a bit of a pact within the group – we don’t let soft tries in.”

Otto set up Caloundra’s first try with a pin-point chip, chase and gather, before he passed to Jake Lingard, who crossed out wide.

Sharks youngster Morgan Forbes stretched the lead late in the half when he barged over for a 10-0 lead at the break.

Caloundra prop Chris Elliott ran hard to score between the posts early in the second half and the match was as good as over when Danny Fellingham stretched the Sharks’ lead to 22-0 midway through the second term.

Brad Ibbs gave the Sharks a 28-0 lead after a scrum set-play, while Steve McMichan scored a consolation try for the Pirates shortly before full-time.