Birch, Chris

Chris BIRCH [Player Stats]


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Birch seals win after siren
Mon May 28, 2007
by Queensland Rugby League
Source: www.qrl.com.au

WYNNUM MANLY newcomer Chris Birch kicked a sideline conversion after the siren, lifting the Seagulls to a stunning 24-22 win against Burleigh at BMD Kougari Oval.

In one of the matches of the season, the Baysiders grabbed their second back-from-the-dead victory in a row, following a 16-12 win against Souths Logan the previous week.

Having lost Denny Lambert late before the game due to a leg injury, Wynnum was forced to rely on Birch as the primary playmaker. Though impressive to date, it was quite the gamble by coach Shane McNally, given the 23-year-old is only a handful games into his Wizard Cup career.

Birch failed to disappoint anyone, looking sharp and coming up with a number of telling plays. His calmness in slotting the winning kick from out wide followed a great try midway through the first half and ensured a perfect record with the goal-kicking boots.

The tense finale was again set up by centre Paoa Faamita, who slid over for a try in the corner with less than a minute to play. Seven days beforehand Faamita made the bust which led to the winning try for Ben Czislowski against Souths Logan.

Burleigh was for the third week in a row left to rue shortcomings in discipline. Half Ben Black was pointed to the sin bin for dissent with three minutes left on the clock, while Ryan Gundry gave away a costly penalty late in the tackle count prior to Faamita's try.

As a result the Bears let slip a 22-18 advantage and a game which they led for the majority of the 80 minutes. From being the talk of the competition in the opening rounds, Jimmy Lenihan's men now find themselves in seventh spot and in danger of being caught by both Wynnum and Norths.

For their part the Seagulls recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season, kicking clear of a situation a fortnight ago where they looked like battling the Central Comets for the wooden spoon.

The lift in belief among the Seagulls' squad saw them fight back numerous times after Burleigh skipped away. At 6-0 down after conceding a Jordan Atkins try, Wynnum responded through Birch, receiving a crisp pass from Wade Bachmann and then fading left and dummying before touching down.

Burleigh kicked away again when Black set up fullback Nick Parfitt in the 23rd minute, but the Seagulls clawed back for 12-all at halftime when Bachmann snuck over from dummy-half.

The second half started with Leigh Coghill placed on report for a high tackle on John Bruce and things got worse for the Bears when Birch broke into the clear and sent Bill Wyatt on his way to the tryline.

This time Burleigh was forced to punch back, posting successive tries to Parfitt and Coghill to climb off the canvas and regain the ascendancy. Several times the visitors went within a whisker of scoring a third straight try to seal the game, but it never eventuated and as they imploded at the death, Wynnum gladly drew level and then stole the two points.

Next week Wynnum hosts Easts at 3pm on Sunday at BMD Kougari Oval. Burleigh meets Ipswich at Carrara Stadium, also on Sunday at 11.50am.

WYNNUM MANLY 24 (Luke Birch, Wade Bachmann, Paoa Faamita, Bill Wyatt tries; Chris Birch 4 goals) d BURLEIGH 22 (Nick Parfitt 2, Jordan Atkins, Leigh Coghill tries; Nick Parfitt 3 goals) at BMD Kougari Oval.

News sent by: www.qrl.com.au

====================================================================================================== 2007 Wizard Queensland Cup Wynnum Manly Seagulls 2 games; [View] Round 1 [17 Mar 07] L 18-40 v Easts Tigers (A). [BE] [View] Round 10 [20 May 07] W 16-12 v Souths Logan (A). [F8] ======================================================================================================

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