Playmaker Trindall on top

TALENTED halfback Josh Trindall pulled the strings yesterday to lift Southcity to a gutsy 29-22 upset Group Nine victory over Lavington at Harris Park. Southcity snapped Lavington’s four-game winning streak in superb fashion with a desperate and committed performance in front of a vocal home crowd. Adding merit to the victory, Southcity was forced to play the majority of the second half with just 12 men after prop Dave McGrath was sent from the field. Referee Bernie Nix gave McGrath his marching orders in the 44th minute of the game after the Southcity forward collected Lavington counterpart Tony Pamatangi with a high tackle. Trindall was the architect of the victory and he guided Southcity around the park well while also creating tries and displaying a solid kicking game. Coming up against his workmate, and former NRL star Joe Williams, Trindall rose to the occasion and came up with the important plays when they were most needed. It should be noted, however, that Williams, who works with Trindall at Mount Austin High School, went into yesterday’s game with a sore hamstring and it was evident the star Lavington playmaker was not 100 per cent fit.Southcity captain-coach Greg Lynch was elated with the triumph and heaped praise on quietly-spoken Trindall. “Josh was fantastic out there,” Lynch said. “He has been one of our best all year and he is just as honest as they come. “He doesn’t go out there demanding to be respected but he makes us all respect him by the way he plays and how he goes about things.” Lavington made a dream start to the game with fullback Deon Belford (eighth minute) and centre Andrew Illieff scoring (16th) tries to give the Panthers an early 10-0 lead. Trindall ignited Southcity in the 18th minute when he dummied his way over for a try and the halfback then kicked a 40/20 a few minutes later which led to a four–pointer to forward Bernie Trevaskis (22nd). When winger Jeremy Hampton latched onto a bomb from Southcity five-eighth Matt O’Neill, the Bulls had snatched a 16-10 lead – which they took into the break.Lavington looked set to launch a bold challenge in the second stanza when McGrath was sent-off leaving Southcity a man down for the remaining 36 minutes. However, Southcity united and prop Pete Maybury made a 50-metre run before linking up with Hampton who scored his second try of the game to make the score 20-10.Lavington threatened a comeback when hooker Adam Mroz darted over from dummy-half in the 54th minute but when Trindall set-up centre Dom Kennedy to the advantage was 26-16 with 20 minutes remaining. Lavington scored a fortuitous try in the 76th minute to set-up a thrilling finish but Trindall capped a wonderful individual game by slotting a field goal with one minute remaining to put the result beyond doubt.