PICTURE: Matt Kersten
Blaketown fullback Robert Thomson collides with Marist wing Antony Merriman on his way to a try during their Muir Trophy match, at Rugby Park on Saturday.

A brutal encounter between Marist and top-of-the-table Blaketown, at Rugby Park on Saturday, ended with both teams' benches empty and Blaketown toiling to a 12-6 victory.

Marist not only had to swallow the taste of a narrow defeat but also lost two of their cornerstone players, fullback Alex Webber and prop Aled Thomas, indefinitely to shoulder and knee injuries. . Blaketown was not spared in the cold wind and gradual rain. Hooker Aho Langi was stretchered off the field in the first half with an ankle problem and at least four other Seagulls had to be taken off after ,going down with various issues.

The game opened with a strong southerly wind helping Blaketown.
Both sides got a feel for each other in the first 10 minutes; the heavy hitters laying shots on each other as they tried to gain the upper hand.

Marist took first points with a penalty against Blaketown for killing the ball.
Greasy ground meant a greasy ball and handling errors ran rife for most of the half
Marist had a try in the bag midway through as Webber joined the backline on an attacking move and made it around his marker, but his draw and pass was well off target and butchered certain points.

Blaketown scored after Marist flanker Sua Nusi and Aho Langi were sin-binned for fighting.
Brad Houston, who had his moments throughout the 80 minutes, broke six tackles on his way to the line with a zigzagging run that is typical of him. Nathan Williamson converted for a 7-3 lead.
Blaketown formulated the perfect plan for a try shortly after a nippy half-time break.

A mistake from the kick off gave their forwards the chance to use the ball, and they made 40m through an initial maul, followed by groups of two or three players taking off from rucks.
Eventually, fullback Robert Thomson called for it on the blindside - he put his
head down and ate up the last 15m for a try in the corner.

Skipper Nathan lafeta was then given a rest under the posts for killing the ball intentionally, according to referee Andrew Jones. It appeared to be the time for Marist to attack but their most potent weapon, Webber, left the field at almost the same time, limiting their options.

Maleli Mudu knocked over one penalty but a prolonged period of attack while Blaketown only had 14 players was fruitless. Blaketown planted the ball in the forwards and held on to it until the end of the match. Marist looked comfortable in the first half against the wind, but strangely could not muster a sufficient response when they had it at their backs in the second period.

Scorers.
Blaketown 12 (B Houston, R Thomson tries; N Williamson con)
Marist 6 (A Webber pen, M Mudu pen).