Oberon, Orange United and CSU prove they are up to Woodbridge Cup task

This past weekend saw the return of the Woodbridge Cup, with points, points and more points the calling card.

But amongst the many, many tries that were put on the board, there was a larger question that loomed over the heads of the clubs. That question was, "will the Mid-West Cup sides be able to hold their own?"

Even prior to the calendar ticking over to 2022, there were many discussions about a possible merger between the Mid-West teams and the Woodbridge competition.

After months of umming and ahing, it was finally determined that three teams - CSU, Oberon and Orange United - would make the move to Woodbridge.

This would no doubt have been a disappointment for not only those clubs who were forced to make the move or remain homeless, but clubs such as the Lithgow Bears and Portland Colts who confirmed they would be unable to play at all this year due to lack of numbers.

So a merger it was.

This also just so happened to come in the same year that the Peter McDonald Premiership was created which saw the combination of Group 10 and Group 11 teams.

They kicked off two weeks prior to the Woodbridge and it gave people a lot to talk about.

Even the most devout of Group 10 loyalists would have been a little surprised by the round one results.

Orange CYMS late penalty secured them a last gasp win over Nyngan, Hawks' new-look side upset Group 11 powerhouse Dubbo CYMS and Bathurst St. Pat's put on 24 unanswered points to mount a massive comeback against Parkes.

In other words, Group 10 dominated their new rivals despite many picking their competition as the underdogs heading into the season.

Similar comparisons were made with the Woodbridge Cup, with the trio of Mid-West teams seen as "lesser" by some.

But this first weekend of footy showed any and all doubters that not only are the Mid-West teams able to cut the mustard, they may just be knocking on the door of a title come the end of the year.

All three of the newcomers played games on the Saturday, with Oberon and CSU each bagging victories over Eugowra and Grenfell respectively, while Orange United suffered a narrow loss against Peak Hill, although the Warriors were without their star signing of the season, Josh Dugan, who will be out injured for a few weeks.

The Tigers were arguably the most impressive in their win, with Oberon fielding just the bare 13 players for the entirety of the match.

"One of the boys pulled out at 2.30pm, he rung me and said he was out and he was our only sub, so I just told everyone to improvise and play their hearts out and they did," Oberon captain-coach Abel Lefaoseu.

"Yeah I was real worried, I was worried about injuries and some guys were going down sore, but everyone was just lifting each other to get through. I'm just stoked with the boys for giving me all the ticker they had.

"It was hot too, we're from Oberon and it was cold, everyone was in hoodies, but we got there and it was hot as."

The match finished 48-24, with the visitors running in ten tries.

If they can do that with just 13 men, what are they able to accomplish when they are able to field a full squad?

Considering the Tigers didn't even feature in the Mid-West 2021 grand final, this result should send shockwaves down the rest of the Woodbridge competition.

Then there was the Mungoes.

They managed to edge out a narrow 42-40 win over the Goannas.

Mungoes coach Kurt Norton said it was a wild introduction to the Woodbridge Cup.

"I don't even know how to begin explaining it," he said.

"It was a tough day at the office. It was pretty one-sided in the first half. We defended and defended and we had no ball. There were a lot of silly errors.

"It was hard not knowing what to expect going into this competition. Playing the 80 minutes was a new experience too."

It is that uncertainty with all clubs involved that will no doubt be a talking point in the early stages of the season. While Mid-West clubs don't know a whole lot about their opposition, the same could be said about the Woodbridge sides' knowledge of their new rivals.

In a way, this is the truest test of a team, where strategy and game-planning goes out the window and the play on the field is highlighted.

Although the Mid-West clubs weren't able to go three from three in round one - with Orange United suffering a close loss to Peak Hill - it showed they are certainly no pushovers for 2022.

By no means does this mean you should start pencil in a Mungoes, Warriors or Tigers premiership just yet, but what it does mean is that we should be in for one of the most entertaining years of Woodbridge Cup we've had in quite some time.

We at the Central Western Daily predicted big things for both the Mungoes and Warriors this year, but could we have still undersold how good the Mid-West boys would be?

We're only one round in, but already this merger has proved a winner in our eyes.

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