By Tallon Smith

The last-placed Junee Diesels have shocked the entire Group 9 competition with a 54-12 demolition of defending premiers Tumut at Laurie Daley Oval on Saturday.

The Diesels ran in a remarkable 11 tries in the 42-point thrashing to move off the bottom of the Group 9 ladder as they look to avoid a second successive wooden spoon.

Diesels President David Holt said that it was great to see the hard-working small town club finally get the rewards for their effort over the past two seasons since their return to the top grade.

“It was great to see things finally start coming together for our team this year, week in, week out,” he said.

“This two week period here is the first time we’ve been able to put the same team on the paddock from last week to this week, due to injury, unavailability and all that sort of thing, so that was a big part of it. 

“Just a win [is great], but for it to be something that sound, that solid, a very convincing win, that’s next level.

“It’s unbelievable.”

Holt said that the best part about the win was that it was a team effort, naming almost the entire team when asked by Battlers For Bush Footy who he thought  the top performers were.

“It was a great team effort, you couldn’t pick anybody out as being outstanding performers,” he said.

“It’s been great for the club that Chase Bernard has come in over the last three weeks and you can see the difference that he makes, his direction out on the field and with players, it’s not just his playing performance but how he communicates with the blokes that are around him and how he lifts them. 

“One of my sons [Jacob Holt] was a part of that and he’s earned his own right there, but that’s through my eyes as a dad. 

“Stu Dunbar, he’s only played a few games for us this year, the Australian captain of Rugby Union [Sevens], he came off the bench and he had a good game.

“Like I said, I could keep going and name every one of them.”

Meanwhile in another massive score to emerge over the weekend, the top of the table Young Cherrypickers thumped the Wagga Brothers 74-0 at Alfred Oval on Sunday afternoon.

The ‘Pickers ran in 14 tries to rack up the biggest score in the competition this season and give their for and against a massive boost as they battle the Temora Dragons for the Minor Premiership.

Speaking of the Dragons, they remain hot on the heels of the Cherrypickers at just half a game behind the leaders after a 22-20 win over the Gundagai Tigers on Sunday.

The Tigers turned down a late shot at penalty goal that would have levelled the game to ultimately fall short of the Temora side in the clash at Anzac Park.

With the win, the Dragons retain the Group 9 Challenge Cup as they look to hold the trophy for the remainder of the year.

Finally, the Albury Thunder recovered from a 24-4 halftime deficit to defeat the Wagga Kangaroos 28-24 at McDonald’s Park on Saturday.

The win keeps the Thunder half a game outside the top five, one point behind Gundagai.

Moving to next week’s games, Albury will host Temora and Wagga Brothers will face the Junee Diesels on Saturday, whilst Sunday sees Gundagai tackle Young at Anzac Park and Tumut travel to Harris Park to face South City, with Kangaroos having the bye.