Round six of the Barwon Darling Cup was held on Saturday July 3.
The Lightning Ridge Redbacks took on the Brewarrina Goo-Gars at Spider Brown Oval in Lightning Ridge.
The Under 14s and Under 17s teams from Brewarrina forfeited to Lightning Ridge.
In first grade the Goo-Gars were missing a few players so they arrived in Lightning Ridge with an unusally young team. They were, however, lead by a few older players who were sure to show them their way around the park.
The Lightning Ridge Redbacks were keen to avenge their loss to Brewarrina in the second round of the Barwon Darling Cup. At the very least they did not want to see a repeat of what happened in Brewarrina back in May.
The Redbacks were close to having a full- strength side as they were led onto the field by their captain Melvyn Samuelsson.
They went straight to work on the Goo-Gars with some big hits early in the match by Lawrance Walford Jr before he was, unfortunately, injured.
His older brother Nathan Fernando, however, was rewarded soon after for playing a defensive position, as he scored a four pointer under the posts from an intercept 40 metres out from the Redbacks’ tryline.
The tries kept coming from then on with another two to follow. One was Danny Seaton’s, who scored from dummy half, and the other was Ben Power’s. Power scored a solid solo try.
However the Redbacks began to show signs of confidence and even a little cockiness.
Their defence started to drop off and they let in a try after not coming off their line.
With 10 minutes to half-time,some more lazy defence out wide by the Redbacks saw another Brewarrina player get past them, running around the fullback and scoring the try of the day from 60 metres out.
The Redbacks appeared to be getting worried and frustrated with themselves. They were anxious to keep Brewarrina out for the remainder of the first half but their worst nightmares came true with three minutes left before half-time. The Goo-Gars got another try, levelling the scores going into the break.
After half-time the Redbacks’ defensive game plan was simple: no more tries. It was not to be, however, as within three minutes of the second half starting, Brewarrina scored adjacent to the posts and were now in front on the scoreboard by six points.
The Redbacks fans were not impressed but before too long the Redbacks hit back. Chris Walford exposed some of Brewarrina’s weak defence around the ball and sneaked over from dummy half to even the score.
The Redbacks were back on track, closing all the gaps in their defensive line thanks to Macka steering the players around the park.
This saw Brewarrina make a mistake and moments later Gavin Fazldeen scored out wide to put the Redbacks futher in front.
The Redbacks were now on a roll and when Melvyn Samuelsson followed up with another try they started to feel comfortable that they would get away with the win, but it was not before a scare as Brewarrina scored out wide late in the second half.
The Redbacks sealed their win, however, with lock Ben Power scoring right on the hooter from a scrum, which saw Lightning Ridge win 36 to 24.
Lightning Ridge Redbacks: Tries: Ben Power (2), Nathan Fernando (1), Gavin Fazldeen (1), Melvyn Samuelsson (1), Danny Seaton (1) and Chris Walford (1). Goals: Melvyn Samuelsson (4).
Brewarrina Goo-Gars: Tries: Martin Waites (1), Beau Salt (1), John Boney (1) and Dayne Salt (1). Goals: Hudson Boney (4).
In other results the Bourke Warriors Under 14’s and Under 17’s forfeited to the Walgett Dragons.
Meanwhile, Walgett took on the Yetta Tigers in first grade
It was a cold and windy Saturday that the Tigers travelled to Walgett for a date with the leaders of the competition.
Both Yetta and Walgett were lacking numbers but this didn’t stop the show both teams put on.
The Tigers, who were fighting to stay alive in the competition after beating the Brewarrina Goo-Gars the previous weekend, were keen for a win.
They came out full of confidence but the Dragons had other plans, displaying some entertaining football with both big hits and tries.
Coached by Buddy Simpson, the Dragons looked fit and well-drilled as they put on a show for the fans, who came out in the cold to support their team.
Walgett crossed the line numerous times with front rower Kevin Kennedy picking up four tries.
Rico Lane had a good day with the boot slotting five from eight.
The Yetta Tigers did show they can score points, racking up five tries of their own, but only converting two of those.
The final score was 48 to 24 in Walgett’s favour.
Walgett Dragons: Tries: Kevin Kennedy (4), Steven Dennis (2), Robert Peters (1), Kevin Murray (1) and Douglas Dixon (1). Goals: Rico Lane (5) and Kevin Murray (1).
Yetta Tigers: Tries: Raymond Brown (2), Lloyd Kennedy (1), Les Edwards (1) and Mervyn Orcher (1). Goals: Mervyn Orcher (1) and Lloyd Kennedy (1).
Last weekend there was a general bye because of school holidays.
This weekend the representative teams will travel to Nyngan to play.
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