Wellington captain Justin Toomey-White insists his side has a lot of improvement in it despite the Cowboys solidifying their top three hopes with a commanding win over Westside on Sunday.
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Representative second-rower Toomey-White bagged a second half hat-trick in the 56-10 victory, one with keeps Wellington ahead of Parkes in second spot on the Group 11 ladder.
In a special NAIDOC round match where Westside wore one-off half-and-half jerseys, the Cowboys were a class above a depleted Westside outfit.
While missing a host of players themselves, the Cowboys ran in 10 tries to two in a fifth straight win.
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“We’re still building this year and still haven’t played our best footy but we’re trying to get the boys who are injured right for the end of the season,” Toomey-White said.
“We are taking it game by game because you never know what’s around the corner in this competition so we’ll just worry about ourselves and get the job done on Sunday and then prepare ourselves again afterwards.”
The sheer number of changes in both sides due to injury meant the first half failed to hit any great heights.
The score was locked at 6-all until the 22nd minute when Wellington took control. Will Lousick, Jarrin Fernando, Nathan Ryan and AJ Davis all scored before the break to set-up a 28-4 lead.
Toomey-White grabbed his first in the first set in the second half when going through some flimsy Westside defence and there was little stopping CJ Ralph when he went through to set up a 40-4 lead after 49 minutes.
Westside hit back through Claude Gordon but it was one-way traffic after that and Toomey-White scored twice in the final seven minutes to ice the result.
“We needed to have our best team on the park to challenge them,” Westside coaching coordinator Steve McLellan said.
“We had seven out today and that’s not an excuse but it impacts on us. Our reserve graders have won one game so it’s not like we’ve got the depth at the moment.
“We’ve got a bit of a bad run at the moment but we’ve got soldier on. There’s better days ahead for the club, I’ve got no doubt about that.”
The win for Wellington was slightly dampened by the sending off of coach Aidan Ryan from the sideline after he questioned a contentious forward pass call while Davis and Toomey-White also spent time in the bin.
And while there was a gulf in the sides on the field, they were united off it.
The two sets of players came together at the final whistle while a number of health and welfare service providers had tents around the ground during the day to offer help to people from either club and anywhere in the community.
“We know both clubs have about 98 percent Indigenous players and supporters so it’s really good,” Toomey-White said.
“The jerseys Westside came up with and the stalls here are really good for our communities and our people.
“We just bond together. We had a brilliant day in Wellington last time we met and another brilliant day today.”
- WELLINGTON COWBOYS 56 (Justin Toomey-White 3, Brock Naden, Will Lousick, Jarrin Fernando, Nathan Ryan, AJ Davis, CJ Ralph, James Stanley tries; Davis 8 goals) defeated DUBBO WESTSIDE 10 (Kyle Darcy, Claude Gordon tries; Daryl Cubby goal)
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
