A SIX-TRY effort from player of the match Olivia Patterson helped Emus Chicks to a 42-0 Blowes Clothing Cup women’s grand final victory on Saturday.
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Playing at Endeavour Oval, Orange Emus’ home ground, the Emus Chicks made the most of their numbers advantage to score the convincing win.
Emus Chicks captain Charmaine Buckley was delighted with the win, her first title.
“I’ve been playing rugby for 20 years and I’ve finally won a grand final. They were calling me a jinx for a while there,” Buckley laughed.
“(Winning) was all about trying to stay calm, not get taken away with the whole grand final atmosphere. So just staying calm and doing what we do and it just worked out for us.”
Rhinos only had 10 players for the decider and were always going to find the going tough but they proved a challenge for the full strength Chicks.
VIDEO: What Emus Chicks captain Charmaine Buckley had to say:
“We always knew they were going to be really tough and they were premiers,” Buckley said of Rhinos.
“It was always going to be a tough game. They sure came out firing even though they were short.
“We were down on our tryline for a while and we kept them out which was really great but those guys came hard. It was a testament to all the [Emus] girls to be getting there to be manning up and to be getting off that line to keep them out.”
Emus Chicks had a blinding start with Patterson scoring her first two tries in the opening four minutes for the home side to lead 14-0.
It was 28-0 at the break after a further two five-pointers to Patterson along with conversions to Jess Edwards and Amber Willard.
VIDEO: What Emus Chicks' Olivia Patterson said after full time:
Emus’ lead was pushed out to 42-0 eight minutes into the second half but then Rhinos had some possession.
They camped in Emus’ 22 for much of the final 10 minutes and threatened to score more than once.
The Emus Chicks’ defence had to be at its best and it withstood the pressure to claim the big trophy.
Dubbo Rhinos coach Abdul Dargham couldn’t fault his 10 players and their impressive efforts.
“The whole team played well,” Dargham said.
It was no surprise Patterson was named player of the match after her six tries, which were all scored under the posts.
“So she’s got great vision which is what you need. She’s happy to take on the line which is great,” Buckley said of the star fullback.
The coach also praised young prop Nikita Campbell, who was strong in the contested scrums, and winger Stacey Howarth, who took on the line with aggression but was also solid in defence.
ORANGE EMUS CHICKS 42 (Olivia Patterson 6 tries; Jess Edwards 5, Amber Willard goals) def DUBBO RHINOS 0.