The Canowindra Tigers celebrated their status as Woodbridge Cup finalists in League and League Tag with huge wins on Sunday at Tom Clyburn Oval against the bottom-of-the-table Eugowra Golden Eagles, who only put up two points over both matches.
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The Tigers were clearly keen to fine-tune their game ahead of respective clashes against Condobolin in League Tag and Grenfell in League, with the League Tag side winning 66-0, while the men's team won 82-2.
LEAGUE
Canowindra were relentless against the undermanned Golden Eagles, with full-back Frazer Ryder shining in the absence of the Hughes brothers, scoring four tries in the 80 point victory.
He wasn't the only to player to cash in during the win, with Semisi Tupou, Blaise Marsh and Harry Whatman all scoring two apiece in the rout, which cemented the Tigers as the fourth placed team ahead of this week's finals match up against the Grenfell Goannas.
The match was played as a ten-on-ten match after the Golden Eagles only arrived with ten players to take to the field, and from there it was a straight forward day for the hosts, with Frazer Ryder taking only six minutes to score the first try of the day.
The difference between the sides was evident quickly, with the Tigers up to 26-0 after 17 minutes, when Tupou scored his second of the day in frosty and windy conditions.
While the Tigers were impressive throughout, it is important to note that it wasn't an ideal match-up. Eugowra were crippled by the withdrawal of several players, creating the prospect of an uncompetitive spectacle.
To the Tigers' credit, they rotated the player who scored a try to the bench, and after each try, they kicked back to Eugowra ensure they had a chance of scoring; the Eagles returned the favour by scoring two field goals and fought out the game as bravely as they could.
For this gesture, all players received one vote in the best and fairest, while Andrew Kelleher received this week's Montrose House Player's Player award.
LEAGUE TAG
While Eugowra also struggled in their League Tag clash, that isn't to take away from the strength of the Tigeresses throughout, with captain-coach Alicia Earsman's team keeping their opposition scoreless ahead of this Saturday's elimination final.
There were plenty of strong performers in the day's big win, with Brittney Whatman (three votes), Kelly Price (two votes) and Jessica Perry (one vote) the best afield.
All the players were rewarded with a player's player vote for their efforts throughout the day, suggesting a team that is well advanced in its preparations for finals footy.
Finals Footy Comes to Canowindra
In a boon for the Tigers, this weekend's elimination finals will be hosted at Tom Clyburn Oval, with the Youth League set to kick things off from 12.20pm in a match-up between Cargo and Molong.
From 1.40pm, it will be the fourth placed Condobolin taking on the Tigeresses in a League Tag clash that is sure to be closely contested.
At 3pm, the Tigers will take on Goannas in a men's match-up that will allow the winner to advance to another sudden death final.
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