Last time the Wellington Cowboys went toe-to-toe with Dubbo CYMS, they were on the wrong end of a 104-6 scoreline.
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On Sunday, they lost by just six points.
Cowboys coach Aidan Ryan said even he couldn’t believe how far his team had come.
He wasn’t worried they didn’t claim the win. Instead he was already thinking about next time the sides meet.
“They beat us by 100 points last year so it’s an amazing turnaround. I couldn’t be prouder of the guys’ effort,” Ryan said.
“We’ve got to keep working hard at training, working on the fundamentals and come next round, CYMS know they’ll be in for a big game,” he said.
Wellington raced out of the blocks, scoring from their first set of six and getting out to a 14-0 lead before CYMS regained their composure and started their chase.
The Cowboys lost the lead at the beginning of the second half but Ryan was pleased with the way his side stayed in the contest.
“I knew CYMS would keep coming at us all day. It’s a credit to them and they’ve had that side for years and worked hard,” the captain-coach said.
“We’re trying to gel together and that’s starting to happen. I think it’s a positive the scoreline is only 24-18. I think they’ve beat every other team by 40-plus so far.
“We’re missing three first graders and they were near full-strength so once we get them back, they’ll be a boost.”
Ryan had extra reason to be happy with former NRL leading tryscorer Nathan Merritt making his debut for the club.
“It’s good having Merro here. He played well and set up a good try, made a few breaks so he’s still got it. He aimed up in defence, a few guys will be feeling it for a couple of days,” the coach said.
“We’ve got Justin [Toomey-White] and Merro on that left edge together and once they gel, they’ll be near unstoppable.”
Unfortunately for Ryan, he is facing a stint on the sidelines after dislocating his knee in the CYMS clash. He will find out later in the week how serious the dislocation is and how long he will be out.
Brogan Black was another who was injured in the match. He was caught in an awkward position during a tackle, with a player falling on him and stressing his neck.
He was taken by ambulance to Orange but was later cleared of any serious injury.
Wellington will take on Forbes in another home match at Kennard Park on Sunday, with Ryan confident his team would continue to improve.
“I think our defence has been outstanding but there some one-percenters we still have to work on if we want to be able to match the likes of CYMS,” he said.
