The clash at Apex Oval between the rejuvenated and finals-ready Wellington Cowboys and the much troubled Westside Rabbitohs went almost exactly as expected, with the visitors from Wellington wrapping up the contest with a 90 - 0 scoreboard in their favour by the time the game was called ten minutes into the second half.
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But the victory wasn't without some unfortunate surprises, with the final whistle coinciding with a shock injury to Cowboys co-Captain Aidan Ryan, who was assisted off the field at full-time after a clash during a tackle.
His fellow captain, Justin Toomey-White was reassured by how quickly Ryan was able to get back to his feet, but was clear that the club would follow all protocol and make sure to conduct all the necessary tests as soon as possible.
Despite the circumstances, the win keeps the Cowboys a step ahead of their closest competitors on the ladder in the Parkes Spacemen, and keeps them nearly level with the Dubbo CYMS.
"We're feeling alright," Toomey-White said.
"I still feel like our best footy's ahead of us, at the moment, the boys are still ripping in at training and there's a lot more minutes still to be played, we're just taking it a week at a time."
"We'll look at the finals when that time comes, it's a different team from last year, so who knows what'll happen."
Toomey-White was confident his side would bounce back after suffering first and second round losses to CYMS and the Spacemen and it seems like his side has found the stable ground he was looking for, having now avenged both losses and with only teams they beat the first time around left between them and the end of the season.
"When we did beat CYMS, we knew that the results were going to come," Toomey-White said.
"The boys have worked hard at training and during the games, so it was no surprise, it all came off the back of their hard work."
Health and community have both been key topics for the Cowboys this year, and in particular for Toomey-White, who was sidelined after a cancer diagnosis late last year, but the club have never been stronger after a series of successful health awareness campaigns and fundraisers.
The off-field Captain-Coach conceded that he'd love to be out on the field, but health was the number one concern.
"My health is the number one priority, but we've got such a great group of boys, I'm really enjoying coaching them, they're a great group, they're eager to learn and to get out there and play some good footy."
Much like last week's game against Parkes was the basis for a campaign situated around bowel cancer and health awareness, this week's coincided with the competition's NAIDOC round, giving both teams an opportunity to celebrate their rich heritage.
"It was a really good day today, Westside put on a really good show for our NAIDOC day," Toomey-White said.
"It's really good to celebrate our culture and no better way to celebrate it than with a game of Rugby League, full credit to Westside, they keep turning up and having days like this here they're going to be in good stead in the future."
