Cover Photo: Young Cherrypickers

By Tallon Smith

They may have the second-longest active title drought in Group 9, but the Young Cherrypickers are looking a good chance to end their 33-year wait after a 42-18 win over defending premiers Tumut at Twickenham on Sunday.

The ‘Pickers ran in eight tries to three in a dominant away win over the Blues to maintain their leadership of the First Grade competition after 12 rounds of footy.

Cherrypickers Coach Tom Giles said that the win was a pleasing one for his side, after they battled a period of adversity early before reaping the rewards of their hard work in the form of a crucial away victory.

“It was good to see, we jumped out 4-0 and then [they scored] two quick tries on us, and then five tries for us,” he said.

“We’ve got the attack going, which has been sort of down for a little bit.

“We’ve defended pretty good all year bar a couple games against South City, but it’s good to see some attacking shape and good to get Hally [Nic Hall] our fullback in some shape, and he’s looking really good.”

Speaking on their opponents, Giles said that while the Blues aren’t the force they were last year, they were still a difficult task for the men in red, white and blue.

“They’re a tough team, the ladder doesn’t really speak for itself, they were playing Wagga Kangaroos and it was nil all for about 30 minutes there, and then they played Temora [and] I think it was about 10-6 at half time and Tumut actually had one in the [sin] bin,” he said.

“Against us, they were up 12-4, about 30 minutes in, so they’re really competitive for 30 minutes, 40 minutes of all their clashes, and then they dwindle away when their bench [comes] on.

“They just don’t have the depth that they had last year, and they just can’t go with some sides this year. 

“[I’d be] pretty frustrated if I was Zac Masters over there, they compete for so long, and then they go away towards the back end.”

With the competition being as tight as it is at the top of the table, Giles said that despite their success so far, the Young club must remain focused on the task at hand.

“It’s a really close competition this year, obviously you’ve got your top 5, it’s really South City and Albury battling away down there for the fifth spot, but it’s really close and one slip and then Temora overtake us and Wagga Kangaroos aren’t too far away from us at the moment with Rosey [Nathan Rose] coming back,” he said.

“It’s a really tight call, but I said to a few people we haven’t really put 80 minutes together barring the game versus Gundagai sort of halfway through the year. 

“Last week was close to it, we had a little bit of a patch there where we didn’t play our best footy. 

“But if we keep playing the way we are, keep ticking along, keep defending which is the big part, we’re a long way to sewing up [a top] two spot, and really that’s what you want to be, you want to get that second bite.”

Around the grounds in other fixtures in Group 9, the Temora Dragons overcame an early deficit to score 52 unanswered points in their 52-10 win over Wagga Brothers, while Kangaroos defeated Gundagai 23-16, and South City got the chocolates in a high-scoring encounter 36-34 over Junee.

This weekend sees four more blockbuster fixtures, as Junee host Tumut and Kangaroos play Albury on Saturday, whilst Young face Brothers and Gundagai tackle Temora on Sunday, with South City getting the bye.