Group 2 Rugby League: Wrap, results, standouts from round nine
The defending premiers have sent the competition a timely reminder of their firepower after doing something no other side has managed in Group 2.
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A couple of big guns flexed their muscles and reaffirmed their places at the top of the table after comfortable wins during round nine in Group 2 Rugby League.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
NAMBUCCA SENDS TIMELY REMINDER IN GHOSTS ROUT
Nambucca has bounced back from two straight losses in emphatic style after hammering Grafton 52-10 at Coronation Park.
Welcoming back a host of key players, the defending premiers gave the rest of the competition a timely reminder of their firepower by running in nine tries to two in the thrashing.
Halfback Logan Jones scored a hat-trick in what was the biggest scoreline and winning margin of the season so far, with no other side cracking the half-century.
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“It was a good day,” said Nambucca coach Warwick Jones. “The boys prepped really well all week and they were pretty excited to put on a good show at home.
“They were very focused from the get-go and it showed.”
Indeed, despite it being close to a month since the Roosters had last won a game due to losses to Macksville and Woolgoolga before last week’s bye, there were no signs of rustiness as the home side shot out of the blocks and took a commanding lead early on in the contest.
And instead of hindering them, the week off in fact provided the Nambucca players with a boost.
“I’d asked a lot of the boys early on in the season,” said Jones. “We played a lot of those early games undermanned, so that meant that they played a lot of minutes and some of them played injured. So to get that week off was good to rest those niggling injuries and the boys were a lot fresher for it.”
With a string of important players, including influential skipper and fullback Tyronne Roberts-Davis having returned in recent weeks, the Roosters’ attack really started to click as they recaptured a slice of the form that saw them dominate last year’s competition.
“The combinations were back. It was good to get those few boys back and get the combinations going again,” said Jones. “They love playing footy together and were excited to be back out on the park again.”
The victory moves Nambucca back up into second place on the ladder, while the Ghosts remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Nambucca 52 defeated Grafton Ghosts 10
SIX STRAIGHT FOR WOOPI
It might not have been pretty but Woolgoolga has extended its unbeaten start to the season to six games after defeating Coffs Harbour 18-4 at Geoff King Motors Oval.
The Seahorses got off to a flyer and led 14-0 after 25 minutes before errors and ill-discipline allowed the Comets to work their way back into the contest. However Woolgoolga’s defence held firm to maintain its three-point buffer at the top of the table.
“It was a pretty scrappy win, I’m not very happy on my end,” said Woolgoolga captain-coach Jake Elphick.
“We got out to that early lead and then we put the cue in the rack. It was pretty scrappy, we didn’t stick to our game plan and they played well, dug themselves back into the game and put us under pressure in the second half.”
He added: “We just sort of lacked intent and intensity and then slacked off in our execution in attack with too many errors and too many penalties and invited them back into the game.”
Despite his frustrations with the performance, there was one aspect that particularly pleased the Seahorses skipper.
“I’m definitely happy with our defence,” said Elphick. “I don’t think we even touched the ball in the first 10 minutes of the second half. They were peppering our line but we worked very hard and held then out.
“I’m very happy with that as a coach; it’s something we’ve worked very hard on. We had to work hard in the second half and they only got one try off a kick, which I’m happy with.”
Coming into the game flying high at the top of the table, Woolgoolga got off to a dream start when a Coffs knock-on in the second set of the game handed the side a scrum 30m out from the Comets’ line.
From here they shifted the ball right where Shayde Perham put his fellow centre partner Sione Fangupo through a gap to score the opener after just two minutes.
The Seahorses were having plenty of success making line breaks in the early stages and crossed again 17 minutes in when a short side play from Brenton Cochrane put hooker Coen van Dugteren over to make it 10-0.
Then when the dummy-half broke from the back of the scrum and fought off some very sloppy defence for his second, Woolgoolga was up 14-0 inside 25 minutes.
A rout might have looked on the cards, however the ladder leaders became their own worst enemy as they struggled with ball handling towards the back of the half and took their 14-point lead into the break.
The errors had given Coffs an opportunity to work back into the game and the Comets enjoyed multiple sets on the visitors’ line early in the second half. However Woolgoolga’s defence held firm and had an answer for every attack thrown at it.
Coffs did eventually get on the scoreboard with 16 minutes remaining when Waka Petera got on the end of a cross-field kick from Jett McCarthy to bring things back to 14-4, however the Seahorses snuffed out any thought of a comeback shortly after when winger Brodie Gentles finished off a nice backline move to seal the win.
Woolgoolga remains unbeaten and clear at the top of the table while Coffs slipped further behind the top five and now has a record of two wins and five losses.
Woolgoolga 18 defeated Coffs Harbour 4
In the other round nine fixture, Macksville continued its strong run of form with a 28-24 victory over Sawtell.
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