He kept me waiting. Unintentionally of course, Brad Thorn is classier than that. But as his talented young Queensland Country side made their way across TG Millner Field to enjoy the post-match celebrations in the sheds last Saturday afternoon, their fledgling head coach was busying himself by carrying the tape bin they had just filled, all the way around to the back of the main stand to save the home groundsman a job.

If you’d told the Greater Sydney Rams coaching team before kick-off that they would go down by the same scoreline and in much the same manner against Queensland Country as they had done against the Fijian Drua the previous weekend, you’d have come away with some pretty sore ears. But alas, that was their fate again, after competing well for large parts of this clash only to undo a lot of their good work with sloppy play, missed tackles and turnovers.

Still smarting over their humbling at the hands of the Canberra Vikings last weekend, the Fijian Drua arrived at TG Millner Field in Sydney keen to get straight back on the winner’s rostrum and kickstart their run to the finals. Up against them was a Greater Sydney Rams side also keen to get back into the winning habit after losing their last run-out two weeks before to Melbourne Rising. Their cause wasn’t helped by the absence of several key players, most notably Waratahs Jed Holloway, Taqele Naiyaravoro and Mack Mason.