All the talk in the lead-up to Western's league tag derby was about the speed in Group 11's line-up but come the end of Saturday's game it was the little speedsters in Group 10's side that had the biggest say.
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Blues fullback Erin Naden and winger Jes Pearson blazed Group 10 to a 24-6 win, the visitors scoring three-tries-to-none in the second stanza to blow the red and blacks off the park.
Pearson finished the game with three tries while Naden bagged one in the first term and proved she's one of the fastest players in the region when she ran down renowned Group 11 gun India Draper.
Naden will just about be a lock in the No.1 for Western's league tag country championship tilt in July - that squad will be named this week - but Pearson would now have to be a smokey after proving to be a quality finisher outside the likes of St Pat's halves Bronte Emanuel and Mish Somers, the later finishing Saturday's game with player of the match honours.
It was Pearson's first senior game for Group 10 and her efforts helped keep the representative side's unbeaten run in the western league tag game intact.
The Group 10 girls have now won all seven Rams championships and Pearson was buzzing after the victory, although she says it was a massive step up from her regular league tag with Orange Hawks.
"I'm the youngest in the side. I've just turned 16. It was pretty hard," Pearson said.
"I didn't think I was going to make the team. I had thought about it but it didn't phase me if I didn't but to come away with three tries ... having Mish and Bronte there, it was great."
Pearson scored the final try of the first-half, one that helped Group 10 leap back in front of Group 11 after the hosts fired a massive warning shot with a tremendous, 50-metre try on the back of an Alahna Ryan break and Draper try.
That was as good as it got for the young Group 11 side, though, Pearson scoring twice more in the second half while Blayney's Sophie Stammers also crossed to launch the Group 10 girls into seventh heaven.
"I had to tippy-toe down the sideline for one of them," Pearson said looking back at her second try.
"They were fast, the Group 11 girls, and pretty fit too."
It was really fast, particularly in the second-half; they grew legs and I found we weren't pushing up.
- Group 11 skipper Nic Grose.
Group 11 rake Nic Grose said her side started just as they'd wished to - fast - but they couldn't maintain that level for the full 60 minutes.
"I think their experience won them that game, to be fair," she added.
"They are quality and it's a really good game to play in. You don't get to play in many really fast games like that and that's what rep sport is all about.
"It was really fast, particularly in the second-half; they grew legs and I found we weren't pushing up. We lost our momentum but the effort was always there."
- GROUP TEN 24 (Jes Pearson 3, Sophie Stammers, Erin Naden tries; Mish Somers 2 goals) def GROUP ELEVEN 6 (India Draper try; Kimemka Bermingham goal)
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