Rain affected all the weekend’s rugby league games but simple game plans delivered some big results.
Cowboys no challenge for the Magpies
A clinical Werris Creek stuck to a simple game plan and reaped the rewards when they outplayed Dungowan 44-6 in their Whitehaven Coal Group 4 first grade clash at David Taylor Park, Werris Creek on Saturday.
The Magpies were in complete control almost from the outset as their forward pack rolled up the middle and set a platform for the rest of the game.
Skipper Cody Tickle crashed over in the 5th minute from a short, 5m run and they were never headed with Mitch Doring and Joash Boney adding further tries in the 19th and 26th minutes for a 16-nil lead.
Dungowan did manage to score when Dylan Lake won the race to a well-placed Trent Taylor kick but that came after they received four straight penalties.
Down 16-6 at halftime the Cowboys needed to score first and show some sort of attacking force however it was the home side who struck with Dylan Porter and then Nathanael Slater crossing for a 26-6 lead.
Dungowan’s game fell apart when Lochie Collins and then Trent Taylor were sin-binned within a minute just 12 minutes into the second half.
Nathanael Slater then scored the try of the day, skipping, bumping and twisting his way out of a half dozen tackles to notch his second try o the day with Nate Follington and then Mitch Doring also crossing to complete the 44-6 scoreline.
Dungowan coach Jack Cameron was a disappointed and disallusioned Cowboy after his side had dug itself a watery David Taylor Park grave.
“We were poor,” Jack Cameron told G4 Media.
“They are a good side (Werris Creek) but we ere terrible today. We never got in the grind.”
Toby Taggart was one of the best Cowboys while the Magpies had a host of stars.
Props Thomas Brown and Cody Tickle, hooker Dylan Porter, lock Nate Follington, secondrower Rily Leonard, half Mitch Doring, centre Harlee Millgate and fullback Nash Porter all excelled while the little tank, Nathanael Slater, was brilliant throughout.
He and Follington might have been smaller than a lot of their adversaries but they made many metres post contact.
Magpies coach Dave Stewart was delighted with the way his side bounced back from a 50-5-20 loss to Moree.
“We had a simple game plan (in the wet) and stuck to it,” Stewart told G4 Media.
“We only made the one mistake in that first 40 minutes. It was a much more polished performance in the conditions. Just clinical.”
Werris Creek’s win moved it up to a tie of second with North Tamworth while Dungowan languishes in sixth position four points behind fourth-placed Kootingal who have a game in hand after Saturday’s clash with North Tamworth was washed out.
Moree dominate Boggabri
Moree Boars won all three grades when it hosted Boggabri Kangaroos in their re-scheduled Whitehaven Coal Group 4 Round 8 matches at Boughton Oval today.
The two clubs were to have played at Boggabri but the rain made Jubilee Oval, Boggabri unplayable so Moree agreed to play it as their home game.
It was a great decision by the clubs to ensure the Round 8 games went ahead and Moree celebrated, winning all three grades.
Moree club president Todd Mitchell was delighted by the performances of all three grades with the ladies league tag side winning 24-14, second grade 46-10 and first grade 34-18.
Mitchell described it as a grinding win.
“A tough win, we won ugly,” Mitchell told G4 Media.
“We had to dig deep and get dirty, probably the first game this year we’ve had fight really hard for the win.”
Moree captain-coach Michael Watton was away working with assistant coach Alex Barker in control and also delighted with the way the Boars played against a tough opponent.
“We had a bit of ill-discipline in the first half but we were able to hold them (Boggabri) to one try in the first half.
“They are a big side.”
The Boars made plenty of mistakes but were able to make for them with some slick attacking raids.
Barker thought Jack Mitchell was one of the Boars best up front while Joe Wade was good in close before having to move to the centres for injured Mark Pegus.
Luke Hobday also excelled for the Boars as a replacement second rower while Lachlan McGrady starred at fullback as he filled in for the brilliant Bobbie Smith.
“Lachy tore us to shreds out wide,” Boggabri coach Shane Rampling said of McGrady.
“It was 22-18 with six minutes to go and we went to sleep.”
The Boars raced in two converted tries to settle the game against a Boggabri side that had worked hard to nullify the many attacking threats in the Boars lineup.
“Lachy’s so quick, just glides over the ground,” Rampling said.
“He was the difference.
“We competed so well for much of the game. Just dropped our intensity for two or three minutes a few times and we bombed three or four tries too.
“We dropped the ball over the line twice and were penalised for a double movement another time. That just let the pressure off.”
Boggabri gave themselves a chance by keeping it tight in the middle of the park with prop Nic Millar excelling once again.
“Jake Byrne had a big game at lock too. Had a huge game for us,” Rampling added.
“Matt Gillham was his usual busy self and Malakai Kovekalou had a big game up front too.
“But we also have a lot of positives to take out of today too.”
Boggy were missing goalkicking centre Rob Doolan and Keegan Woodhead while they will check the fitness of Cameron Kerr and Stino Penisoni after they suffered injuries in a tough match.
“We’ll enjoy the break (June long weekend bye) but Moree were too slick today. Full credit to them but we know we can compete with them, just have to tighten up our errors and be more switched on in defence. Our energy was good for long periods but we just dropped off a few times.”
Moree halfback Steve McIntosh had a good day, filling in for captain-coach Michael Watton he combined well with five-eighth Jamie Sampson and booted five goals as well.
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