RUGBY LEAGUE
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IT’S as rare as hens teeth, but the mercy rule was invoked during halftime of Lithgow’s clash with Orange Hawks on Sunday, with Workies’ leading 40-0 at the time.
Hawks' player-coach Jared Broderick made the request to referee Jason Whitney with this side running out of players due to injuries, with the massive halftime deficit not aiding the two blues’ cause.
The visitors took the field with several first division players - who had already played a full match - due to the club suffering a unprecedented list of injuries, while a few premier league players were unavailable to travel to Lithgow.
After conferring with Workies, referee Whitney blew his whistle signifying fulltime with the Wolves winning by 40 points.
Lithgow coach Graeme Osborne was a touch unhappy about calling time with 40 minutes to go, but understood the situation.
“I would have liked to have played the game to give the boys a good hit out, but I can also see Hawks' plight, they were clearly struggling,” Osborne said.
“There is not much you can do about it.”
Osborne before the game showed good sportsmanship, offering Hawks unlimited interchange to help the two blues get through the game, while Workies would stay with the usual 10 interchanges.
It only took four minutes to see what was about to unfold when big Brendan West crashed through the Hawks' defence to post the first try.
From that point on it was a procession to the try line, with Workies gun Wayde Egan begging a brace as Corey Willmott, Brendon Van Veen and Ben Stewart scored tries, while Jono Van Veen kicked six goals in the windy conditions.
Hawks suffered a couple of injuries during the first half, making their replacement bench look fairly vacant.
Workies now sit second on the ladder following Bathurst St Pat's win over Mudgee on Saturday.