CONTINUITY was key for the Gunnedah Red Devils who powered to a 50-39 demolition of Scone on Saturday.
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“Worked with the forwards getting a bit more continuity and that worked very for them today,” Gunnedah coach Jason Waerea said.
The Devils didn’t have it all their own way in the Central North Rugby Union tier 2 clash.
Scone closed the margin to a try early in the second half but Gunnedah held out.
The winning match-day points ensures the Devils remain within a sniff of the top-placed tier 2 side, Quirindi.
The top-placed tier 2 team at the completion of regular season rounds will be eligible for finals series and ultimately a CNRU premiership.
Safe to say, last weekend’s win was a weight off the shoulders for coach Waerea.
“We were pretty worried about numbers start of the week so pretty chuffed to get the win,” Waerea said, still feeling the effects of his cameo appearance earlier that day.
He dusted off the cleats for a stint in the heavily undermanned Devils second grade which despite playing with just 11-12 men, lost narrowly to Scone 39-31.
Last weekend’s win followed a tough few weeks for the Gunnedah First XI.
Flogged by Barraba 55-14 in the previous round, the Devils were at their lowest.
“Last week they got really down on themselves, they started to lose structure, they were getting a bit lost, running into each other... there was a fair bit of frustration,” Waerea said.
But the side resolved that it was capable of much better and showed on Saturday.
Pick of the Gunnedah players was fullback DJ Morrison.
“He had a cracker,” Waerea said. “His return of ball has been excellent.
“He’s had a lot of confidence in the last few weeks.
When he runs the ball, he’s a bit of a handful
- Devils coach Jason Waerea on fullback DJ Morrison.
“It’s good to see because when he runs with the ball, he’s a bit of a handful.”
While the second half performance offered plenty for the highlight reel, the opening 40-minute period was still an area for improvement.
“We generally start slow and Scone put two tries on us very quickly,” Waerea said.
“It was only after that that the boys started to get their attitude right.”
A little tunnel-vision prevailed at times as the Gunnedah forwards pressed on despite unmarked players on the flank. The coach thought their ability in defence to “grass” opposition players was improved on previous weeks.
In other tier 2 results, Tamworth Magpies accounted for Quirindi 22-17, while in tier 1 Pirates defeated Moree 38-25 and Walcha beat Inverell 16-10.
Gunnedah play Tamworth at Tamworth this weekend, before facing Quirindi at Gunnedah on August 6.