DUBBO Kangaroos will head into this weekend’s Blowes Clothing Cup qualifying final full of confidence after racking up 11 tries in a 71-0 blowout of cross-town rivals Dubbo Rhinos at Caltex Park on Saturday.
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It’s an often-used cliche but the truth of the matter is the scoreline wasn’t a reflection of the match, with Rhinos aiming up hard in defence but lacking the polish of the Roos when they had the ball in hand.
Roos coach Dan Armitage conceded as much, saying the physicality of the contest would help his side prepare for this weekend’s final at Forbes.
“The board says 71-0 but I thought the Rhinos were good. They always play hard in these derby games and I thought they did that again today,” Armitage said.
“The exchanges were willing, they hit hard and ran hard and we expected that.
“It’s a tough one because you want a solid hitout to prepare for finals and they gave it to us even though the result wasn’t tight in the end.
“The pleasing thing for us I thought was we played to our structures, stuck to our plans and that will hopefully hold us in good stead next week.”
After full-time it was Roos skipper Filisone Pauta who hoisted the Mark Melville Cup and he opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
Three subsequent tries, including a brace to winger Isaac Kinscher, gave the Roos a 26-0 lead at half-time and the bonus point.
Pauta also bagged the first try of the second stanza.
It was one of seven scored by the Roos as Armitage worked through his bench and gave a number of players some game time heading into the finals.
One player to come off the bench and have an impact was representative fullback Anthony Golding, who scored two brilliant tries in the dying stages of the match and sent a warning to the Roos’ semi-final rivals that he is in good form.
For their part the Rhinos were gallant and co-coach Dave Stuart said he was proud of what his group had achieved in their first season back in the upper echelon of central west rugby.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, and it hasn’t been, but right up to the end today our boys toughed it out,” Stuart said.
“Credit to the Roos, they played well today, were too good, and they will go a long way in the finals.
“But I was proud of how we took it to them, particularly in the early stages, and right up to the end they were giving it their absolute best.
“You can’t ask for much more than that and if we can keep the bulk of this group together we will improve again next year.”
DUBBO KANGAROOS 71 (Filisone Pauta 2, Isaac Kinscher 2, Anthony Golding 2, James Mata, Ted Bates, Brad Pugh, Jake Scott, Sam Clements tries; Mata 5, Golding 3 convs) def DUBBO RHINOS 0
