Being able to win games on the road is crucial to any team’s chances of making the finals, and Dubbo Kangaroos struck a big blow on Saturday when they went to Parkes and took maximum points against the Boars with a 26-22 win.
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Having let victory slide against Forbes in round one, the Roos were keen to start well against the unbeaten hosts, who had scored big wins in their opening two contests.
And while Parkes scored the opening try of the contest, Shaun McHugh’s men got themselves into the contest and by half-time they led 19-10.
But Parkes are made of stern stuff, and got themselves back into the contest in the second half, taking a 22-19 before a late try to Billy Sing gave the Roos not only victory, but a bonus point.
“It was just a good, hard game of footy,” McHugh said.
“We wanted to try and put a bit of pressure on them early, because they haven’t had a lot of hard footy so far.
“But to their credit every time we got a bit of a break they fought back and in the end we were just lucky enough that we were in front when the final whistle sounded.
“Both sides were missing blokes, but for us we had Charlie Laurie come up from second grade and play well, and Kyle Gibson from our Colts also started and he got our three points. He had a massive game so that’s a good sign for the future.”
The Roos shared the spoils around, with forwards Brad Pugh and Ned Williams crossing for five-pointers, as well as outside backs Billy Sing and Viliame Turuva.
With the competition now enjoying a general bye, McHugh said it was the ideal time for players to get over niggles ahead of a tough five-week stretch.
“It’s been a stop-start beginning to the season but once we get through this next general bye we have CSU at home, go to Bathurst Bulldogs, then have the derby against Rhinos, play Mudgee and finish the first round against Emus.
“To go down to Parkes and get the points is big because we bank on hopefully winning most of our home games, so to pinch a win against another good team on their patch will be massive for us come the end of the season.”