The Canowindra Tigers played their best half of football for the season on Sunday, but a second half, 36-point rout courtesy of the Cargo Blue Heelers kept the Tigers winless.
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Played at Tom Clyburn Oval, Canowindra and Cargo were all square at 12-12 at the break and the Tigers were showcasing strong defence and enthusiasm which had been lacking in the opening rounds.
Canowindra responded on both occasions when Cargo took the advantage during the opening period, the latter try was scored with 14 minutes remaining when Bailey Cain toed ahead and scooped up the ball which was fumbled after a bomb off the boot of Dan Middleton.
The Tigers had opportunities to secure a lead before the break but the two sides were locked at 12-12 when the hooter sounded.
Coach Barry Traves praised Canowindra’s enthusiasm, defence and commitment at halftime.
Four minutes into the second half a Cargo 40/20 aided the visitors across the line and the momentum swung.
From there the Blue Heelers piled on six-unanswered tries, 36-points, while the Tigers struggled to complete sets and found themselves tackling for most of the second 40 minutes.
The final result was 48-12.
Coach Traves said Canowindra lacked the fundamentals during the second half.
“We didn’t execute the second half. We dropped our heads when we made mistakes. We were right in the game until 15 minutes in the second half but we let it get away from us.
“Fatigue probably set in late in the game due to continued mistakes and us having to do more and more tackling.”
Canowindra’s best on the day was fullback Bailey Cain who was heavily involved in both attack and defence.
He picked up the players’ player award and the three points.
Tigers centre Brydon Hughes was second in the hit-ups and collected two points while forwards Andrew Gallard and Alex Willson were recognised for their efforts going forward all day with one point each.
This weekend Canowindra’s first grade and league tag side has the bye while the youth league travels to Peak Hill.
The Tigers return to Tom Clyburn Oval on Sunday, May 14 to host Burrangong.
The game will coincide with Mothers Day and the club is planning on making it a special day for all mothers associated with rugby league.
Meanwhile, in the lower grades on Sunday both youth league and the league-tag sides were kept scoreless in their respective matches.
Both went down by 48-points. League-tag hosted Cargo while youth league took on Manildra.