Thoroughbreds go to Singleton

By David Casson

IT was a tough day at the office last Sunday with Scone only having one win on the day, reserve gGrade scored a

late victory while first grade, under 18’s and league tTag all were defeated.

There is a long time between games and the Thoroughbred first grade team which played Singleton appeared to have little resemblance to the winning team the week before, Singleton started the game with an early try and maintained control over a struggling Thoroughbred team throughout.

It only took a few minutes for Singleton to start their try scoring with an effective last tackle kick finding Dale Watson for Chad Solman to convert.

Scone had some opportunites in the next 15 minutes or so but could not make the most of it with dropped or poor passing costing dearly.

A lack of urgency chasing another last tackle kick proved costly when the perfect bounce found Nathan Sweeney and the Greyhounds went out to a 10 nil lead.

An easy try with ten minutes to go in the first half did not help the Thoroughbreds and a penalty conversion provided an 18 nil halftime score.

The second half continued with frustrations, however Gary Mckeon put up a well judged kick for Caleb Taylor to cross and get the Thoroughbreds on the score sheet.

Continued pressure and missed tackles were enough for Singleton to cross again for a converted try, with a score line of 24-4.

Consecutive penalties provided the locals with some momentum and when John Johnson strolled over with 15 minutes to go, the optimists thought there might be a chance.

Any such thoughts were however short lived, when Scone made a mistake at the restart which led to another converted try for Singleton, just add salt to the wound Singleton crossed again with a few minutes to go with a final score of 34-10.

Coach Wes Suckley was very disappointed with the performance but remained positive.

“Singleton found us wanting in a number of areas and we need to do much better, we have shown that we can compete with any team and hard work and commitment will get us there,” said Wes Suckley.

The Reserve Grade team came up with the only win of the day but the Merriwa team could be forgiven for thinking they were headed for a win.

The teams were quite even from the start and it took about 15 minutes for the first try to be scored by the visitors when they regathered a kick.

Scone struck back quickly thanks to an error at the restart which saw Tom Vincent crossing with the conversion by Troy Dunley giving them a 6-4 lead.

Merriwa crossed again with five minutes to go when the Scone defence could not contain one of their large forwards close to the line, half time score 10-6.

It was the Rams who were first to cross again after 10 minutes following some sustained pressure and giving them a 14-6 lead.

It seemed like the locals had been camped in their half for ages, however when they finally got to the other end their efforts were rewarded with Kyle Wilcher crossing thanks to a Jade Smith pass.

The conversion was missed but the gap narrowed to 4, a costly mistake at the restart put the pressure back on and the Rams made the most of it with another try, giving them an 18-10 advantage.

A big momentum shift then occurred and Scone dominated the last 15 minutes, coming up with tries to Checka Brennan who picked up a double and Jake Collison rewarded for his hard work all day.

Kyle Wilcher converted all three and the final result was 28-18 to Scone.

Coach Troy Dunley was relieved with the win

“That was not one of our better games, but credit to the Rams who stuck it to us for the whole game, we managed to get back on top in the last part of the game but we need to work on our game as we approach the semis,” Troy Dunley said.

The under 18’s game was typical of the young Thoroughbreds season, which has seen them very competitive for the first half but just not able to continue in the second half.

The visitors put two tries on the locals in the first 20 minutes, however, it was Scone’s turn to fight back with tries to Ben Fechner and then Ryan Hawskshaw crossing right ton the bell.

Fechner converted one and a 12-10 score line to the visitors was a fair reflection of the game.

The locals held out Singleton for 15 minutes before they crossed again, and followed up with a three further tries over the next 15 minutes.

To their credit however, the boys did not give up and were rewarded with a very late second try to Hawkshaw, Hayden Bell’s conversion provided the final score of 30-16.

Coach Codie McCarthy was proud of the teams effort.

Tthese lads keep turning up and never stop trying. A win is not too far away, we need to maintain our effort for the entire game,” Codie McCarthy said.

Ladies League tag saw the current table leaders Merriwa taking on an improving Scone team.

It was always going to be a tough game and the Rams scored two tries in the first 10 minutes for a ten point lead, the locals fought back however and pocket rocket, Lilly Golledge, caught the opposition napping with a smart try from dummy half for a 10-6 half time score.

Merriwa managed another try in the first five minutes of the second half, however, the Scone team kept their composure and effort to ensure there were no more tries for the opposition.

Merriwa were strong in defence all day and also held out the Thoroughbreds for the final 14-4 victory.

Coach Steve Simpson was proud of the girls efforts.

“The Merriwa team is undefeated and have put some big scores on their opposition this season, we have a lot of young players and they are all improving with the guidance of our experienced players, the opposition teams will not be able to take us lightly,” Steve Simpson said.