Tallon Smith

The Albury Thunder have re-emerged as a finals contender in Group 9 after securing their first back-to-back wins of the season with an upset 20-8 victory over Cootamundra at Les Boyd Oval on Sunday.

After the Bulldogs levelled the scores at 8-all less than a minute into the second half thanks to a try to Josh Harris off the kickoff, the Thunder hit back quickly through Jordan Ercegovic, before Lachy Munro crossed late to seal the 12-point victory.

Albury coach Etu Uaisele said the side’s recent turnaround in form has come off the back of a focus on positivity within the squad.

“The boys are starting to click and enjoy footy,” he said.

“A month ago all I wanted was for the boys to enjoy footy again and play for themselves and their families.

“That’s what they have started doing the last couple of weeks, and it is actually really working for them.”

Cootamundra opened the scoring 13 minutes in through winger Harry Boxsell, before Ercegovic finished off a right side shift for the first of two tries to level the scores at 4-all.

Six minutes later, some razzle dazzle play from the Thunder in the form of offloads through the middle kept the ball alive, and Siale Lavulavu benefited, with the winger crossing for his fifth try in three games out wide.

The Bulldogs then struck back after the kickoff to the second half was left to bounce for Harris, who toed the ball ahead and collected it to score a remarkable try.

However, Albury responded quickly through Ercegovic, and after fullback Nate Broekman added two penalty goals to extend the Thunder’s lead to 16-8, Munro sealed the deal late for Albury’s fifth win of the year.

Amongst a number of strong performers for the Thunder, Uaisele was most impressed with the effort of Blake Grounds, who got through a mountain of work in the middle across two positions.

“Groundsy played 70 minutes on the weekend, and he played 80 minutes the week before and he always does his part,” Uaisele said.

“He started off [at] hooker and then he went into lock when Wyatt came out.

“His defence is always the strongest [area] in his game.

“For him to [play] 80 minutes the week before and then [play] 70 minutes on the weekend, turning up and just helping the boys in the middle defensively was pretty big.”

Another player whose contribution was critical to the result was winger Ercegovic, with Uaisele hopeful that the young winger’s two-try effort will help his confidence continue to grow.

“It was good for him to score two tries on the weekend to give him more confidence,” he said.

“It’s good to see the young boys coming through and doing really well for the club.”

Both sides will play at home on the other side of the competition’s general bye with the Thunder to host Junee and Cootamundra to welcome Young.

ALBURY 20 (Jordan Ercegovic 2, Siale Lavulavu, Lachy Munro tries; Nate Broekman 2 goals) DEFEATED COOTAMUNDRA 8 (Harry Boxsell, Josh Harris tries) at Les Boyd Oval, Sunday July 26.

‘He’s been enormous’: Smith hat-trick leads Young to big win over Tumut

Young centre Cooper Smith had a day to remember as the Cherrypickers maintained their hold on a position in Group 9’s top three with a comfortable 36-14 victory over the Tumut Blues at Alfred Oval on Saturday.

Smith finished with a hat-trick as Young ran in eight tries to Tumut’s two to bank a crucial victory that keeps the side above fellow round 13 winners Junee in the fight for an all-important double-chance.

Young co-coach Dan Barclay said the win was “very pleasing” given the injury challenges the Cherrypickers have faced, with Toataua Porima and Jonah Latu among those sidelined after falling victim to hip-drop tackles against Junee.

“With about four or five regular first graders on the sideline, it was a good performance against a competitive Tumut side,” he said.

“It was a big day depth-wise for our club, unfortunately Charlie Woolford was also out so we had our ninth debut in Billy Lamb, he’s a local junior coming up and he did well.

“Kane Ball got 80 minutes out at fullback and had a blinder, set up tries left right and centre, and it was good to see him in full flight and injury free.”

The Cherrypickers dominated the first half to lead 20-0 thanks to a double from Che Hyslop and further tries to Max Jones and Smith.

A Matt Murray kick set up Smith’s second after the interval, before Tumut hit back to close the gap to 24-12 though Todd Magnone and Jordy Maher.

However, the fightback ended there, with Smith, Nick Canellis and Jack Rolfe sealing the deal with the final three tries of the match, before Blues halfback Callum Rossiter added a penalty goal on full time to leave the final margin at 22.

Having taken his season tally to eight tries with his three-score performance, Barclay said Smith’s performance was just the latest strong showing in a good start to his first grade career.

“He’s been enormous this year, it’s his first full year as a first grader, he’s come up from our 18s last year,” he said.

“He started as mister fix-it, but he’s made his home on that left edge in the centres and [he’s] killing it.

“Three tries today, good out of yardage, and his defence is unreal.”

Meanwhile, having welcomed back Aaron Slater and Jayke Hogan in addition to Jake Kambos and Ball getting through the match, hopes are growing that the Cherrypickers will go into the finals somewhere close to full-strength.

Barclay said Young’s main focus is to continue to gain confidence in its combinations, while the side also looks to lock in third position for the playoffs.

“We are starting to settle into what our finals run will look like,” he said.

“Jake Kambos got through about 55 minutes as a centre, and then [we] just looked after him.

“[We’re] aiming for that top three spot, we think we’re in the mix and we deserve to be up there, but the loss against Junee really hurt us and our chances for a minor premiership.

“We just want to be in the fight in that top three, raring to go and players fit.”

Following the general bye, Young will travel to Cootamundra, while Tumut will host Wagga Kangaroos.

YOUNG 36 (Cooper Smith 3, Che Hyslop 2, Max Jones, Nick Canellis, James Rolfe tries; Kane Ball 2 goals) DEFEATED TUMUT 14 (Todd Magnone, Jordy Maher tries; Callum Rossiter 3 goals) at Alfred Oval, Saturday July 25.