Tallon Smith
A remarkable five-try performance from five-eighth Sai Vakarau has lifted the Wangaratta Knights to a 32-14 victory over the Corowa Cougars in the Goulburn Murray Premiership season opener at Corowa on Sunday.
Contesting their annual Anzac weekend match, Wangaratta overcame the early loss of coach Scott Miller to turn a 12-10 half time lead into an 18-point victory in front of a healthy crowd.
Speaking to Battlers following the match, Miller said that the win was a big result for the Knights, with it being their first success at Corowa in their history.
“Really great game, always playing against Corowa, we always have really good hit-outs against them,” he said.
“We haven’t had much success against them in the last few years, so [it was] really good to get this one out at the start, and for all our boys to have come together to start the season on a really good note.
“It was great with all the ceremonies, the chance to have the ode and minute’s silence, [it was] really respectful and great to put on a show in front of everyone.”
In a match where handling errors were frequent early and four players were sin-binned in addition to a send off, it was the stunning individual performance of Wangaratta’s five-eighth which proved the difference.
However, despite Vakarau’s dominance on the scoresheet, Miller said the effort was set up by strong performances across the paddock.
“[It was an] amazing and crucial individual performance by him, he had a nice little chip and chase there at the end, and the unusual thing was I didn’t realise he got all five,” he said.
“He was everywhere, but it felt like it was really a shared team effort, but it was great for him to be able to get that result for us.
“He’s been one of our highest performers at training, very consistent, you can tell he’s got some power, speed, experience and skill, so that always translates to really high performance.”
In terms of the team’s other top performers on the day, Mathew Ferguson’s contribution in the front row was key to gaining field position, while halfback and captain Jacob Roberts’ kicking game was on point, with no greater example than his pinpoint try assist off the boot to winger Taufaoa Manuleleua.
Within Wangaratta’s squad though, Miller said that teammates couldn’t go past the strong work of fullback Jale Vetawa, who was dynamic in attack.
“It was amazing being able to watch Jale,” he said.
“[He’s a] very elusive fella in the way that he plays, really creative, very hard to bring down.
“He brought a lot of boys in too, getting the ball offensively with his play, and he did really well in the votes today too.”
Meanwhile, Cougars coach Dan Webb was left frustrated after poor discipline saw the side forced to defend for the majority of the match, with the weight of possession against them proving too much in the end.
“A bit of discipline is something I’ve really got to work on, there was a lack of discipline,” he said.
“The penalty count [was] 18-4, or something stupid like that, so that’s 18 sets of defence you’ve got to do that the other team doesn’t have to, so you can never go forward and fatigue comes in, so more ill-discipline comes off the back of it.”
However, Webb said there were some positives that arose from the match, with the performance of halfback Abimelech Terry being a standout.
“We had a lot of good individuals, our seven has a higher work rate than most people I could ever see, and got frustrated that other boys weren’t keeping up with him, but that’s just something I’ve got to work on there,” he said.
“Going forward, I’ve averaged 20 players at training, Tuesday, Thursday, they train themselves Friday, so the culture’s there, I’ve just got to get them doing the right things.”
Corowa’s key off-season signing Emilio Leti scored two of the side’s three tries, earning him the Spirit of ANZAC Medal.
Earlier, Wangaratta emerged with the first victory of the Women’s League Tag season with a 14-4 victory over the Cougars.
Tries to Tara Condron, Issy Simmons and Tahlia Weir-Smith secured the season-opening victory for the Knights in a rematch of last year’s preliminary final won by Corowa.
The Spirit of ANZAC Medal was awarded to Georgia Farrington of the Cougars for her best on ground performance.
Next up for the Knights is a clash with the Bears next Sunday, while the Cougars will face Wodonga in their first hit out under new coaches Wonna Williams and Sal Kaiwai.
Both matches will be played as part of a triple-header at Albury’s Sarvaas Park next Sunday, with hosts Albury Muddogs taking on Tumbarumba.
