Sport
New secret weapon
JOANNE VELLA
Wednesday 2 July, 2008 10:00am
THE return of star halfback Luke Brannigan to Cabramatta's line-up propelled the team to an emphatic 36-20 win against Shellharbour in round 14 of the Jim Beam Cup on Sunday.
Acting coach Corey Ruttle attributed much of the triumph at Cabramatta Sports Ground to the No.7, who signed with the club mid-week after a stint with the Newtown Jets' NSW Cup side for the first half of the season.
Brannigan, who was instrumental in the Blues' success in 2007, scored a try and set up several others for Aaron Fluke and Francis Vaiotu.
``Brannigan was outstanding for us,'' Ruttle said.
``He plays directly at the line and creates a lot of opportunities for his outside men.''
Awarded the players' player award, Brannigan demonstrated much of his creativity with man of the match, Aaron Fluke, who amassed 24 points with a hat-trick of tries and kicked six goals from seven attempts.
The Marlins raced in two late tries to make the scoreline respectable but the Two Blues say there was little challenge in the match that lifted them to the fifth spot on the competition ladder.
Cabramatta led 12-0 but the lead was 18-12 at half time.
The Blues hit back with 18 unanswered points before the Marlins crossed the line for the final two tries of the match.
Other players to impress were centre Louis Vaiotu, and Albert Tuara.
Cabramatta takes on the Campbelltown Eagles at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday from 3pm.
