Cover Photo: Tahlia Crane Photography

Tallon Smith

Following an unhappy homecoming in round one against Junee, Gundagai picked up its second straight win and first at Anzac Park this season with a comprehensive 28-6 win over Albury on Sunday.

Three tries in the opening 23 minutes put the defending premiers in control of the clash, a position they never relinquished as they cruised to a second comfortable win in two weeks.

Playing in just his second game, 17-year-old Jayden Steele opened the scoring for Gundagai after finishing off a shift in the third minute, before James Morgan put Benjy Hannan through a gap 10 minutes later, with the back rower linking with halfback Derek Hay for a long-range try.

Steele then doubled up in the 23rd minute, after an offload from centre Gabriel Gul was distributed out to the winger who again dived over in the corner for an 18-0 lead that remained until half time.

The Tiger domination continued in the second half, with Mark Asquith showing twice to runners off the scrum and slicing through to extend the margin to 24 points.

Needing to be next to score to have any hope, Albury found its first four pointer through debutant Nate Broekman, who took a brilliant intercept and raced down the western touchline before running around under the posts to score.

However, that was to be the extent of the Thunder’s fightback, with the Tigers adding four more points late when Morgan got his name on the scoresheet to close out the 22-point win.

Gundagai coach Hayden Ashcroft said he took plenty of positives out of his side’s performance, which backed up their last start 36-0 win over Tumut.

“Albury are a big pack, and obviously after last week I think we turned things around and we were really positive this week,” he said.

“Like I have previously mentioned, it is a long season, but there [are] a lot of positives and things to work on, but [we’re] slowly building which is good.”

A highlight for the Tigers in their victories over the last two weeks has been the rise of Steele, who debuted in the Tumut game before going on to make a significant impact early against the Thunder.

When asked about the young winger’s rise from the Weissel Cup to the first grade competition, Ashcroft said it was a special moment to see Steele score a double on his home ground in just his second first grade game.

“Having a young bloke come and get to debut for us in first grade and then play his second game here at Anzac Park, it is always a special moment for local juniors to be given that opportunity,” he said.

“Obviously he did a really good job today, and hopefully he just keeps building in confidence each week and continues to play good football.

“It’s always lovely to see a young bloke come through and do well in first grade.”

Another area which pleased the Tigers coach on Sunday was his side’s defence, with Gundagai conceding just six points in the form of Broekman’s intercept.

Ashcroft said that he was particularly impressed with the period the side was reduced to 12 men, with the Tigers standing tall to deny the Thunder.

“Gabriel Gul got sent for 10 there, and we were able to keep them out for a 10 minute period there with only 12 on the field,” he said.

“The only points they did score was from an intercept, so I think that’s certainly something positive, and I think we are just turning up defensively and willing to play through the middle, which is creating opportunities out wide.”

Meanwhile, Albury coach Etu Uaisele was left disappointed after a number of mistakes and infringements saw the Thunder give the Tigers the lion’s share of possession.

“Very disappointed with the way the boys turned up, too many errors, too many penalties, and we can’t defend against a good side like Gundagai, if you give them the ball they will punish you,” he said.

“I know the score shows it was 28-8, but the score should have been way more than that, just the way we played, it wasn’t good enough.”

Despite this, the Thunder mentor said there was one big positive to come out of the match, in the strong debut and intercept try from winger Broekman.

“There’s a few positives that came out of it, we [had] young Nate debut on the wing, I thought he played well yesterday and showed that he is going to be a very handy player in the future,” he said.

“To see him run down the sideline right in front of us, it made it even more special.

“I think he’s got a bright future.”