Dubbo Kangaroos coach Simon Petelo found the low-energy first half of his side's clash with Orange City a little hard to explain, despite managing to rack up 32 - 14 victory that gives his team a three-in-a-row winning streak.
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"We were really slow off the mark, I think maybe it came down to both sides trying to suss each other out a bit," Petelo said.
"It was one of those sort of funny games when we play City, we don't really get them kicking to our strides
The first half of the game, played in the Roos backyard in Victoria Park, saw both sides struggling to make much of their time on the field with errors from both teams, and a streak of knock-ons for Dubbo slowing down play as line-outs and scrums being called for consistently.
Neither team managed to make it past the try-line for the first fourty minutes, despite the best efforts of Dubbo winger Tim Beech and Orange's Benjamin Dennis.
"We were definitely on the back foot," Petelo said.
"We were trying to force the pass a lot and that created a lot of our errors, but we needed to just consolidate on what we know, once we built some pressure, we were looking to build some pressure."
"We sort of regrouped in the second half and get our systems right, then we started to get on a bit of a roll."
That momentum came off the back of Dubbo veteran Shaun McHugh, who put the first points on the board for Dubbo shortly after the start of the second half, which was converted perfectly by the boot of half-back Hamish Gordon.
Orange City fought back and scored a superb try in the corner thanks to left-winger Benjamin Dennis and then drew equal after Keegan Harding kicked a conversion.
Much of the play after that was focused on the flanks, where Dubbo wingers Tim Beech and Nick Harvey each scoring a try each and Gordon only missing his mark once when looking for the conversion.
"The whole team really stood up, there was no single stand-out, but Tim Beech, he's one guy that's in great form this year, we're very lucky to have him."
Beech, renowned for his blistering speed, has been working through a shin splints injury that didn't seem to slow him down on the field, and left the game with an additional minor injury to his hand for his troubles.
"He's a real competitor, he always wants to be out there and do well."
City were briefly able to rally and put another try and conversion on the board, but by the the time the game was in it's closing stages, the errors and penalties were now going almost exclusively Dubbo's way and the Roos were able to keep the pressure on and keep the Orange visitors scoreless for the remainder.
"We've hit some good form and the locals are really enjoying that, and they're happy to be around that winning form," Petelo said.
"Commiserations to Orange City, they played really, really well and they really stuck it to us, they're going through some changes at their club, so we wish them well through the remainder of the season."
The Roos will next face off against the ladder leading Bathurst Bulldogs, while Orange City will meet the Cowra Eagles at home.
Dubbo Kangaroos def. Orange City (32 - 14)