More frustration and more injuries.
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It was again the same story for the Dubbo Kangaroos on Saturday as the Forbes Platypi came to No. 1 Oval and scored a grinding 12-6 win in the Blowes Clothing Cup.
After trailing at half-time the Roos got themselves in front midway through the second half courtesy of a second Jake Styles penalty, only to see Forbes star Mahe Fangupo put Jack Hammond for the match-winner six minutes from time.
It was the latest in a strong of hugely disappointing results for the Dubbo side this season and while coach Paul Hausia tried to stay upbeat post-game and praised his players' commitment, part of him was already looking towards next season as a miraculous turnaround is needed for the current side to be any chance of playing finals in 2021.
"We've just got play with a good attitude and a positive attitude and today was a day where we know can continue this for the rest of the season," he said.
"And then 2022 is looking pretty good if we can maintain these players and maybe bring some in."
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The Roos were left to look back on a five minute period after Styles' second penalty as the key part of the match.
The side twice had the chance to extend their lead but firstly scrumhalf Pat Wheatley knocked on close to the line before replacement winger Hamish Fuller dived over in the right corner, only for decision of try to be overturned.
The assistant referee ruled a Roos player had impacted a Platypi off the ball as the Roos attacked on the left edge, only for referee Pete Thomas to miss the raised flag and allow play to continue as the Roos shifted to the right and Fuller's wing.
The cheers of the Ladies' Day crowd soon turned to jeers when Thomas consulted with his assistants before overturning his original decision.
"I've never heard of it. We got told that one of our players interfered with someone on that side, which impacted with something on the other," Hausia said.
"The try was scored on the opposite side so I don't know how it works but that's in the history books now."
That decision was a painful one for the Roos while the casualty ward became a little more full after a number of knocks, the most serious appearing to be a knee injury for Sam Gemmell.
While the home side was left to rue what could have been, the win was a huge one for the Platypi.
Without representative prop Charlie French the visitors still muscled up to the Roos and while it was far from perfect, the determination didn't drop and the class of Fangupo made a difference.
It was a perfect response after the side gave up an 18-5 lead against the Bathurst Bulldogs last week and got the Platypi's hunt for a top two finish back on track.
"Last week we let it slip in the second half so it was good to come back today and put in a good performance together," Hammond said.
"With the competition so close in the top four teams every win counts."
The Platypi's play may not revolve around Hammond as much as it did in the past and he's no longer the side's skipper but he still proved his quality when scoring the match-winner.
Playing at flyhalf, he and Fangupo had battled to really put their stamp on the game but in the final 10 minutes they combined to great affect.
The Platypi had a lineout on the Roos 22 and while it appeared they were set to spread it left, Fangupo went himself and close to the line he popped a perfect pass to Hammond, who went over under the sticks to give his side the lead.
"I was quite angry at him (Fangupo) because we didn't do what we were supposed to but it worked," Hammond said.
"A quality player like that, there's always opportunities around him."
In the first half, Fangupo had given his side the lead when he backed himself close to the line and spun out of a tackle to score.
That came after the 14 minute mark and gave the visitors a 5-3 lead after Styles had earlier scored the first points via a penalty goal.
The Platypi held that two-point margin at the break before Styles, clearly battling a knee injury suffered inside the first 15 minutes, put his team back up with another penalty on 53 minutes.
Both sides had chances in the final 20 minutes - Fuller's being the Roos' best - but the quality in the Platypi lineup came to the fore late on as they scored win number six for the season.
- FORBES PLATYPI 12 (Mahe Fangupo, Jack Hammond tries; Daniel Sweeney conversion) defeated DUBBO KANGAROOS 6 (Jake Styles 2 penalties)
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