Bathurst St Pat’s under 16s skipper Blake Martin knew two things ahead of Sunday’s NAB Western Premiers Challenge against Red Bend at Carrington Park.
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The Forbes club was always going to be tough, but he also knew the blue and whites were tougher.
And that much was evident throughout St Pat’s resounding 38-18 victory over Red Bend in the western challenge opener on Sunday morning.
Led by star fullback Ash Cosgrove’s man of the match performance, the Group 10 under 16s champions effectively blew their more fancied opposition off the paddock in a seven-tries-to-three victory over the Lachlan league champions, an outfit that won through to the challenge after knocking off Dubbo premiers Wellington last Tuesday.
“We’ve never come up against them before but they smashed it out in their grand final and we knew we were in for a big test,” Martin said.
“The boys ripped in, the forwards worked hard and the backs topped it off for us.
“We scored early and that gave us confidence but they came back hard and tied us up ... but the forwards rolled on for us and that was the difference.”
It took 20 minutes for the opening points to arrive but Noah Cooney’s four-pointer opened the floodgates.
Four minutes later, Red Bend skipper Jack Hartwig came off the back fence to ram his way over and give the Forbes boys a 6-4 advantage and look every bit a side capable of kicking on and owning the clash.
But the momentum shifted again, and this time St Pat’s managed to cling on to it.
Tries to Josh Hanrahan, Cooney, Cosgrove and crafty five-eighth Tyler Colley – as well as three conversions from Colley – rocketed the hosts out to a 32-6 lead.
Given the amount of school footy, rep footy, and then in some cases senior footy, contested by a host of the Red Bend players in 2018, it didn’t surprise anyone to see the Forbes boys look tired.
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But a spirited final 10 minutes netted them a couple of well-deserved consolation tries, the first to Sam Raumati and then through Isaac Nash.
Colley scored the final try of the match to complete a double, rounding out the 38-18 scoreline.
“I’m not sure, it’d be quite a few,” Hartwig said when asked how many games he’s played this season.
“It does take a tole but the love of the game gets me through. I always love pulling on the jersey no matter who I’m playing for.
“They’re a really tough team, we were in it for a little bit but they were probably a bit fitter at the back end of the game.”
The Carrington Park clash marked Hartwig’s last junior game of the season, but not his last splash of foofy.
Contracted to the Canterbury Bulldogs, Hartwig flew to Sydney on Sunday night to take part in a camp at Belmore.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m going down to do a bit of training, learn a few skills to bring back home. I’m excited to get down there,” he added.
- BATHURST ST PAT’S 38 (Noah Cooney 2, Tyler Colley 2, Josh Hanrahan, Jayden Jenkins, Ash Cosgrove tries; Tyler Colley 5 goals) def RED BEND 18 (Jack Hartwig, Sam Raumati, Isaac Nash tries; Jack Peckham 3 goals)