A cold, foggy Forbes greeted the Groundtek Junior Pythons as they all ran on the field at 10.00am Sunday morning for the beginning of their next gala day.
Starting with the under 8's first, today was a very auspicious day, as Matthew Cramp scored his first every try and what a beauty it was.
Matt dodged through some very tight Emus defence before he stretched out and scored in the corner.
Will Fagan and Jonah Richards scored the Pythons second and third tries as they showed they had forgotten none of their attacking skills since the Bathurst Gala Day.
Peter Harrison, Tom Robson and Noah Richards formed the basis of the defensive effort as they limited Emus scoring chances.
Toby Harrison and Will Fagan led the charge in attack, as the Pythons better passing and support play saw a corresponding increase in team work.
The 8's next opponents were Macquarie Emus and they proved tougher opposition than their Orange counterparts.
A tighter defence from Macquarie limited the Pythons attacking opportunities.
Noah Richards made strong runs which just failed to earn a score, as he was double tapped, tackled just short of the line.
The speed of the eights was needed in defence as Toby and Peter Harrison and Jonah Richards were called on to run down their Macquarie opponents and prevent tries with deft 'tackles'.
In the 8's third game, against Cowra, Tom Robson just ran straight up the middle and left opponents floundering in his wake.
Joe Clarke chimed in with determined runs of his won but again the Pythons just failed to cross the line.
Following up his try in the first game Matthew Cramp ran down the blind side, slipped through the defence and scored in the corner which caused paroxysms of delight along the sideline.
The tremendous 10's first game was against Forbes and this terrific team continued to attack, attack and attack.
Tim Middleton and Josh Trayhern created havoc all over the field as they ran at will from anywhere on the field, through the defence and over the line for a try.
Tim finished up with four tries, while Josh scored three and George Carroll scored one.
These try-scoring dynamos were backed up with strong runs from jack Beath, Cormac Lamond and Peter McNamara.
Levi Richards, Ben Harrison, Brendan ‘Dozer' Morgan-Smith and Alexander Bennett used their agility in defence as they prevented Forbes making any attacking raids.
The stupendous undefeated 10's then took on the old enemy Cowra in the second game and the try festival continued.
Speedy Ben Harrison started the ball rolling as he made a beeline for the try line early in the game.
Josh gained the ball in the next phase and ran the short distance over the line.
Bulldozer Morgan Smith and Jack Beath combined up front before the ball went to Tim Middleton for the teams next try.
In the critical period around half time the Pythons took the heart out of their Cowra opponents as Josh scored a try either side of the break, both featured his scintillating weaving, determined running style.
Integral to the free-wheeling runs of Josh was the assistance given by the other backs as the little general, Peter McNamara directed play from the base of set plays.
Defence was just as important to the stupendous tens as Levi Richards, Peter McNamara and Josh Trayhern pulled off last-ditch tackles, which kept the Cowra side from scoring until the last minutes of the game.
The final game against Dubbo was played under the impartial eye of Geoff Beath, who was called on at the last minute to adjudicate the two sky blue teams, and he did an excellent job.
Cormac Lamond, George Carroll, Dozer Brendan, and Jack Beath laid a strong platform up front as they made yards up field, with shoelaces trailing, in Cormac's case.
The under 10's again went on a try scoring spree with Josh bagging another four tries while Tim scored a tough try as he dragged himself and half the opposition forward pack over the line with him.
Ben Harrison's try was a ripper as he dashed down the left side of the field, through three defenders and scored in the corner.
Great last ditch tackles from Tim, Levi and Josh also ensured that the Dubbo side only scored the one try.
The under 10's completed their day with three wins and it was noted from the sideline, that this was achieved with no subs, no injuries and no tears, something no other team could boast.
The 10's thank stand in coaches Ken McNamara and Craig Lamond for all their assistance on the day and we all wish super coach no. 2 Peter Middleton, all the best as he recovers from his recent surgery.
Get well soon coach.
The under 12's met home side Forbes in a difficult first game where the attack was much quieter than their under 10's team mates.
The Middleton genes were still strong though as Dan Middleton led from the front and scored the teams' two tries.
The second try came after excellent team work which saw the 12's retain possession through many phases and work their way up to the line before Dan completed the moves with the try.
Isaac Beath, Tom Brown, Lachie Clulow and Stewart Russell did the tough work up front as they pressured the Forbes pack throughout the game.
Halves Wallace Stranger and Zac Rue combined well at the base of the scrum as they directed the backs and formed the last line of defence which prevented many Forbes tries.
The 12's second game was against Parkes and this started in a much livelier way as Wallace took the ball from the back of a ruck and blindsided the opposition as he ran down and scored in the corner.
Parkes had little time to recover as Dan caught the ball from the kick off and evaded all defenders before he scored the teams second try.
Isaac Beath showed the benefit of backing up the ball carrier with a try of his own after he shadowed Connor Bennett on a long run before Isaac received the ball and scored in the corner.
This was repeated just before half time as Wallace Stranger went for a run before he offloaded to Dan who scored his third try of the game.
Not wanting to be shown up five eight Zac Rue scored his own try after another long initial run from Connor Bennett.
Connor was finally rewarded with a try of his own after Isaac turned the ball over in a tackle and fed the ball to Connor who scored wide out.
It wasn't all attack as good defence ensured that Parkes were kept to one try.
Lachie, Isaac Dan and Tom tackled well and often ensured that the ball was turned over allowing the Pythons backs to turn defence into attack.
The 12's final game was against Cowra and things didn't look good as Cowra ran in two fairly quick tries before the Pythons had time to settle.
However bolstered by two players from Bathurst the Pythons gradually turned things around and two tries to Dan Middleton ensured the game was again close.
Right on half time Zac Rue evened it up a three apiece after a scintillating run down the left touch line.
Connor Bennett put the Pythons in front for the first time as he scored in the right hand corner after bamboozling the Cowra defence with his zigzag cross field running.
Dan crossed the line for his last score of the day to put the game beyond doubt late in the half and strong tackling from Wallace Stranger, supported by Stewart Russell, kept Cowra scoreless in the second half.
The Next Gala Day for the Junior Pythons is on July 23, followed by Canowindra's Gala Day on August 6.
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