A last-minute Fletcher Rose hurrah was the only thing that saved Orange City from another scoreless week against Bathurst Bulldogs in the Blowes Clothing Cup on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rose went over with two minutes on the clock to the delight of the windswept home Pride Park crowd to make the final margin 57-5, ending 78 minutes of dominance from a Bathurst Bulldogs side who were nearly flawless in their execution.
The Lions held the competition-leaders scoreless for the first 15 minutes of the clash, producing some decent pushes forward and holding the Bulldogs back from the line.
I can't fault our effort, we kept turning up and our scrum was going backwards but our forwards stayed in the fight the whole game.
- Orange City coach Viv Paasi
When Alex Weal crossed the line to open the visitor's accounts and Will Oldham converted, the tries threatened to flood in.
For a short while the Lions' feet were wet but their cuffs were bone dry, however eventually the dam wall broke as Harry Peacock streamed down the outside and offloading to Harry Webber before Peacock crossed himself minutes later.
The Bulldogs' scrum pushed another try across the line for Weal's second, and at the half-time break Bulldogs had put the score to 24-nil and were looking ominous.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Bulldogs proved again why they're the undisputed competition leaders.
Phil Tonkin sidestepped through the pack with some mesmerising footwork for the Bulldogs' fifth try, before another scrum led to Hayden Christie-Johnson, and an Oldham conversion, pushing the score to 36-nil.
But the Lions' endeavour never faltered - Alex Weal laid a massive tackle on Ben Dennis on the wing to prevent a certain try, AJ McNiven never dropped his head and both Tom Nell and Will Ryan played on despite huge knocks, with Nell especially proppy.
Bulldogs skipper Peter Fitzsimons hit the scoreboard after finding enough space to drive through the Lions' defence, and despite the efforts from the hosts a score seemed elusive - until it wasn't.
A run down the outside wing and some excellent work from Keegan Harding set Rose up to go over, and the try was something which delighted City coach Viv Paasi after the game.
"Usually when you're down by 50 points you're head down and not willing to have a crack and still try and score and it's a credit to the guys and their mentality," he said.
"I can't fault our effort, we kept turning up and our scrum was going backwards but our forwards stayed in the fight the whole game.
"I think the whole team stayed in the fight the whole game and I think that was shown by trying scoring that try at the end."
He was especially pleased with the opening 10 minutes, taking the game right to the Bulldogs and holding structure.
"Bathurst are the best side in the competition in my opinion ... so for us to be able to turn over some ball and make good decisions in defence was really good."
Harry Tabener came off injured, as did Tom Wescott which left the Lions undermanned and leaning on Darcy Hunt who backed up a full second-grade game with 75 minutes in the top tier and was "outstanding", while Lachlan Blunt and Duncan Young impressed Paasi.
"AJ McNiven was huge for us today," he added.
Meanwhile, Bulldogs coach Dean Oxley praised his men for keeping it simple in the lead-up to the game.
"We spoke during the week about being disciplined. We know if you are complacent in these games that's when you lose them.
"The way the boys stuck to their structures was really impressive and something I wanted them to own."
He praised his skipper Fitzsimons, while Weber had an "outstanding game on the wing".
"Will Oldham had one of his best games for the year defensively and his goalkicking was outstanding," Oxley said.
Bathurst Bulldogs 57 (Alex Weal, Harry Webber 2, Scott Johnstono, Harrison Peacock, Phil Tonkin, Peter Fitzsimons tries; Will Oldham 6 conversions) def Orange City 5 (Fletcher Rose try)
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...