The Pythons headed to Spicer Oval in Parkes this weekend to take on the Boars, the final 'unknown' team on the Canowindra rugby calendar this year.
The Colts kicked-off the day's preceedings, and in a similiar style to their previous game started the game sluggishly.
This enabled the Boars to get on top of the Python's colts from the beginning and they refused to let up at any stage. By the time the young Python's began to play the football that saw them beat Mudgee and hold Forbes to a narrow win, the game was well and truly lost. Coach, John Nugent, was disappointed with the effort and believed that the boys let themselves down in the first half with poor defense and no enthusiasm to play as a team unit. He did state however that there were some pleasing aspects in the second half, and that he still thought they could force their way into the semi-finals with strong efforts against Mudgee, Wellington and Forbes in coming weeks.
Despite Saturday's result which saw the colts lose 57-0, some players deserve special mention for their efforts. Joel Toole led the side in the second half and deserved his 3 points for some up-front defence, Cameran Guihot tried hard all game and earned himself 2 points, an effort made even more heartening by the fact he had just finished his juniour league game, and 1 point went to young prop Andrew Fischer for another steely effort.
Players-player went to Charles ‘Chucky' Lawrence who worked over-time in the centres when centre partner James Davis came off with ankle damage.
The first grade game was the next ‘official' game to take place, due to the unfortunate forfeiting of the second grade clash due to lack of numbers.
Thankyou to all those players who turned up to play and helped keep the crowd entertained with a very entertaining game of tens rugby.
The Parkes club was very appreciative that our players were able to help out so that there wasn't a large gap in the program for the day.
Canowindra's first grade clash with the Boars turned out to be a very enthralling and evenly contested match. The first half saw the both teams exchange the upper-hand on numerous occasions, as neither team was able to gain the authority.
Both teams had their chances to put points on the board, however it was the desperation defense of both teams that saw the teams head to the break with a Nil-all score line. Despite the score line, none of the large crowd would have been disappointed in the style that the game was being played in, with heavy clashes in the forwards and fierce competition for the ball being the order of the day. Both teams were noticeably drained from the first half encounter as they ‘reached for the oranges'.
The start of the second half saw Parkes gain an early try from a lucky piece of play, which saw the Boar's five-eighth putting his foot to a loose ball.
The ball sat up beautifully for him in the in-goal, enabling him the easiest of touch downs. From then on the Parkes team got a bit of a roll on and were able to maintain a bit of momentum, scoring a try out wide after many phases of defense, then scoring again later in the match with a play from the loose forwards. Parkes were able to convert all three tries, leaving the full-time score at 21-0.
Three points and Players-player went to Jimmy Wythes for another spectacular effort which should see his name been touted when Central West selections come up next season. Two points went to Hilton Jackson who played tremendously well, especially considering a knock he took in the first half which nearly sidelined him for the game, and one point was shared between Joe Wythes and Duncan Wallace for good sustained efforts in both defense and attack.
Despite the loss, the game was encouraging for the Canowindra players, and now that they have seen all the clubs in the competition there is a real positive vibe in the club, with the realisation that they are genuine semi-final contenders. Out of all the clubs in the competition it seems the Pythons are the big improvers each week, and if the boys continue playing with the passion shown in the last few weeks big things could be expected.
This Saturday sees the big return clash with Cowra, who will be back to try and ease the memory of their last trip to the ‘Snake Pit'. The day coincides with our annual Lady's Day.
All female supporters will receive free entry to the game and also receive some complimentry wine and nibblies during the first and second grade fixtures. Entertainment will also be provided in the clubhouse to keep the day's festivities rolling on after presentations.
We hope to see a large crowd on the day to cheer on the local boys!!
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