Tallon Smith

A new-look Wagga Kangaroos side has escaped from Greenfield Park with two vital competition points to begin the season after a James Smart penalty goal proved the difference in a 24-22 victory.

The Thunder rallied in the second half to level the game after twice staring down double-digit deficits, only to fall short to the runners-up for the last three seasons.

After a tense opening, the Kangaroos opened the scoring through winger Joel Kelly, who dived over in the corner to finish a left side shift, James Smart adding the extras from out wide.

That margin was doubled five minutes later when Gus Clark dashed out of dummy half and broke the Thunder line, before linking with John Downes in the backfield who raced away to score.

Albury hit back soon after through debutant Jordan Uinipaulo, who cut back in field off a shift, beating multiple defenders to power his way over the line for a try.

Both sides then traded similar tries from short range dummy half scoots, with Gus Clark crossing the line for Kangaroos before halfback Jacob Tobok hit back in the opposite corner for Albury.

However, Clark was to have the last say in the battle, scoring a second simple try five minutes after the break to put Kangaroos up 22-12.

Down by two scores with 25 to play, Albury weren’t about to give in, and closed to within four points thanks to a show and go from five-eighth Lachy Munro.

That Kangaroos’ lead was wiped away altogether soon after when Thunder fullback Vili Cerei made a break down the left touchline, with the momentum of his run seeing him get over the line, only for Tobok’s shot at a go-ahead conversion to hit the upright and bounced away.

With the scores level, a timely penalty saw the Roos presented with a golden opportunity to take the lead with nine minutes to play, and five-eighth James Smart was on the money, giving the Wagga side a two point advantage which it maintained until the finish for a 24-22 win.

After an off-season with plenty of noise surrounding the club and its lengthy departure list, Kangaroos coch Zeik Foster said that he was pleased to get the first up victory on the road in Albury.

“Really pleased to get the two points on the road round one, Albury in Albury is always a tough road trip, no matter what team they roll out,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of noise around us and the departures of a lot of key players that have been in our squad for the last two or three years, but we’ve also got a couple of Roos juniors that have come through the grades and reserve grade and earned their spot and they played really well.”

One player that excelled on Saturday was Clark, with the hooker picking up two tries in a return to his favoured position after playing out wide last year.

Foster said he was “very pleased” with the way his number nine performed in the opening game of the season, with his double proving crucial in securing the two competition points.

“He had a great game, he’s actually a natural hooker, that’s his preferred position and the position he’s spent the most time at,” he said.

“I think just last year we had Zac Graham there, our nine, and Gus is a footballer, he will play absolutely anywhere and he’ll excel at any position, he’s such a competitor.”

After leading 22-12 early in the second half, one concern for the Roos was the manner in which Albury was able to get back into the match and almost take the lead.

Foster said that it was disappointing not to go on with their strong start to the second stanza and secure a more comfortable victory.

“Obviously [I was] disappointed to give up the lead that we had,” he said.

“I actually feel [that] a couple of times during that game, we could have went on with it, but we were our own worst enemies at times with poor discipline and not respecting the footy.

“Albury, they’re a quality side this year, they’ve got a lot of size, so if you give them momentum, they’e going to make you pay.

“We were shaky towards the end but went up by two points and we just turned up for each other and held on.”

Meanwhile, for the Thunder, while the two point home defeat was tough to take, the match marked the beginning of a new era with eight players making their first grade debut for the club.

Despite the result, Albury coach Etu Uaisele said there were plenty of positives to take from the match heading into their next game against Wagga Brothers on May 3.

“There’s a lot of positives coming out of that game, especially [given] we didn’t have the ball much in the first 10 or 15 minutes, and the penalties didn’t help us as well, but the boys they never gave up, and that’s probably what we’ve lacked in the last couple of years,” he said.

“We stuck to our game plan, we scored every time we went to attack against the Kangaroos and that shows that we can score points and we can defend.

“There’s a lot of positives coming out of this first game and we’re going to take them into the next game.”