COLTS
Hornsby defeated Briars 61-7
This was a big improvement from the first round. The boys are making progress but are still making too many simple mistakes in defence, Hornsby is a great side and they were able to capitalise on each mistake we made. The scrum is improving, with Alex Constanti winning a number of tight heads as well as the line outs. We really need to improve our tackling out wide and the results will start to move towards our favour.
Coach: Pete Kelly 

 4^th GRADE
Briars defeated Hornsby 15-14
Coach: Damien Johnson 

3^rd GRADE
Hornsby defeated Briars 11-0
Coach: Reuben Sinai & Daniel Wilkinson 

2^ND GRADE
Briars defeated Hornsby 19-12
It wasn’t the prettiest win, but the determination by the boys to hold on made it a sweet victory. Too many times this year 2^nd grade has been on the opposite end of a close battle. This week the boys started well. It was clear to see that our line out was far superior; we built momentum and pressure off the back of this. It enabled us to be camped in the Hornsby 22 for an extended period. Credit to Hornsby they scrambled well in defence, with Pete Ananin being denied a try in the corner. But it wasn’t too long before the 2^nd grade backline made their opponents crack. Slick ball movement enabled Brent Tedesco to go over in the corner, and Briars were on the board. Confidence was building; the scrum looked strong and at half Mike was making plenty of meters through the middle of the field. Briars were asking plenty of questions from the Hornsby defence and it wasn’t long before Brent Tedesco crossed over again. Dave Ananin converting meant Briars were up 12-0 and looking strong. However, just when things started to look good, Hornsby made use of their bigger backline to score, making it 12-5. They somehow managed to find a way back into the game making metres every time they pushed the ball wide. Some desperate defence, some smart play and some strong set pieces allowed Briars to work their way back up the field; and on the cusp of half time a strong run by Dave Ananin enabled him to carry 2 defenders over the line.  The score at half time was 19-5. The instructions were simple: play tough, smart footy and we should be ok. Give them no time in the backline, and we’ll see this through. Instructions weren’t entirely followed. Briars did have good moments in the second half, but lacked the patience to put Hornsby to the sword. Hornsby managed to score a long range try, but this was all their scoring for the game. Briars scrambled well throughout the second half, but also maintained some strong defence close to the ruck. James Mac was tiresome all game, Shay Quilty came on and only strengthened the middle of the field. As said, it wasn’t pretty but it was heroic. Too many good performances to mention made awarding points very difficult. However, points this week went to: James Mac (3), Mike Hoheau (2) and Dave Ananin (1). But quite simply, if the whole team could have been awarded points they would have. Waverley this weekend will be tough. They’ll be strong, well drilled and have plenty of pace.We’ll be ready. 
Coach: Dean Peris   

1^st GRADE
Briars defeated Hornsby 38-27
Coming up against Hornsby for the start of the 2nd round was a bit of an unknown. Briars were coming off a great weekend of 2 victories from a wet weather weekend and Hornsby was coming off a convincing win against Kings. Adding to the pressure for Briars was the fact that it was Old Boys day and expectation had been set high from our previous results.  From the kick off I knew it was not going to be easy with Hornsby in a great attacking position early on. The first half did not go to plan. Luckily Briars did not let Hornsby get away and we went into half time 19 all. The boys knew that a simple game plan would get a victory in the second half, but they just had to put it into place. Despite a few setbacks, class ended up prevailing and we were happy to run out with a 38-27 bonus point victory. This enabled us to get within 3 points of the top of the table and 10 points clear of 3rd place. Even with some work to do, it has set us up for a good run to the finals. A good game was had by man of the match Peter Low with 3 tries.  Bring on Waverley and let’s put 80 minutes together.
 Coach: Mark Gudmunson