Rebels rally in scrappy away win over Magpies

The South Grafton Rebels made the task more difficult than it should have been against the Magpies but ran away eventual winners in the sloppy encounter.

FIGHTING BACK: The South Grafton Rebels fought back from a half time deadlock to beat the Bellingen Valley/Dorrigo Magpies yesterday. Picture: Tim Howard

RUGBY LEAGUE: The South Grafton Rebels carried on their winning ways with a 28-10 victory over the last placed Dorrigo Valley/Bellingen Magpies at Bellingen Park on Saturday.

The Rebels took to the Magpies home turf in difficult conditions and were locked in an arm wrestle with scores tied at half time but coach Craig Youngjohns' men dug deep to score 18 unanswered points to see their opponents off in the second half.

South Grafton took a different approach with key play maker Grant Brown back in the side as Youngjohns looked to use Brown's pace out wide in the centres with Hugh Stanley remaining in half-back.

The Rebels piled on early pressure but couldn't quite get the ball over the line in wet conditions.

South Grafton fought on through the opening stages but Bellingen Valley/ Dorrigo looked strong through the middle and were happy to take the hits from the Rebels forward pack.

The home side then started to capitalise on the Rebels' errors, going on to score two tries and lock up the scoreboard at the half.

Youngjohns had been working on new plays and they started coming together as the Rebels reclaimed momentum and ran out 18-point winners.

Originally published as Rebels rally in scrappy away win over Magpies