THERE were zero mercy from the Bathurst Bushrangers in their comprehensive 70-point victory over the Orange Tigers in Saturday's AFL Central West men's top tier clash at Waratahs.
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On an unusually warm day the Bushrangers added extra heat on a Tigers side battling for a finals place, storming out to an early lead and running out 14-14-98 to 3-10-28 winners.
The high temperature but slow ground didn't hold the unbeaten Bushrangers back as they kept the hosts to just a solitary goal over the opening three quarters.
"It was a tough day out there and pretty wet. It's nice late in the season to be playing some good footy," Bushrangers' Ben Horn said.
"It wasn't as clean as we would have liked but it was a good hit out. There will definitely be some sort people out there tomorrow, I reckon."
Bushrangers' dominance in the ruck and the efforts of their defence made inside 50s for the Tigers a tough thing to come by.
The pressure in that area never relented in the opening half and the visitors shot out to a 7-8-50 to 1-6-11 lead at the main break.
The Bushrangers' ever-changing half back line has been a talking point of 2020, with the club's depth in that area of the field helping them adapt to anything that comes their way.
"We've got a pretty explosive half back line. There's a lot of run and a lot of pace there," Horn said.
"I think our forward line structure works as well with the bigger, open ground. There's a lot of space for us to lead into and to set up goals."
Harry Bowden was once again a force in the ruck while Horn also praised the efforts of Jason Masclet.
"He was everywhere all game. He's clean with the footy. He's getting smashed all the game but always getting back up. He's tough as nails," he said.
Victory extends the Bushrangers' winning run to six games with two matches left in the remainder of the regular season.
"We know that footy is a weird game and it's a weird season so we can't afford to have any lapses in composure. We have to be on every game and there's no room for complacency," Horn said.
BATHURST BUSHRANGERS 14-14-98 (Peter Grundy 3, Andy James 3, Jimmy Smith, Ben Horn, Riley Holland, Jason Masclet, Bill Watterson, Grady Tapping, Tim Hunter, Adam Ryan) defeated ORANGE TIGERS 3-10-28 (Zach Cullis, Callan Naden, Matt Fyfe)
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