Tallon Smith 

The Griffith Waratah Tigers remain one of two unbeaten sides in Group 20 after powering their way to a 64-6 victory over the Darlington Point-Coleambally Roosters at the Exies Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers dominated the second half against a Roosters team missing co-coach Ben Jeffery to record a 58-point victory and consign the defending premiers to a 0-4 start to the season.

Waratah Tigers coach Brett Goldspink said that after a slow start, he was impressed by the manner in which his side went on with the job once it established the upper hand.

“We didn’t start great, and then we started to creep into our dominance,” he said.

“Obviously the second half was just a rollover, but it’s just pleasing from a coach’s [perspective], because I have seen what they can do at training for the last month and a half.

“I actually thought it would happen two weeks ago [against Leeton], but it didn’t, we actually played really bad, but I knew at some point they would show what they’re capable of.

“No disrespect to Darlington Point, because I know they’re not the same premiership side that they were, but in saying that they could only play what was in front of them and Ben Jeffery didn’t play.”

A key part of the Tigers’ game plan heading into the clash was to win the forward battle against the Roosters, with representative talent lining up for both teams up front in the form of Group 20 Kelly Cup front rowers Guy Thompson for DPC and Elvis Nauer-Wood for Waratahs.

With the side recording such a dominant victory, Goldspink said that he was happy with the performances of all players across the field, but was exceptionally pleased with the efforts of his middle men.

“When you put 64 points on everyone plays well, but I think we made a challenge to the forward pack to especially keep an eye on Guy Thompson, and the whole forward pack played well,” he said.

“The standouts [were] probably Pou [Uhi] and Elvis up front, they both played big minutes and they were really hard to stop, they pretty much set the platform for the rest of the side to follow.”

With regard to Thompson, Goldspink said that he set his forwards the task of winning the battle against the two-time Ray Thorpe Medallist, with the opposition skipper earning praise from the rival coach for his relentless charges despite the lopsided final result.

“We pretty much targeted their coach [Thompson], and to be honest he had a great game I thought, he was the hero in a losing side, he just tried but we targeted him a lot, so he made a lot of tackles,” he said.

“He took a lot of hard runs but we tackled him every time, I don’t know if he got an offload away, which is rare for him, and he got tackled, which he normally doesn’t get tackled because he’s so strong.

“He kept coming to be fair to him, but we also kept driving him back and putting him on his back.”

After similarly bursting out of the blocks last year in a blistering 11-0 start, the Tigers limped into the finals with four losses from their final five games before being bundled out a week short of the grand final.

With the lessons of last year in mind, and the improvement of a number of sides across the competition this season, Goldspink said that Waratahs are taking things one week at a time, with greater depth being a source of confidence for the side this year.

“[From] what I’ve seen so far, I think this year there’s no really easy game,” he said.

“West Wyalong were obviously the whipping boys last year, they’re a side that are on the up, and every side can’t take them lightly.

“Every game is a hard game, so it really comes down to your squad now I reckon, because if you get injuries, and you don’t have capable replacements in reserve grade, you are going to struggle.

“One thing that we didn’t have last year that we have this year is that we’ve got four or five guys that potentially should be in first grade.

“The squad is so thick now that as a coach I’ve got to make the hard decisions, but I’ve also got the luxury of having a lot of first graders to choose from.”

As for the outlook heading into next weekend’s preliminary final rematch against the competition’s other winless side in Hay, Goldspink said that he remains wary of the Magpies given both their experience and the Tigers’ sudden collapse last season, both in the competition and in the finals clash against Hay.

“We can’t get carried away, because we were 11-0 last year and we fell in a hole so the boys are aware of that,” he said.

“It’s an old cliche, but you take every game as it comes, and we’ve got Hay at home next week.

“We’ve got a bit of payback we owe them, and we won’t take them lightly as well.”

Looking at other results around the Group 20 First Grade competition, the Yanco-Wamoon Hawks remain the other unbeaten side sitting atop the table alongside Waratahs following a 40-12 victory over Yenda at the Yanco Sportsground on Sunday.

Doubles to Caleb Atkinson, Nia Remuera and Mesulame Navakayala accounted for six of the Hawks’ seven tries, with Taine Pauls crossing for the side’s other four-pointer.

Meanwhile, Bohdy Brady and Dane O’Connor continued their strong starts to the season for the Blueheelers, picking up the side’s only two tries in the match.

Leeton Shire counterparts the Greenies were also in the winners’ circle after ending Tullibigeal-Lakes United’s unbeaten start with a 34-16 win at the Lake Cargelligo Recreation Ground.

Elwyn Ravu led the way with a double, while Josh Fisher, Jesse Watson, Tom Dowse and Blake McDonald all joined him on the scoresheet in the 18-point victory.

For the Sharks, it was Sinelle Thorpe, Michael Parker and Joshua Smith who accounted for the side’s three tries, with the loss leaving the side in fourth place.

Finally, West Wyalong secured its second win in three weeks with a 24-16 away victory over Hay in stormy conditions at the Hay Park Oval.

After the scores were level at 8-all during the break, the Magpies went in front early in the second half when Rex Rokosusu scored his second try, before Jaxon Lemon replied for the Mallee Men.

The Magpies hit back through Sulio Loka to reclaim the lead, but it was the Mallee Men who ran away with the match from there, with Flynn Bryant and Oscar Wood sealing the deal for an eight point West Wyalong victory.