Tallon Smith

The Griffith Waratah Tigers have returned to the top of the Group 20 ladder after securing a 40-12 victory over an undermanned Hay Magpies side at the Exies Oval on Saturday evening.

In a match where the final scoreline did not at all reflect the contest that preceded it, Waratahs scored three late tries to seal a huge victory and take back first spot after fellow title contender Yanco-Wamoon was held to a 30-all draw by Leeton at the Leeton No.1 Oval.

Waratahs coach Brett Goldspink was pleased with his side’s performance, particularly in defence as they withstood a number of attacking sets from the Magpies to hold them scoreless in the second half.

“I thought our defence was pretty good, obviously we leaked a couple early in the first half, but I think we had a lot of pressure [on us] there early in the second half and we managed to make sure they didn’t get any points out of that, so that was the most pleasing thing,” he said.

“We played 20 minutes with 12 men, I know they lost one near the end as well but I just thought our composure [was good] to get through those hard periods and get the result.”

The Waratah Tigers opened the scoring through second rower Sione Tulahe, before the Magpies hit back twice to take a shock 12-6 lead when Sulio Loka’s brilliant individual effort was followed by a simple try under the posts to front rower Jerry Nakete.

Facing that deficit seemed to spark Waratahs, with the home side hitting back with three tries in the space of eight minutes, the first to Fili Mahe out wide followed by Sima Tau racing in under the posts, before Moses Lolohea put in a near-perfect grubber for his brother Willie to score and open up a 24-12 half time lead.

Just when the match threatened to really get away from Hay, the Magpies dug in, holding the now top-of-the-table team out for the first 28 minutes of the second half in a gallant defensive effort.

However, in the end, the Tigers did cash in against the under-strength visitors by piling on three late tries to Willie Lolohea, Elvis Nauer-Wood and Shorne Ngu to extend the final margin to 28 points.

Despite walking away with an impressive win in the end, Goldspink, himself a Hay product, was full of praise for the Magpies’ determined showing.

“Hay came to play today, I thought to be honest they played really well,” he said.

“I think if they played like that every week, they wouldn’t be where they are, they would probably be fighting for the top five.

“The scoreline blew out at the end, it was a hard graft for probably 60 minutes.”

A number of players stood out for Waratahs in the match, with Moses and Willie Lolohea taking out a joint player of the match award for the side.

However, it was the performance of prop Sima Tau which drew praise from the former NRL front rower turned local coach.

“I thought Sima Tau had a huge game again, I know he got sin-binned, but his go-forward was immense,” he said.

“I think he scored a 30-yard try, and he lays the platform for the forwards.

“To be honest there [were] probably six or seven players that could [have] easily put their hand up [for man of the match].”

With the win elevating the Tigers back to the top of the ladder with four rounds to play before finals, the club is in with a good chance to take home the minor premiership, which will likely come down to their clash with Yanco in the penultimate round.

However, despite the lure of chasing the regular season crown, Goldspink’s original goal of a top three finish hasn’t changed, with the mentor simply hoping for a double chance in the finals.

“We had a goal at the start of the year to be in the top three, because once you make the semi finals it’s a different ball game, so we haven’t gone away from that,” he said.

“Regardless of what the result is against Yanco, we are going to see each other again I’m sure, and obviously Leeton as well.”

Next up for the Waratah Tigers is a clash with Tullibigeal-Lakes United, which brings a six-game winning streak into the match following its 34-14 victory over West Wyalong at Tullibigeal on Sunday.

Heading into the top three showdown, Goldspink said his focus is on keeping his side grounded and prepared for the task of tackling the competition’s most in-form team.

“We are not getting carried away, Lakes at Lakes is a very tough game, because they are coming home with a wet sail,” he said.

“It is going to be tough, but I think it comes down to which Waratahs team turns up on the day.

“Jaden Kelly is a class player, there is no question about that, but if we start worrying about them and not worrying about our own job, we will definitely lose.

“If we turn up ready to play, I think they will have to worry about us as much as we need to worry about them.”

Meanwhile, despite the end result, Hay coach Zac O’Neill was rapt with an “unreal effort” from his side, many of whom backed up from reserve grade.

“It was a real underdog performance, there’s probably seven blokes in there that aren’t first graders,” he said.

“To hold them for 20-odd minutes in the second half to not scoring a point, that was unbelievable, we only had 12 men there at some stages.

“We had a good yarn on Friday night about things, and they just dug deep.

“I was really proud of them.”

One of the standouts for the Magpies was unheralded prop Ben Bianco, who finished with the club’s best on ground awards for both first and reserve grade.

O’Neill was full of praise for the emerging talent, who more than handled his own against the Waratahs’ big forward pack.

“He is only a kid, and it’s about his seventh game of football, he stood out today,” he said.

“I saw something in the kid probably 12 weeks ago, and he has been unbelievable.”

Reserve grade coach Luke James was singing from the same songbook about Bianco after his side’s 26-12 defeat to the second-placed Tigers earlier in the afternoon.

“Last time he played, he was nine years old, and he’s come back this year and he’s turned on a good clinic,” James said.

“He’s playing first grade as well, I’m really proud of him stepping up to play both.”

Hay’s next task is a home bout with Leeton at the Hay Park Oval on Sunday.

GRIFFITH WARATAHS 40 (Willie Lolohea 2, Sione Tulahe, Fili Mahe, Sima Tau, Pou Uhi, Shorne Ngu tries; James Girdler 6 goals) DEFEATED HAY 12 (Sulio Loka, Jerry Nakete tries; Ryan Gash 2 goals) at Exies Oval, Saturday July 18.