Tallon Smith
The Griffith Waratah Tigers had quite the day out on Sunday afternoon as the premiership favourites cruised to a 62-0 victory over an undermanned West Wyalong outfit at the Exies Oval.
Winger Ulu Akolo and centre Shorne Ngu each picked up hat-tricks in the eleven tries to nil victory, while debutant winger Solomoni Nabete also crossed for a double to mark the memorable occasion.
The Tigers burst out of the blocks early to lead 18-0, before errors invited West Wyalong into their territory through the middle period of the first half.
The Mallee Men went close to scoring again later in the half with the score at 28-0, before normal transmission resumed to see Waratahs holding a 46-0 lead at the break.
That advantage was extended to 62 in the 52nd minute, when the game was called due to the mercy rule.
Waratah Tigers coach Willie Lolohea said he was pleased with the win, with the scoreline not indicative of the physical battle through the middle of the park, particularly in the latter stages of the first half.
“It was a good [hitout] today, they still have a good pack, West Wyalong,” he said.
“They started turning up [late in the first half], so we knew we had to muscle up a bit, just in our middle.
“They still have a formidable forward pack, so we just gave it our all and came out with the results.”
With the Tigers undefeated after 12 rounds and talk of premierships and Clayton Cups beginning to circulate in Griffith, Lolohea said that staying humble will be his side’s key to success in the later part of the season.
“Everyone’s pretty grounded, we all keep it humble, especially when we come into each game,” he said.
“We take each game and we train during the week as if we’re facing a top contender, so all the boys are ready for it.
“That’s the mindset we’ll continue to have the whole year.”
Waratahs reserves coach and first grade player Luke Farmer added to Lolohea’s comments, noting that the good season the club is experiencing comes off the back of the club spending a season in recess two years ago.
“Our ressies are sitting up high and firsts are undefeated, that’s something special, it’s good times at the club right now,” he said.
“We struggled [in 2023], had a great year last year in both grades, and we’re doing it again this year.
“Hopefully we can get the big one at the end.”
For the Mallee Men, the 62-point defeat to the competition’s pace setters comes off the back of one of the club’s most famous wins over Leeton.
West Wyalong coach Braiden Jones said that despite the big loss, his side are in it for the long haul, upholding the honour of the oldest rugby league club in the Riverina.
“It was a tough battle today, but we didn’t give up,” he said.
“That’s the spirit everyone’s got at the moment, not to give up and keep working and pushing through.”
After the Waratahs burst out of the blocks to open the match, the Mallee Men responded through the middle of the first half, even going close to scoring a try which was disallowed due to the player being offside.
Jones said that the turnaround during that period was a small positive to take out of the match, despite the team conceding points quickly later in the match as they fought on without a bench.
“We just didn’t really leave the sheds, everyone was probably a bit flat when we went out there at the start, but a couple of solid tackles and a good set of defence sort of turned it around in the middle a bit,” he said.
The standout performer for West Wyalong at the back was Logan Collins, who put his body on the line time and time again to try and stem the flow of points, with the Mallee Men’s custodian reeling off one of the best try-savers of the season late in the first half.
Jones said that Collins has been one of the best for his side over the course of an inconsistent campaign.
“He’s always been good like that, he’s always reliable,” Jones said.
“A pat on the back to Loges, he always does a good job week in, week out.”
As for where this leaves the struggling side with a third of the season left to play, Jones said that they aren’t about to throw the towel in anytime soon.
“There’s no point giving up now, we’re in this for the long haul,” he said.
“It’s the character of this club, we’re not going to give up, we’ve still got the rest of the year to play out and we won’t give up.”
Moving to other games, the TLU Sharks have climbed off the bottom of the ladder after a 38-20 win over the Hay Magpies at the Lake Cargelligo Recreation Ground.
Led by yet another match-winning performance from star halfback Jaden Kelly, who scored two tries and booted five goals for 18 personal points, the Sharks dominated the Magpies for their second victory of the season.
The win lifts Tullibigeal-Lakes United off the bottom of the ladder on points differential, and sets up a potential derby showdown to avoid the wooden spoon against West Wyalong at Lake Cargelligo on August 17.
Meanwhile, the loss is a hammer blow to the Magpies’ finals hopes, with the side missing a golden opportunity to move into the five.
Fifth spot itself is now occupied by the Griffith Black and Whites after Kodie Charles’ men emerged from their showdown with the Yanco-Wamoon Hawks at the Yanco Sportsground with a 28-18 victory.
The skipper himself got the scoring underway, leading six different try scorers for the Griffith side as they powered home in the second half for a crucial victory.
Finally, the DPC Roosters reversed their shock round three loss at Wade Park with a 26-16 win over the Yenda Blueheelers at the Coleambally Sports Ground.
Three tries in ten minutes to Ben Jeffery, Chaise Sergi and Jon Huggett sealed the deal for the Roosters, who now sit in outright second six points behind the runaway Waratahs.
Yenda remain in fourth position despite the loss, but are now vulnerable to the teams behind them, and face a must win clash with Hay that will co-headline Round 13 along with the Leeton-Waratahs showdown.
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