A serious ankle injury might have prevented Dubbo Kangaroos captain Tim Beach from finishing Saturday's gripping Blowes Clothing Cup contest at No. 1 Oval but the leadership he provided while on the field left a lasting impact.
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The Roos bounced back from a hugely disappointing opening round loss to Orange City by defeating Bathurst Bulldogs 20-19 in a gutsy and intense performance.
The only downside was the injury to Beach, who was left in visible distress after having his ankle caught under an opponent following a break and kick ahead along the wing.
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The Roos led by the one point when their captain departed with roughly 10 minutes remaining and they showed real desire and determination in defence to get the job done.
"We just backed Beachy. He really turned us around," Roos hooker Will Anderson said after the return to form.
"We came out with real intent. We were just going to whack them, whack them, and whack them and that's what we did."
Beach and co-captain Hamish Gordon were given the unenviable task of replacing the hugely respected Shaun McHugh as captain at the Roos this season.
With injury keeping Gordon out of the first two rounds the onus was left to Beach on Saturday and he responded by demanding his players' attention and asking for more whenever there was a break in play.
"It's unreal," Anderson said of his skipper, who watched the final minutes in a moon boot.
"We lifted and just went as a team. It was unreal."
Bulldogs never had the lead in the match but did have two chances to steal victory inside the final five minutes.
Twice the visitors were awarded a penalty on the halfway mark but twice Will Oldham's attempt was waved away.
Bulldogs captain Peter Fitzsimmons refused to pin the blame for the result on his scrumhalf though, as he pointed to some ill-discipline, and poor decision-making as major factors in the match.
With them being a bigger pack than us, I was really proud of the boys.
- Will Anderson
He also paid credit to the Roos, who played with real speed and aggression throughout the contest.
"We just didn't get a roll on today," Fitzsimmons said.
"They set the pace and they set the tone of the game and there was tough defence early on and we didn't step up after that.
"I think we tried too hard at the wrong times. It comes with having a young pack but we can't use that as an excuse. We've got to step up and have a go."
Bulldogs had the more of the ball early and almost scored the game's first points in the 17th minute but Harry Webber's effort was ruled out because of a double movement.
That seemed to spark the Roos into life and some quick thinking and a quick tap from Pat Wheatley following a penalty on halfway led to Will Archer making a break along the right edge.
The ball soon found its way to Beach and he had the simple job of running around the posts to score the first points.
Jake Styles' conversion made it 7-0 but it wasn't long before the lively Sione Natufahu grabbed his first of the day for the Dogs.
That cut the margin to two and while Styles missed a penalty shortly before half-time he was given another chance right on the whistle and made no mistake to make it a 10-5 lead.
He struck another shortly after the break to further extend the margin but after a smart intercept from Natufahu that lead was cut back to 13-12.
The Roos continued to muscle up to the Bulldogs' pack and were rewarded with more penalties, and while Styles missed another attempt the pressure from the hosts soon paid.
After a lineout win the Roos rolled forward towards the tryline and Anderson caught the Dogs napping as he darted off the back of the pack down the blindside and went in virtually untouched.
Styles' boot made it 20-12 and while Thomas Felsch grabbed another try for the Dogs inside the final 20 minutes, the Roos' defence and Oldham's misses decided the entertaining contest.
"t's unreal to beat those blokes," Anderson added, Bulldogs haven beaten defending premier Orange Emus a week prior.
"I thought our scrums were pretty good there and in our attack and our 'D' we kept them back.
"With them being a bigger pack than us, I was really proud of the boys."
The hooker, who has quickly developed into a key player and leader for the Roos, laughed his quick-thinking and simple try might be something he remembers for the rest of his life.
"It's always good to get a try when you're in the front row," he said.
"I looked up and there was no-one there, so that was good."
- DUBBO KANGAROOS 20 (Tim Beach, Will Anderson tries; Jake Styles 2 conversions, 2 penalties) defeated BATHURST BULLDOGS 19 (Sione Natafahu 2, Thomas Felsch tries; Will Oldham 2 conversions)
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.
