Coffs Harbour Comets show experience to silence Woolgoolga Seahorses’ fans
Fans pack out Woolgoolga Sports Ground to see the Seahorses battle the Comets, while the Rebels leave Macksville with some thinking to do.
Coffs Harbour
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More than 18 months has passed since the last game of Group 2 footy, and if the crowd at Woolgoolga Sports Ground on Sunday was anything to go by, rugby league has been sorely missed in the region.
Hundreds turned out at The Aquarium to watch the Woolgoolga Seahorses take on Coffs Harbour Comets, and they were duly rewarded with an entertaining match played with plenty of energy.
Despite going behind early, Woolgoolga had fans thinking of an upset after scoring two tries, one of which was off the back of a huge 20/40 kick that had the partisan crowd in raptures.
However, the Comets were able to hit back soon after which gave them them a slender advantage heading into the break.
After making the Seahorses wait on the field for what seemed like an eternity, the Comets came out of the sheds after half-time with a simple plan, to complete sets and outlast their opposition.
Comets’ assistant coach Vaughn Dawes said the team met their completion rate target at half-time and if they continued that into the second half they could finish the job.
“We just had to stick to what we were doing,” he said.
“We said (at half-time) if we keep going at that, we wear them down.”
From there the pendulum swung in favour of the 2019 grand finalists, capitalising on some ill-discipline from the Seahorses who just couldn’t match the Comets for consistency, going down 36–16.
It certainly wasn’t a walkover though, with the Seahorses keeping the fans in the game with some expansive play and tough tackles, including a brilliant try-saver on Pete Uikelotu who looked destined to score after bursting through from half-way.
Seahorses’ coach Greg Shuttleworth was upbeat after the game, happy with his side’s “really competitive” showing, but acknowledged they were also “their own worst enemy” with the number of turnovers given away early in their sets.
“It’s a work in progress. We thought we would be a little underdone early on and Coffs got us around the ruck a few times, but we will take it week by week and we are looking ahead,” he said.
“Those 17 guys busted their backside for us. It’s the first game in 16 months for a lot of them but we are heading in the right direction.”
Dawes said if the rest of the sides were as competitive as Woolgoolga it would be an “enjoyable year” for everyone.
“It is great (to be back). We have really missed it,” he said.
“There is a cracking crowd here today so hopefully rugby league is getting strong again.”
In the other matches, South Grafton Rebels had a disappointing start to their season, going down 38–10 away to Macksville.
2019 premiers Grafton Ghosts had an encouraging start, winning 28–12 on the road to Bellingen-Dorrigo Magpies.
GROUP 2 RESULTS
First Grade
Bellingen-Dorrigo 12 – Grafton Ghosts 28
Woolgoolga 16 – Coffs Harbour 36
Macksville 38 – South Grafton 10
Reserve Grade
Bellingen-Dorrigo 24 – Grafton Ghosts 8
Woolgoolga 14 – Coffs Harbour 12
Macksville 12 – South Grafton 24
Ladies League Tag
Bellingen-Dorrigo 4 – Grafton Ghosts 26
Woolgoolga 0 – Coffs Harbour 58
Macksville 12 – South Grafton 0
Under 18s
Sawtell 26 – Coffs Harbour 6
Macksville 20 – South Grafton 12
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