FIVE try assists to help the Group 10 under 18s to a victory over fierce rivals Group 11 - Jesse Buchan has achieved plenty in his league career thus far but that effort in Saturday's representative match will no doubt rank near the top of his highlights list.
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The Orange CYMS talent was a standout at centre for Group 10 and was only narrowly nudged out by club-mate Nick Murphy for best on ground honours in the 42-10 win.
After Group 11 started the contest at Lithgow's Tony Luchetti Sportsground the stronger of the pair, it was two brilliant surges from Buchan that switched momentum.
His first barnstorming run down the right edge led to lock Tom Negus scoring the opening try of the match and when he sliced through Group 11's defence again in the 11th minute, it was the catalyst for another four-pointer.
Buchan continued to be a threat in the second half as he notched up two more line breaks and three additional try assists.
"I had no idea, we just worked hard and the opportunities were there," Buchan said of his efforts.
"Having that combination with Nick was great, it especially helps that he's from the same club as well, it meant we had the chance during the season so far to gel a bit, it was good having Kado [second rower Kaden Williams] there as well."
While Buchan was a standout on Saturday, his talent is no secret.
In his time playing in Group 10 Junior Rugby League competitions his efforts included scoring three tries for CYMS in the under 13s grand final in 2016 and skippering the under 15 green and gold side to premiership glory in 2015.
- READ MORE: Group 10 posts 42-10 win over Group 11 in Western under 18s battle
- He toured New Zealand in 2016 as a member of the Group 10 under 13s and two years ago was a member of the Penrith Panthers' Harold Matthews Cup outfit which fell one win short of the grand final.
"The last game I played for Group 10 was when I was in under 14s I think, it's been a while, so it's good to chuck the jersey on again," Buchan said.
"It was great to win. At half-time we spoke about don't drop the energy, we knew they came out strong and would finish strong, so we had to make sure that when our subs came on, they had the same energy."
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