Off the back of excellent halves ball movement, Hawks' Ethan Young reaped rewards on Sunday as Orange Hawks and CYMS played in their first 18s derby of the season.
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The second-rower showed on Sunday that he's a man for the big occasion, scoring a sensational double as Hawks defeated Orange CYMS 28-22 in their local derby - an identical scoreline to first grade.
Other try-scorers for Hawks were Ben Maher and Connor Vardanega.
With the two tries coming in a derby, Young agreed it made his tally even more special.
"It was a good feeling, the boys getting around us meant we were even more hyped up," he said.
"It was the first time our under 18s have beaten CYMS in the past seven years so it really meant a lot to us."
With Hawks conceding 68 points coming into the fixture, the second-rower believes a defensive mindset allowed his side to excel.
Young was also complimentary of his halves, stating that the majority of tries came out wide.
"In our past games, our defence has let us down," he said.
"On Sunday's match we toughened up a lot and off the back of that our halves got to play a bit of footy and we got over the line."
With Hawks now winning two in a row after a slow start to the season, Young said there's an air of positivity growing within the squad.
"Coming off those losses and then winning two in a row has given us a lot of confidence and we're starting to play really good footy lately," he said.
With the under 18s a part of the newly formed Peter McDonald Premiership, Hawks' first two games came against Group 11 outfits, Dubbo CYMS and Nyngan Tigers, with Young loving the contest against new teams.
"It's really opened up the competition, there's a lot of good footy players from Group 10 and Group 11 so it's a really good battle between everyone," he said.
This weekend will see Hawks head to Bathurst to play Panthers while CYMS are at home against Lithgow Workies Wolves.
Hawks have now moved to seventh on the ladder while CYMS are ninth.
Orange Hawks 18s 28 (Ethan Young 2, Ben Maher, Connor Vardanega, not available tries; Kaydden Hoad 4 conversions) defeated Orange CYMS 18s 22 (Nick Murphy 2, Arnie Tancred 2 tries; Nick Murphy 3 conversions)
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