Tallon Smith

A stunning second half performance from Group 9 has turned a two point half time deficit into a 36-12 victory in the women’s Kelly Cup match against Group 20 at Yenda’s Wade Park on Saturday.

Dana Seward opened the scoring for the Gladiators, before the Razorbacks hit back through a stunning runaway effort from fullback Wendy Gonevulavula to level the game at 6-all.

Group 20 then took the lead when Monique Higgins followed another of Gonevulavula’s efforts to score under the posts, before converting her own try for a 12-6 lead.

However, the margin was reduced to two heading into half time, when Kate Foley scooped up a loose ball and raced away to score for Group 9.

The second half was a much different story to the opening stanza, with Group 9 dominating the play with five tries to seal a comfortable victory.

Caitlin Blackford started the avalanche, crashing over from short range, before Abbey Flanagan raced in under the posts to extend the margin to 22-12.

The floodgates were well and truly open when Foley scored her second, with Josey Hoey and Shania McKinnon also scoring four pointers late to secure a 24-point victory for the Gladiators.

Group 9 coach Damian Willis said that while he was happy with the victory, he was more looking forward to the further representative opportunities on offer for the players as a result of the match.

“It’s creating a pathway for our female tackle [playersl] in our region,” he said.

“The winner predominantly has the majority of the Riverina players selected for the Country Championships, so it’s a great concept and hopefully it can continue moving forward.

“There’s not a lot of pathway programs around for the older ladies in our region, and hopefully they got to showcase some of their talents and some people were watching and taking notice and they can move on to bigger and better things.”

Group 20 shocked many when they took a narrow lead into half-time, much to the delight of a largely pro-Razorbacks Wade Park crowd.

When asked if he was surprised by the way the home side started the match, Willis said that he expected Group 20 to be ready for the contest given the hype surrounding the clash.

“I wasn’t surprised, I knew that Jay [Little] would have them ready to go [and was] prepared for what was to come,” he said.

“They came out of the blocks pretty quickly, and not surprised us but stunned us a little bit, and one of the things we struggled with, we didn’t complete sets early.

“Once we were able to complete our sets of six, kick to corners and build some pressure, our fitness showed overall after that.”

On a personal note, the victory was yet another rugby league achievement for the highly regarded Group 9 coach, with Willis adding the coaching title to his Kelly Cup victories as a player.

“To win it in my first crack at it, I’ve won it as a player and it is good to win it as a coach as well,” he said.

On the other side of the equation, the Razorbacks may have lost the match, but a strong showing, particularly in the first half, demonstrated the rapid growth and improvement of women’s rugby league in the district.

Group 20 assistant coach Kelly Pauls said that she was proud of the way the side performed in the 13-a-side match, after the majority of players had played only nines tackle football at club level.

“I’m super proud of the girls, going from 9 to 13 players across the field, the girls were just super keen in how they played the game,” she said. 

“It was just fitness in the end in that second half, and with the extra five players, we had players playing out of position.”

The standout player for the Razorbacks in their first half surge was fullback Gonevulavula, who scored and effectively set up the side’s two tries.

Group 20 women’s coach Jay Little said she looked a level above other players at points, while also praising another of his outside backs for her performance.

“Wendy’s a standout player in our competition, as shown by yesterday’s performance, though she didn’t get as many opportunities as we would have liked,” he said.

“She had a significant injury and still returned to the field and had a positive impact.

“She was complemented by Lina Smith in the centres, and the go forward from our forwards gave her that platform.”

Little also paid tribute to his partner and assistant coach Pauls, who played a massive role in getting the team together with a limited lead in.

“Special mention to Kelly, without her we wouldn’t have been able to get the girls on board,” he said.

“Having that gender balance in the coaching setup was a big thing, and she just wants to create pathways for the younger girls.”

The Riverina team is expected to be announced shortly ahead of its first Country Championships match against Western Rams in Parkes on Saturday.