Hills so close, again

By Marc McGowan
ENDEAVOUR Hills was brave again, but lost by a slender margin for the second week running, succumbing 19-15 to Melbourne at Romanis Reserve on Saturday.
The match was always going to be a tight one, with both teams managing just one victory through the first five rounds.
The Hills had the better of the early going, but it was the Unicorns who crossed first and a conversion gave them a 7-0 advantage.
But just when it looked as if Endeavour Hills would enter half-time without a score, Tim Finau ran in a vital try to cut the margin to two at the break.
It did not take long for Melbourne to hit back, with Hills errors resulting in tries to the home side in the sixth and 15th minutes after resumption.
With the score out to 19-5, Endeavour Hills could have fallen away as it has in other fixtures this season, but managed to dig deep.
The Hills continually charged forward, much as it did in the first half, but was unable to break the Unicorns’ defence.
Finally Presley Naea scored a captain’s try out wide to restore the visitors’ hopes, but another failed conversion only took the score to 19-10.
Endeavour Hills needed a spark and Junior Salesulu provided just that.
Salesulu burst past four Melbourne players before offloading to reserve winger Baant Tiniteila for another try to make it 19-15.
With a second win in its grasp, the Hills were desperate to score again and went close on several occasions before time ran out.
Loni Folau and Salesulu were Endeavour Hills’ best.
Hills coach Jeff Lemalu praised his team and believes the club’s prospects are on the rise.
“The way we played on Saturday is the way we want to play every week,” he said. “I think the losses against Northern and Footscray hurt us a lot.
“Footscray was the worst, but we learnt a lot from that game, and hopefully we’ll continue to become a consistent team rather than an up-and-down team.”
Endeavour Hills’ Premier Three side drew for the second straight week, this time 19-19 with the Unicorns.
The Hills’ Premier One squad returns to the field at 3.15pm on Saturday against the Southern Districts.