Tallon Smith
Rivalry round of the 2025 Great Northern Group 9 First Grade Premiership turned out to be a weekend of big results for many teams, with Temora leading the way after a 40-0 shut out of Junee in their Challenge Cup tie at Laurie Daley Oval on Sunday.
The Dragons ran in a remarkable seven tries to nil to shock the Diesels on their home ground and steal the Cup from them, after Junee held it for the first three rounds of the competition.
In a dominant display, Billy Reid and Hayden Lomax each scored doubles for the Temora outfit as they romped to one of the biggest victories over their arch-rivals in recent memory.
Temora Coach Josh McCrone told Battlers For Bush Footy that the dominant victory was a pleasing one for the Dragons, after a patchy start to the season against Gundagai and South City.
“The effort today was pleasing, especially as it’s two weeks in a row our intent has been good,” he said.
“The scoreline is a result of that, and the Cup is the cherry on top of it all.”
McCrone, who shifted to lock for the clash from his usual position in the halves, said the best part of the match was the performance of those in the six and seven.
“The most pleasing aspect of today was our whole team’s performance, especially the young halves pairing,” he said.
“Both Jared and Jake did a great job.
“Riley Craw also played like a seasoned front rower having played extra minutes today.”
Elsewhere, the Young Cherrypickers put on a show against arch rivals Cootamundra at home with a 40-6 victory at Alfred Oval.
The Young side dominated from start to finish in another display of their premiership credentials, as they remain favourites among many to take out the 2025 competition and go back to back for the first time in 69 years.
Coach Tom Giles crossed for a rare prop’s hat trick in the match, while hooker Jesse Corcoran joined him as a multiple try scorer with two four-pointers.
Earlier in the weekend, Albury winger Lachlan Hampton and centre Sebastian Nelson had a field day on the right edge against the Wagga Brothers at Greenfield Park, with both nabbing a double in the 60-6 win.
After a heavy loss to Young last weekend, the rebound win sees the Thunder with a 1-1-1 record after the opening three rounds of the competition, while Brothers remain winless through three games.
Tumut took out the local derby over Gundagai with a 24-18 win on their home turf at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues looked to be in the box seat after Bayley Maher’s try gave them an 18-6 lead with 34 minutes remaining.
However, the Tigers were not about to lie down, roaring back to level the game through tries to Pat Birch and Tyron Gorman.
However, as he has done in big moments before, Tumut five-eighth Malik Aitken broke the game open in the final minutes, dashing through the middle of the Tigers before linking with fullback Mitch Ivill who raced in to score what proved the match-winning try.
In what is arguably the biggest rivalry in the competition, Tumut were glad to come away with the two points, with coach Dean Bristow conveying how much it means to the town to the Daily Advertiser.
“It’s always great to come out on top in derbies,” Bristow said.
“It’s pretty well spoken about what it means to both towns and how everyone gets behind it, so to come out on top today in tough conditions and some tough circumstances in the second half and to show some resilience and fight to come away with the win I’m very proud of the group.”
Meanwhile, the Wagga Kangaroos took out the cross-town Wagga Derby at Harris Park with a 36-12 victory over the South City Bulls.
Ned Cooper led the way for the Kangaroos with two tries as Nathan Rose’s men continued their undefeated start to the campaign through three games.
Kangaroos raced to an early 12-0 advantage through 17 minutes through Connor McCauley and Wil Hurst, before the Bulls hit back via coach Cleve McGhie and captain Kyle McCarthy to level the game going into the break.
However, it was all red and blue on the scoresheet in the second half, with the Kangaroos crossing for four tries for a comfortable 24 point win.
Round four action next weekend sees the Kangaroos open the round against Junee on Saturday at Geohex Park, while the BarTV cameras will be at Cootamundra for the Bulldogs’ clash with Albury.
Three matches will then follow on Sunday, with Gundagai hosting Young, South City playing Tumut, and Temora looking to defend the cup against Brothers at Nixon Park on BarTV.
Battlers For Bush Footy 