Tallon Smith

It may well be the fiercest rivalry in the Riverina, and Saturday’s clash between Gundagai and Tumut didn’t disappoint as the Tigers emerged 14-10 winners in a bruising contest at Anzac Park.

After the sides traded tries out of half time, the match remained deadlocked at 10-all for the majority of the second half, before Meli Drau scored to give Gundagai their eventual match-winning lead with seven minutes to play.

Gundagai coach Aaron Gorrell said that the win simply came from effort in a typically tough match between the two foundation clubs.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, it always is [between] Gundagai and Tumut,” he said.

“We didn’t play how we wanted to play, but I can never doubt our effort, our commitment. 

“So to find a way when you’re not at your best against the quality side is always a good thing.”

The Tigers had to fight hard for the win on Saturday, as the Blues got into a defensive grind with their arch rivals, before a late try saw Gundagai emerge winners.

Gorrell said that while it was great to see the Tigers show some of their trademark resilience heading into finals, it was not a comfortable watch from the sidelines for the experienced mentor.

“It would have been a good game for supporters to watch, I didn’t enjoy too much of it,” he said.

“It was 10-all for most of that second half.

“We scored first in the second half, then they squared it up, and then we scored the one at the end.

“It would have been nice to kick away and be comfortable, but it’s good that we can find a way because they’re a quality side and I’m sure they’re going to be there in the five.”

Going into the general bye the previous weekend, the Tigers were coming off the back of a 22-12 win over the undefeated Kangaroos, although Gorrell said that while the win was a good one, their opponents were missing a key star.

“They were obviously missing Nathan Rose who is a quality player, but I thought we were pretty good and we played exactly how we wanted to play and that’s our brand of footy,” he said.

“I thought we did it pretty comfortably, but we know they’re going to get better as well. 

“We’ve got Young this week, a week off, and then Albury, Coota, and Brothers, so we haven’t got too bad a run in. 

“Hopefully we can keep getting the two points and just improve week in, week out.”

Looking to other round 12 games around Group 9, the Junee Diesels emerged victorious from their own local derby with the Temora Dragons, taking a 26-16 win at Nixon Park.

Sam Sainsbury crossed for a double for the Junee club as they exorcised the demons of a 40-0 thumping at the hands of Temora on their home turf at Laurie Daley Oval earlier this season.

Young also collected two competition points the hard way after escaping Les Boyd Oval with a 28-22 win over the Cootamundra Bulldogs.

The ‘Dogs stood tall in front of their home fans in rivalry round, giving the defending premiers a run for their money, but ultimately Young did just enough to secure a five tries to four win.

The local derby theme continued at Harris Park on Sunday, where Wagga Kangaroos got back on track following their loss to Gundagai with a 34-16 win over the South City Bulls.

Indigenous round celebrations took centre stage before the match, in which Roos centre Dakota Ruta again found himself on the scoresheet with a double alongside four other tryscorers for his side.

The fifth match of the round saw Albury win the match 66-10 but concede the Challenge Cup to the Wagga Brothers on the back of the +60.5 start handed to the boys in red and green.