PHILLIP Island’s Beau Vernon and his Steelers Wheelchair Rugby teammates have an anxious wait now to see if they have done enough to progress to the semi-final stage of the wheelchair rugby tournament at the Paris Paralympics.
On Saturday night the Steelers backed up their courageous win over the host nation, France, before a raucous local crowd the night before, playing a much-more strategic game than the shootout the lost against Great Britain in the first round to go on to a 53-49 win over the Danes.
But it was no sure thing.
In the first half the Aussies went goal for goal with Denmark before working the clock down before the break to eek out a narrow lead.
Again, it was the Steelers’ playmaker Ryley Batt who was the hero of the victory but with Phillip Island’s Beau Vernon again playing a crucial supporting role, in bounding the ball without error, running interference for Batt and teammate Chris Bond down the court and taking up great positions on the try line to often provide a clear passage for Batt and co.
The Steelers were prepared to swap more players into the line-up and Vernon had some time on the pine in the third quarter but it’s clear he’s a key member of the starting line-up and a highly valued member of the team, not bad in your first major competition.
The Steelers dominated play in the second half and got out to a three try lead before a turnover saw the margin cut to one but they had the match in their keeping for much of third and last quarters.
The packed crowd rocked and rolled through the breaks and were fully engaged throughout the contest determined to have a good time themselves while supporting the players.
The competition is one of the highlights of the Paralympics so far and it is to be hoped that Australia is one of the two to go forward from their group out of Great Britain, France and themselves for a shot at the medals.
STOP PRESS: The 53-49 victory in Paris on Saturday kept the Steelers’ semi final hopes alive and Great Britain’s win over France later in the day ensured the Australians would go through to a battle with Japan for a place in the gold medal match.
