Coach Crow bows out

TWEED HEADS 68 defeat CENTRAL 12

Neale Crow?s tenure as Central Comets coach came to a close on Sunday in a harsh farewell, beaten 68-12 by Tweed Heads.

Head coach for the last three seasons and an assistant to Gary Larson and Rod Reddy in three previous seasons, Crow relinquishes his post in 2006 to the incoming Matt Parish.

Despite the Comets? lack of success this year, Crow said he would take plenty of fond memories with him and would be a regular spectator at future home games.

?It?s been a bit of a case of two steps forward and one step back for the club in recent times,? said Crow.

?We had eight wins in 2004 which was the second-most in the history of the Queensland Cup, but this year we?ve had one, which is the least.

?A third of the way through the season we saw the team was going to struggle and we decided to let the younger players have a go and invested time in them.?

For his last game at the helm Crow gave berths to State League debutants Aaron Benson, Brendan Hoskins, Will Querro and Anthony Munns. With finals for the CQ Extended League underway, Crow was mindful not to select key players from any of the participating clubs.

Jimmy Dockery was another given a late call-up to cover for injury and suspension, having earned a reputation by cutting the cast from his hand to play in the recent Rockhampton semi finals.

Unfortunately for the eager newcomers it was a baptism of fire against Tweed Heads, a team which has troubled even the top sides in 2005.

Tweed led 36-0 at halftime, with speedster Nat Barnes ending the game with a swag of five tries. His haul was the most by any player in a single game this season.

?Personally I think Barnes is a great player,? Crow said of the 23-year-old.

?Every time he breaks into the clear he seems to find a way of putting the ball over the line.?

Crow revealed he would take a step back from rugby league commitments next year, but would continue to assist with football in the Central Queensland area down the track.

Highlights of his time with the Comets include several wins against sister club North Queensland, a win against Toowoomba at Suncorp Stadium and the Comets? first win over Redcliffe at Dolphin Oval.

Neither Central nor Tweed Heads will be involved with the finals of the Queensland Wizard Cup.

TWEED HEADS 68 (Nat Barnes 5, David Strachan 2, Josh Vaughan, Damian Moar, Brad Davis, Eddie Harrison, Tom Prichard, Jay Hampson tries; Brad Davis 6, Jay Hampson goals)

beat

CENTRAL 12 (Herewini Rangi 2 tries; Herewini Rangi 2 goals).

Special thanks to the QRL website for another fantastic article.

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