The Cootamundra Tri-Colours managed to secure their second consecutive victory over the weekend, defeating the West Wyalong Weevils 42-21. Interim coach Brad Jones thought the victory was a solid and important one for his side.
“We started very well this time around, which we didn’t in round one when we lost to Harden, but in the second round against Temora, we started very strong and much the same against West Wyalong,” Jones said.
“Twenty minutes in, we got ahead on the score-board, and I suppose we got a bit excited and then went away from our structure and how we wanted to play. There were still a lot of positives out of it, but if we can stick to our structure for the whole eighty minutes, we will be a lot better side as the season goes on.
“A few forwards going forward always helps. We still had some pretty solid rugby-playing heads in our backs. I mean, it comes from both ends, but we’ve got Isaac Mitchel and Jason Cronin in our forward pack to get us going forward, which then allows our backs to get a bit of ball and open up a bit of space.
“West Wyalong has struggled the last few years. They are stronger, and they spoke about that in the after-match game. They are very excited about the year, and they are not showing up every week and getting beaten. They are quite competitive, and I think as the season goes on, they will gel as a side, and they will be one to watch with the current premiership holding Young Yabbies struggling in the early parts of the season Jones and his men smell blood in the water.
“We’ve got a lot of locals that are probably going to be there last year and are pushing to win a premiership, and Young has won it the last three years in a row, and Boorowa had a pretty strong win over them. They probably haven’t started as strongly as they have in previous years, but that’s not going to say that they aren’t going to come good.
“We’ve got Boorowa this weekend, and if we can get a win over them, there’s every chance that we can go all the way.
“Their forward pack are going to be very strong. They play very old-fashioned footy – kick and go – and wear you down in the forward packs. They tire you out, just kick and go, sort of rugby.
“Their forwards are where I think they will try and win it. Training this week will be a lot of de-fensive stuff, and being quite typical up front through their forwards and then matching them with it and hopefully coming out on top that way.
“Definitely, and everyone who has followed them and been to all three games has all said Temora was a massive improvement on round one. If we played like we did against Harden, like we did against Temora, we would have won that game, too.
“It’s early days and still working out who plays where in positions for everyone.
“Hopefully, as the games go on, what we want to do is improve.
“The same group. We’ve had a few of the older local blokes come back. Hamish Pennington is back and is a pretty good rugby player, and has a good kicking game.
“We’ve got our centre, Shaun, has come back and he’s been a massive inclusion into our back-line, but much the same as the last few years with our Samoan and Fijian fellas. They’ve all got their perks, and without them, some would struggle getting a side, so it’s been really good having those guys come in and get around it.
“I was away last year, and that is the reason why I wanted to get involved again this year to keep Coota Rugby going and keep it strong, and hopefully get a lot of locals, a lot of younger blokes, come back and play for Coota because that is the future of the Club.”
The Tri-Colours vs Goldies game kicks off Saturday 3:15 pm at the Boorowa Rugby Club.
-Tully Potts
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