TWO tries from Kieran Shipp and a five-star performance from Matt Naden has helped defending Group 11 premiers Dubbo CYMS survive a major scare against local rivals Dubbo Westside,
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The Fishies had to come from behind on two occasions when the sides met at Caltex Park on Saturday night, before eventually winning 36-28.
Shipp bobbed up in the right place twice late in the contest, while Naden scored a try of his own and played a hand in two others in a clash which neither side deserved to lose.
While it was only round two, and the weather conditions were not conducive to open football, the standard of play was remarkably high from both sides.
In a tight opening 40 minutes it was Westside who had the better chances, and they capitalised with three tries, including a length-of-the-field effort from halfback Swade Dunn, to take a 14-12 lead into the break.
The lead would have been more but for a Naden chip-and-chase that resulted in a try just prior to the break.
Shortly after the resumption of play, CYMS hooker Alex Bonham put his side in the lead with a try from dummy-half, but as they did all night Westside would not lie down.
Winger Sam Coe scored an opportunistic try from a CYMS error on their own line to level the scores before EJ Fernando's second four-pointer of the night gave his side the lead with 24 minutes remaining.
New recruit Ash Conn scored his first try for his club to put CYMS back in front, and when Shipp scored his first in the 67th minute to give CYMS a 28-22 lead the game looked done.
Nobody told the Rabbitohs though, with Buddy Louie scoring off a pinpoint kick from Dunn, leaving the scores locked with just six minutes to play.
But Louie went from hero to villain in a matter of a minute, losing the ball after a big hit from Naden.
Unfortunately the ball lobbed into Shipp's hands and he bolted 40 metres to secure the two points, with a late Colby Pellow penalty the icing on the cake for CYMS.
"I thought it was a really good game of football and Westside really pushed us. Credit to them," CYMS coach Tim Ryan said.
"Being a local derby we knew they would come hard at us, and they have built a really good football side. They will win a lot of games this year.
"I thought Matt Naden was our best player today. He stood up when we were threatened there a couple of times. Those ugly wins are always a good sign of how good your team is going."
For Westside mentor Robbie Dunn, the loss was hard to take but filled him with confidence as the club looks to improve in its second season in Group 11.
"CYMS are the defending premiers and we've pushed them to eight points. It would have been nice to win obviously but we played well so I'm happy," he said.
"We're building a squad so it will take time but there's some real positives to take from that match. Little things let us down but we'll work on them and get better."
o DUBBO CYMS 36 (Kieran Shipp 2, Jordan Reynolds, Matt Naden, Alex Bonham, Ash Conn tries; Colby Pellow 6 goals) defeated DUBBO WESTSIDE 28 (EJ Fernando 2, Steve Riley, Swade Dunn, Sam Coe, Buddy Louie tries; Dunn 2 goals)