Cover Photo Credit: The Riverine Grazier

By Tallon Smith

The Hay Magpies’ First Grade team joined Yanco-Wamoon’s Reserves in winning their first game of the season after a heartstopping 22-20 win over the Griffith Black and Whites at the Hay Park Oval on Saturday Night.

The upset win saw the Magpies’ team song ring out in the changerooms for the first time since their 36-20 victory over Yanco-Wamoon on June 25 last year, over 12 months ago.

Hay Magpies Director of Coaching Neil-John Nisbet said that the win is massive for the club, with players, coaches and committee members able to celebrate and sing the team song rather than face another tough week at the office.

“We’ve been in this sort of situation before where you’ve struggled all season to get a win,” he said.

“To get the monkey off your back is a great thing, [and it will] release a lot of pressure on the committee and coaches.

“The boys will actually enjoy turning up to training this week instead of it being a chore for them, it makes a huge difference for us.”

The tense finish had those on the sidelines biting their nails, as the Magpies repelled wave after wave of the Panthers’ attack to hold on for the victory, a situation in which the side had previously struggled this year.

“They had one to two minutes defending their own line,” Nisbet said.

“We’ve been in this situation in three previous games that we lost closely, to Lake Cargelligo twice, and West Wyalong.

“The situation was that we’d give away penalties at the end of the game when we were in [the position] to win or we were in front, and that took our [chance] away to win [those] games.

“Even though we gave away penalties late in this game, we actually held them out defensively.

“The Black and Whites had two opportunities to take a shot for goal to draw the game um… and they decided to run the ball and chance their hand, and to our boys’ credit, we held them out each time.”

In terms of what the win means to the passionate rugby league town of 2,300 people, Nisbet said that it was massive for the morale of the club and its supporters, with the ubiquitous country footy sound of car horns filling the night air upon the home side’s victory.

“[The crowd] was fantastic [for] the weather, most people were sitting in their cars watching them and obviously the horns and everything [were] going off big time when we actually hit the front and also when we finished the game and won,” he said.

“People in Hay love their football, no matter what code it is, they love their footy, and for us to hold on and win that game, it was huge. 

“Even the supporters, you seem to forget them in saying that it’s the monkey off the back for our players and committee, but our supporters, they go to all of the games with their heart on their sleeve, and they want the Magpies to win or be competitive in games.

“When that’s not happening it’s always hard to turn up, but these people do, and it was great.”

In other First Grade action, the Darlington Point-Coleambally Roosters won the second Grand Final rematch of the year with a narrow 30-28 victory over the Leeton Greenies at the Darlington Point Sportsground.

Despite scoring one less try than their opponents, Josh Veivers’ superior 5 from 5 goalkicking record, compared to Tyler O’Connell’s 2 from 6, saw the Roosters scrape home to maintain top spot on the ladder with six rounds of the regular season left.

Meanwhile, the Yenda Blueheelers continued their stunning form, defeating fellow finals contenders Tullibigeal-Lakes United 22-18 in yet another incredibly close encounter at the Lake Cargelligo Recreation Ground.

Both sides scored four tries apiece in the match, but it was yet another case of goalkicking deciding the outcome, with Isaiah Buerckner-Little’s 3 from 4 effort proving the decisive factor in the Blueheelers’ favour.

Next weekend’s action sees Leeton host Lakes for their Mental Health Multicultural Day partnering with Wellways, while DPC play Waratahs, West Wyalong face Hay, and Yanco-Wamoon take their winning form to Yenda in a Reserves fixture.