The Stingrays season launch will be held on Friday 29th July at The Titanium Bar. The night will kick off at 7pm. Entry is covered for players that have paid their fees for the 2011 season. Families, supporters and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend and entry costs will be $10 which will include Finger Food and entry into the lucky door prize!

Come along and support the Stingrays heading into season 2011! More info on our website at

http://www.gcstingrays.com/news_latest.htm

The history of Gridiron Queensland shows that three teams own the distinction of winning three consecutive Sunbowl titles. The Brisbane Bulldogs won the first three in 1985, 86 & 87. The Ipswich Cougars also won three in a row from 2002 – 2004, achieved during a stretch of 8 consecutive Sunbowl appearances (6 of them against the Stingrays).

Now on the verge of winning their fourth consecutive Sunbowl, the Gold Coast Stingrays took the field in an attempt to make GQ history. There is no doubt that the 2009 Stingrays deserved their place in Sunbowl XXV. They had beaten all opponents thus far (11-0), sometimes by large margins, sometimes by grinding out games with the narrowest of leads. In particular, the Rays defensive unit had excelled all year and had only allowed 58 points in 11 games (5.27 points per game).

The Kenmore Bears had gained their place in the Sunbowl by finishing 7-3 and in 3 rd position by beating the Cougars in the week preceding the Playoffs 14-13. That win enabled them to land a playoff game against the Ravens instead of the Stingrays, which they narrowly won 22-21. The Bears’ rookie QB Jared Stegman was instrumental in that tight win.

The Stingrays and Bears had met only once previously in Season 2009. It occurred in Week 1 of the competition, when most players were either still knocking the rust off from a long and festive off-season, or still carrying fatigue from State and National representative duties. The Stingrays won that game 14 – 0, but with so much water under the bridge since then, neither team could be sure how much improvement had taken place throughout the season.

In the weeks preceeding Sunbowl XXV, the Stingrays had heard rumours that Bears QB Jared Stegman (named GQ MVP) & his favourite WR would not be available for the Sunbowl due to international travel plans made before the release of the GQ schedule. However the Stingrays were not complacent and prepared for a full-strength opponent. During pre-game warmups, the Rays looked relaxed, but focused.

On their second possession, Tight End Lawrence Tully found a seam between the Bears’ safeties. Kyle Low delivered the ball in space and Tully took the ball deep into the ‘Red Zone’. Starting Tailback Jeff Moate then opened the scoring with a 3 yard TD run, helped by the lead blocking of Fullback Jarrod Hayes and the right side of the Rays veteran O-Line featuring former NCAA linemen Noah Parker and Daniel Collins. The PAT was kicked by Kyle Low (GQ Special Teams MVP) to make it 7-0 . The Rays had cracked the seal and could smell history in the making.

Things began to look bad for the Bears when Kyle Low then found Damien Molloy (GQ Wide Receiver of the Year) down the left sideline. Molloy evaded defenders and looked to have scored, only to be ruled out-of-bounds at the 1 yard line. Low was happy to take the honours for him by barreling through behind centre Nigel Law on a QB sneak for the Rays’ second TD on the very next play. The PAT unit kept the pressure up to the Bears by taking the score in the title game to 14 – 0 .

Now that they were warming up, the Rays moved closer to their ultimate goal when Jarrod Hayes showed great strength and determination by breaking tackles on a Fullback dive by rolling, tumbling and eventually breaking free for a 20 yard TD run. His O-Line was with him all the way, some making blocks at the line and scrimmage and then again downfiled. Once again the PAT unit were successful. The writing was on the wall for the Bears as the score moved to 21 – 0 .

But as expected, the Bears began to sort out their offensive game plan and moved the ball into the Rays’ Red Zone. A pass to an open Bears receiver in the end zone looked dangerous, but Cornerback Robbie Edmonds (GQ Defensive Back of the Year) arrived as the ball did and knocked both the ball and the Bears reciever to the ground. As the Rays celebrated the play, the officials suspiciously assembled, eventually awarding a TD catch to the Bears, despite the ball spilling to the ground from Edmond’s hit. The officials ruled that the receiver had established posession in the end zone. 21-6 .

This exasperating call by the officials clearly disapointed the Stingrays players and coaches and could easily have affected their focus for the rest of the game. But Coach Diprose and the team had prepared themselves for such an event. The Rays put aside their frustration and decided to focus on something that they could change – the rest of the game.

The Rays offense was determined to win back the momentum. On their next possession, finding themselves in a 3 rd and long situation, the Rays went to the air. Low found an open WR Ash Dick just beyond the first down marker on a deep out route. After securing the catch, Dick juked two defenders, giving him an open path to the endzone. The PAT was good, 28 – 6 .

On the following Bears posession, penalties allowed the Bears to march into the Rays’ Red Zone. The Bears had a 1 st -and-goal situation, but the Rays’ goalline defense agressively kept the Bears from scoring for 3 downs. On the following down (4 th -and-goal from the 2 yard line), the Bears ran an option play off-tackle to the left. Free Safety Ben Walker closed in and stopped the QB, but as other defenders swarmed in to wrap him up, he managed to slip the ball out to the running back who then ran unopposed into the endzone to keep the Bears in the hunt for Sunbowl XXV. The Bears’ 2 point PAT was also successful. 28- 14. While the Bears were behind, the game was far from over and the Rays had no doubt that it could be easily lost if they dropped their tempo.

Despite good offensive production throughout the game, the Rays offense turned the ball over 4 times. Jae Powlowski lost one fumble and Kyle Low uncharacteristically threw 3 interceptions. But the Rays dominant defense helped to ease the turnover pain by snaring two interceptions themselves. Cornerback Tim Beere continued his fairytale rookie year by picking off a pass. And when veteran Defensive Rob McKinnon intercepted a Bears’ screen pass in the 4 th quarter, the cries of “BIG MAN WITH FOOTBALL!” rang out as McKinnon put together a reasonable return to the interception and finally broke the spirit of the hard-fighting Bears team.

By now the Rays knew they were in the box seat. Damien Molloy finished off his fantastic season by collecting a 25 yard TD pass from Low, who read the Bears’ blitz, quickly set his feet and delivered the early long ball to Molloy.

Final Score: Gold Coast Stingrays 35 – Kenmore Bears 14 

With his healthy yardage total, sturdy pass blocking and opening TD, Jeff Moate was awarded Sunbowl XXV MVP. The Stingrays celebrated while receiving the traditional chintzy medals and the the Sunbowl trophy. Not only did they celebrate a great undefeated season (12-0), but the Club had made GQ history by winning four consecutive Sunbowls. The Stingrays can now set their sights on chasing the record of the Sydney University Lions, who have secured their 7 th consective Gridiron NSW Championship this year.

The Club would like to thank GQ and the Wildcats Gridiron Football Club for hosting Sunbowl XXV and thank the Kenmore Bears’ players and coaches for a hard-fought game played with great sportsmanship. Thanks also go out to all GQ teams and League volunteers who made the 2009 GQ season successful and enjoyable.

Special thanks also to the Gold Coast Stingrays players, coaches, volunteers, supporters and families in 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009.

Stingray Pride!

Coach Williams

After having a bye in Round 11, the Rays looked to round out the 2009 GQ regular season as undefeated Minor Premiers as they faced a tough Bruins team. In their Round 8 clash with the Bruins, the Rays came away easy 35-0 winners. But the Bruins showed how much they have improved since then with plenty of size and potential on display. While the Bruins struggled offensively with turnovers (David Wilson was credited with multiple strips), the Bruins played a very physical brand of defense and pressured the Stingrays runners and kept Kyle Low and Damien Molloy from inflicting the same level of damage as in Round 8.

Jae Powlowski returned from central Queensland to carry the ball for the Rays at Tailback. Powlowski broke a long run from around the 50 yard line on the Rays first drive and looked to be on his way to the end zone, but was cut down at the 10. The Bruins stopped Powlowski for no gain on the next play. After two incomplete passes (one dropped in the end zone), the Rays came away empty handed.

Aggressive defense was the theme from that point from both teams. Ezra Clayton and the rest of the Rays D-Line kept hunting Bruins QB Dayton Edwards. On some occasions, Edwards was sacked, on other occasions he managed to make things happen by scrambling for first downs or finding ways to connect with his receivers. This kept the ball moving and out of the hands of the Rays offense. When the Rays did gain possession, their execution wasn’t to its usual standard and points were hard to come by.

A Bruins fumble recovered by Sebastian Koehene gave the Rays an opportunity just before the half, but despite a good run by Powlowski and a reception by rookie Matt Bell, halftime came with the score at 0 – 0.

The mood at halftime in the Rays camp was one of some concern, since they had easily accounted for the Bruins in the last game, and were aiming to improve with every game as they approached the playoffs. While the minor premiership was secured, the Rays didn’t want an ‘L’ to stain their regular season record, but they would have to fight for it. The Bruins weren’t giving them an inch.

The second half saw the defense from both sides relentlessly pursue the ball carriers and stopped any long gains. Despite moving the ball well, the Rays were unable to find the end zone until Low scrambled out of the pocket to his left and hit TE Lawrence Tully as he extended his route across the field to give Low a deep outlet. The PAT was good to give the Rays a narrow 7-0 lead.

As the Rays defense continued to get the job done, some opportunities seemed available to the Rays on the edges of the Bruins defense. On a reverse play, WR Ash Dick looked to be escorted by a wall of blue blockers down the left side of the field, but was pulled down by the Bears corner back who managed to slip between two blockers.

The Bruins hopes for a late score to keep them in the game was lost with two more fumbles that were recovered by the Rays. Final Score 7 – 0 and the Rays has escaped with the Minor Premiership and their undefeated status.

Next stop: the Playoffs!

Round 10 of GQ season 2009 saw the Wildcats struggling to remain in the playoffs race, and the unbeaten Stingrays returning to their home ground and looking to continue to build towards the business end of the season against quality opposition.

The Rays were missing a handful of starters (Ivan Tanuvasa LT, Nick Nahas MLB, Ash Dick WR & Jae Powlowski RB & Kelvin Howsan DL) but their depth chart has been developing well all season, so they started the game confident, but wary of the Wildcats offensive weapons, particularly QB Richard Kovlacheck.

The Rays received the opening kickoff but were unsuccessful in moving the chains on their first few possessions. Typical strong rushing from Jeff Moate gave the Rays some momentum and a pinpoint Kyle Low pass to Damien Molloy looked sure to be a like a TD but a great play by a ‘Cats defender caused Molloy to fumble the ball through the end zone. The result was a Wildcats ball at their own 20 yard line.

Despite this setback, Jeff Moate continued his strong running and scored up the middle on a 2 yard run after a Lawrence Tully catch and run set up the Rays with great field position. 6-0 .

The Rays defense applied good pressure to the ‘Cats QB, but he was often able to find room to thread the ball to his receivers. But the Rays DBs were up to the task and were rewarded with an interception by rookie Tim Beere

Craig Young got his first TD catch with a catch in the endzone. Young had to contend with a defender also making a hard play for the ball but came away with the catch and the 6 points for the Rays. Low hit his second PAT for the day to take the score to  14-0 .

Kovelcheck constantly threatened the Rays defense but was let down by his reveivers who dropped a number of well thrown passes in space. But the Cats kept themselves in the game with a long drive which was sealed with a score from the 5yard line. 14-6.

Defensive lineman Sebastian Kohene worked relentlessly all day to disrupt the opposing QB and forced incompletions through pressures and hits. His efforts combined with good defensive hustle from sideline to sideline from the entire defense saw the ‘Cats stopped on a 4 th down goal line stand.  

With the ball back in Low’s hands, the Rays offense moved the ball despite a muffed handoff which gave the Rays a 4th down with a long way to go to get the first down. But Lawrence Tully found space in the middle of the field and Low connected with him to move the chains. Handing the ball to Moate was the obvious choice at this point in the game and the Rays punched the ball in from 10 yards out. Final Score 21-6.

With the loss of the Ravens in Week 9 to the Rhinos (17-14) , the Stingrays secured the GQ minor premiership and now look to their final game against the Bruins next week to tune-up for the finals.

On their second trip to the Sunshine Coast this year, the Stingrays played the local Spartans team. Being a first year start-up club, the Spartans have been on the end of a few lopsided score lines this season. But the Stingrays were impressed with the attitude and skill of the Spartans team, particularly on defense where the Spartans players rallied to the ball and used gang-tackling to absorb the hits dished out by RB Jeff Moate and the Rays offensive line.

Not content just to limit points against them, the Stingrays defense decided to score one of their own. Robbie Edmonds took the interception and returned it the distance.

The Rays were missing starting QB Kyle Low but Damien Molloy again filled in at QB and efficiently ran the offense in his absence. As expected, Molloy used his speed and elusiveness to make plays, ending up with 3 TD runs. Molloy’s passing was improved from his last effort, completing 6 passes, including one impressive bomb down the right sideline to Ash Dick.

 Jeff Moate also ran in a score to produce a final score line of 32 – 0. The Rays defense was undoubtedly the dominant force in the game, scoring one TD and forcing several fumbles. David Wilson recovered four fumbles in the game, including one return for a good 40 yards.

The Rays moved to 7-0 and are 4 competition points clear of second place as they enter a well deserved bye week. Their 34-0 win over the Browns Plains Bruins was a comprehensive victory, with the offense scoring 28 points in the first half and the defense forcing the Bruins’ basic offense to fight hard to win any ground.

Kyle Low clinically connected with Damien Molloy twice for long TD strikes (60yd & 35 yd).

With several starters out on both sides of the ball, the Rays again showed their depth. Phil Manassa again got valuable playing time at Tight End and Matt Bell stepped up to start at Wide Receiver. Bell collected a handful of receptions on the day, but none more memorable than when Bell caught a pass downfield and was stopped 10 yards out from the endzone, saw Tight End Manassa nearby and elected to throw a lateral pass. Unfortunately, Manassa was standing 5 yards directly upfield at the time. Although it entertained the crowd, the referee’s sense of humour doesn’t stretch quite that far and the Rays were penalised for the illegal forward pass. Bell has now been fully informed of the forward pass rules of football.

Ben O’Connor played the full game at Tailback and was the main beneficiary of the consistent Offensive line play. He racked up approx. 150 yards rushing and also bagged 2 TDs (20yds & 35yds). It could have been a 3rd, but O’Connor somehow managed to dive out of bounds at the 1 yard line with no defenders in sight after a 60 yard run. Perhaps it was to allow Kyle Low to add to his scoring tally this year by rumbling in for the TD on a QB sneak on the very next play. O’Connor also provided effective pass blocking against the larger Bruins defense.

Ash Powdrill was another picking up his first start at Fullback (assisted by Adam Fewson). Receiver Craig Young also registered his first catch of the season and ran strongly after the catch. More players are consistently emerging from the Rays bench and are pushing for starting positions.

The second half saw the Bruins’ grinding offense devour most of the clock. They put together a string of first downs (some through very avoidable penalties) that kept the ball out of Kyle Low’s hands. While this served to limit the Stingrays’ final score, the Rays defense weren’t distracted and kept the scoresheet clean for the third time this season. They have allowed less than 6 points per game.

The Defence once again was dominating at LOS and were stout when backed up into their own Red Zone after a series of fumbles and penalties against both sides and hel the Bruins to a Goose Egg.

Coach Diprose was pleased with the first half but felt the standard of play in the second half was sloppy,

The Stingrays have a bye next week before meeting the improving Sunshine Coast Spartans in the first ever clash between the two teams.

This game featured a top-of-the table clash  w ith the 5-0 Stingrays playing the 4-0 Ravens. The Ravens had put up some big scores in the preceding weeks and  the Stingrays have constantly improved and have dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

After the Rays  defence stifled the Raven’s first offensive possession, the Rays  offensive Line went to work. Each of the Rays O-linemen outplayed their opponents with running back Jeff M oate rarely touched before reaching the second level of defenders. But whenever Moate was confronted at the line of scrimmage he broke tackles, moved the pile and generally brutalized the Ravens defence.

The Rays exploited several holes in the Ravens defence and opened the scoring with a 20 yard run from Moate. Low slotted the PAT to make it 7-0 . The Ravens didn’t seem to have many answers as all of the Rays offensive players registered contributions, culminating in another Moate TD run to take the score to 13-0 . The snap on the PAT spoiled the kick.

The Ravens got their comeback aspirations going with a long drive, ending on a scoring pass from Ravens QB Harry Alderton. In attempt to close the gap on the scoreboard as quickly as possible, the Ravens went for the 2 point conversion, only to be denied by a Stingrays Defence, which seems to play with even more sprit when challenged. Dave Wilson made the tackle on QB Alderton as he stretched out for the goal line. 13-6 .

The defence was able to play with an attacking style which helped the Rays stay on top and as the half time break approached Moate scored his 3rd TD for the day from 5 yards out. 18-6 . Another errant snap on the PAT gave holder Damien Molloy a chance to make something happen. With the ball in hand and sprinting for the left pylon, TE Phil Manassa was open in the end zone and looked certain to catch an easy pass to score the 2 points. But Molloy saw an opportunity and decided to go himself, breaking the plane of the endzone while diving over the pylon. 20-6 . 

After the half the Ravens put another score on the board to keep the game alive. Alderton again scored the points, showing a good turn of speed to beat the Rays ‘backers to the edge and finding the end zone to take the score to 20-12 .

Kyle Low’s precision passing was on show once again  throughout the game. He also showed his ability as a running threat with several big gains after smart reads from the shotgun.  One of these runs hit pay dirt in the 4th quarter as Low ran it in from 10 yards out with barely a Raven in sight. With a better snap from centre Nigel Law, Low again kicked the PAT. 27 - 12 . 

Low  connected with  Molloy frequently as the two are now showing the consistency and rapport they have been renowned for over the past 3 seasons. Fellow receivers Ash Dick, Lawrence Tully and Jarrod Hayes also picked up good receptions.  The final score of the game saw Molloy make a diving catch  at the back of the endzone . The PAT was good. 34-12 .

As the game wound down in he 4th quarter, Tyson Smith registered his first career reception. The Rays are looking forward to seeing what Smith and fellow rookie WR Matt Bell will be able to achieve when they see more playing time in the coming weeks.

Back from injury, former  junior Stingray  running back RB Ben O’Connor also contributed to the running yardage totals. Despite Losing a fumble, O’Connor has shown that he can deliver a change of pace and even mor e depth at running back  along with Moate, Powlowski & Hayes. Coach Diprose was very happy with such a well rounded win against a previously unbeaten team -  ” With so many guys contributing today , it makes submitting The weekly awards votes very difficult. The plan from here is to keep the good form rolling to the  playoffs” .

Next weeks sees the Stingrays go on the road to the Sunshine Coast to tale on the Bruins. This will be a great opportunity for our new players to show us what they have learned from all their hard work at training so far.

The Gold Coast Stingrays moved to 5-0 after beating the Rhinos 27 - 14 at Wooloowin on Saturday, a rematch of the 2008 Sunbowl.

The Stingrays struck first with a 20 yard TD pass from Kyle Low to Damien Molloy. Molloy’s ‘circus trick’ receiving skills were put to use as he snatched the pass from in front of a defender before falling the 2 yards left to break the plane of the end zone. The PAT wasn’t successful so the score stood at 6-0 .

Despite the Rays defence being back to full strength, the Rhinos were not ready to be pushed around and scored on a 60 yard run to level the scores at 6-6 . The Rays defence wasn’t able to wrap up the Rhinos running back who evaded and broke several tackles before finding some open space to run away for the score. The Rhinos was successful on the 2 point conversion, taking the lead  6-8 .

This marked the first occasion that the Stingrays have been behind in any of their games this season. But they clearly weren’t phased as the offense came back to score, making it 13-8 on the back of a Jeff Moate run. Moate ran strongly all day and racked up big yardage behind typical blocking from the Stingrays offensive line. The drive was set up after a nice intercept by DB Robbie Edmonds at around mid field.

Missing starting centre Nigel Law, the veteran Daniel Collins moved from right tackle to take up his old position at centre. Chris Mooney has been solid filling in on the offensive side of the ball this season and he reliably held up his end at right tackle. Tony Dorrell’s first game back this year saw him at left tackle while Noah Parker and Andy Farrell continued their solid play at guard. Farrell had his best game of the 2009 season and was seen making several key blocks for Moate to exploit.

The defence had some starters returning this week, including Australian representative Rolando Hanipale and middle linebacker Nick Nahas. Ezra Clayton also joined in the fun on the defensive line pulling off the biggest hit of the season so far right in front of the Rays sideline.

In the second half, Lawrence Tully scored on a well placed ball from Low taking the score to 20 - 8 and giving the Rays some breathing room. But the Rhinos came back after putting together a good drive and scoring on a 3 yard run to keep themselves in the game:  20-14 .

After being under some pressure last week against the Cougars, the Rays offense knew what to do from that point. Eager to reward their defence for creating turnovers, they rolled down the field for the winning score. Jeff Moate crashed through the Rhinos D-Line from 4 yards out. Final Score 27-14 .

The Rays receivers have finally started to warm up with Molloy, Tully, Bell & Manassa all registering at least one catch each. However Rays coaches won’t be pleased with turning the ball over twice. The first occurred when Low was picked off in the end zone after a Rhinos defender made a good play on the ball in flight. The other came from a Jeff Moate fumble, which no doubt Moate will be keen to make up for in the coming weeks.

Next week the Stingrays take on the only other remaining unbeaten team - The Bayside Ravens at Wacol at 7pm on Saturday 26th September. This will surely be the most important regular season game in the GQ competition this year. The weekend can’t come fast enough for the Stingrays players and coaches.

Gold Coast Stingrays

Record:5-0 
Points for: 122 (24.4 points per game)
Points against: 27 (5.54 points per game)

Opponents so far:
v Bears 14 - 0    
v Wildcats 27 - 6    
v Wolves 42 - 0    
v Cougars 12 - 7    
v Rhinos 27 - 14

Bayside Ravens

Record: 5-0
Points for: 153 (38.25 points per game)
Points against: 58 (14.5 points per game)

Opponents so far:    
v Cougars 18-13    
v Wildcats 39 - 29    
v Rhinos 26 - 16    
v Wolves 70 - 0

Some called it courageous, some called it foolish, but Damien Molloy was appointed the starting Quarterback for the Gold Coast Stingrays in Kyle Low’s absence. Molloy finished the game with modest passing statistics, but threw no interceptions, controlled the huddle and navigated the Rays to a 12-7 victory over the feisty Western Cougars. It would be a victory that tested the Rays to the end.

With more than 10 starters unavailable for the game, the Rays were always going to have to pull together to keep their season on track. An early injury to new Running Back Ben O’Connor (standing-in for an injured Jae Powlowski) forced a re-shuffle for the Rays offense, which saw Jarrod Hayes once again carry the load at Running Back. Rookies Adam Fewson and Ash Powdrill shared the Fullback duties and Phil Manassa found himself in the thick of the fight at TE in only his second game.

But the Rays found ways to move the ball both on the ground and in the air. The first score of the day came on a spectacular 60 yard TD run from Hayes, assisted by sharp blocking by linemen Ivan Tanuvasa and Andy Farrell to spring Hayes into the secondary. From there Hayes benefited from spirited blocking from rookie WR Matt Bell to crash through into the end zone. After missing the PAT, the score stood at 6-0 with plenty of football to come.

Unsurprisingly, the Rays defence was again suffocating, consistently intruding into the Cougars’ backfield (Collins, Wilson, & Howsan), swarming runners (Perrett & Mooney) and plucking passes from the air (Robbie Edmonds). The Cougars had few answers on offense but continued to fight.

It was after Edmonds’ interception that the Rays offense again moved into scoring range. From the 8 yards line, a passing play broke down and Molloy took off with his signature elusiveness and found the goalline to take the score to 12-0. Another botched PAT meant that the Rays were solidly in front, but by no means safe.

The momentum began to shift towards the end of the first half, as the Ray’s big men started to tire from playing both ways. Marcus Kemp’s stint at QB was disrupted by poor blocking and a pair of sacks. But the Rays still led 12-0 at the break, feeling confident but knowing complacency would be dangerous. .

The third quarter was a tough one for the Rays. The Cougars came out with all guns blazing on defence and marched the Rays backwards. In the 3rd quarter, after a well placed Cougars punt, the Rays were bogged down on their own goal line. Penalties and poor execution stifled progress. After a fumbled exchange between Hayes and Molloy, the Cougars recovered possession at the Rays’ 2 yard line.

To prevent a score from that position was almost asking the impossible of the Rays defence and the Cougars punched the ball in and nailed the extra point to make it 12 - 7. All of a sudden, the game was in the balance and the Rays knew they had to dig deep to hold off their strong-finishing opponents.

But dig deep they did. With approx. 5 min remaining, Kel Howsan clocked-in at Fullback. Inspired by his wrecking-ball blocking style, the Rays marched down the field, munched up the clock and moved the chains with brutal running between the tackles and some deft deception on reverses (Ash Dick) and QB bootlegs. Hayes fought for every extra yard as the Stingrays took it all the way to Cougar’s red zone as time expired.

The roster will feature many players returning for next week’s matchup with 2008 Sunbowl rivals - the Northside Rhinos. Coming off an unexpected loss to the Ravens, the Rays shouldn’t expect the pressure to ease.

The Stingrays Defense has been dominant in thier encounters so far in 2009. In thier clash with the Toowoomba Wolves last weekend, the  Stingrays Offense this week also showed that they intend to have  an impact this year.

Starting Running Back Jae Powlowski opened the Rays account with a 1 yard run to cap off a tidy Stingrays  drive . Soon after , Damien Molloy snared a 15 yard TD reception from Kyle Low. The Stingrays’ rookie Fullbacks continued thier contribution to the ground game with Adam Fewson picking 6 yards and a first down on a handy scamper behind the Rays’ interior O-Line (Nigel Law, Noah Parker & Andy Farrell).

The Wolves’ defense used blitzes to try to upset the Rays rhythm, collecting one sack and forced a fumble for a turnover, limiting the Rays to 2 TDs before the half.  After the break the Rays continued passing the ball and got valuable game time for several of thier rookie receivers. But it was Molloy who was first among the points in the second half with a long 35 yard TD reception down the sideline, again delivered by Kyle Low.

After Jae Powlowski was injured a kick-return, the versatile Jarrod Hayes filled in at Running Back and showed his Sunbowl-winning form at that position by continuing the scoring on a 20 yard TD run. That was thanks to impressive blocking from Law, Parker and Dan Collins.

No wanting to be left out, Lawrence Tully notched up his first score for the year with a TD reception from inside the red-zone. Molloy finished off the scoring with a TD run from the QB position, taking his tally to three TD’s for the day.

The Stingrays need to continue this momentum next week against a more experienced defense when they face thier old rival, the Western Cougars. Tough games against the Rhinos and Ravens in the coming weeks will test if the Rays are ready to stake a claim for an unprecedented 4th consecutive Sunbowl victory.

Final Score 42 - 0