Dubbo Rhinos captain Nash Forgione hailed his side's backline as the best in the New Holland Cup after a second-half blitz secured victory over the Parkes Boars on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After leading 14-0 early on, the Rhinos trailed 19-14 at one point in the second half before they hit top gear and ran out 40-24 winners.
The entertaining win moved the Rhinos within one-point of competition leaders Mudgee while also opening a commanding 11-point gap to third-placed Parkes.
"I like to say our backline is the strongest in the comp," Forgione said.
"We let the ball sing and the men outside run away with it. It's fantastic."
READ ALSO:
While the final result may have appeared a convincing win for the Rhinos, it was anything but for the bulk of the 80 minutes.
The hosts again struggled with discipline and it cost them at times, with a yellow card for Apisai Lomani late in the first half changing the complexion of the game.
Tries for Dale Smith and Mitch Harvey, the former following a slick shift left and lovely flick pass from Kieran Hill, fired the Rhinos out to a 14-0 lead but after Lomani was binned the Boars hit back.
The visitors' first try was a contentious one as the hosts argued former Rhino Caleb Ralulu lost the ball forward in the lead-up to Mitch Westcott planting it down but those protests were waved away.
The Rhinos gave up possession again soon after and Parkes worked their way into attacking territory, leading to Ralulu muscling over and Jacob Hardie's boot levelled it up.
Despite some stern words from Rhinos coach Doug Sandry at half-time, Parkes were the first to score after the break following a knock-on from the kick-off.
But after that it was virtually one-way traffic as the defence of the Rhinos improved and ball started quickly shifting out wide.
Kaiden Hill's trusty boot cut the margin via a penalty goal and the Rhinos hit the lead soon after when Harvey scooped up a loose Parkes pass and raced 40m untouched to score.
Forgione brothers Nash and Kyle both scored tries late on and two more Hill penalties made it a comfortable ending for the Rhinos.
"Doug gave us a bit of a rev-up at half-time about our discipline and talking back to the ref and we pulled it into line and pulled away in the second half," captain Forgione said, with discipline again an issue.
"Last year and the start of this year, it's been a killer for us. We're struggling to pull our discipline into line and it can cost us games.
"But closing the games has also been an issue and Parkes had nothing in that final 15 minutes. Our defence has been the biggest win this season.
"I'd like to say we're building. We're not at the point we want to be yet but we're going to get stronger."
For the Boars, the result was another frustrating one.
Inconsistency has marred the opening few rounds and Saturday's result made it three straight losses after an impressive 27-17 win over the Rhinos at home earlier in the season.
"We're still struggling for players a bit and we haven't had the same team all season," captain Chris Parker said post-game.
"Towards the back-end of the season hopefully we can nail that down and boys stay in their positions and we can go from there."
There were positives for the Boars on Saturday, with the likes of Semi Rokodinono and Sororpepeli Soqe lively through out, but Parkes admitted his side couldn't match the Rhinos in the second half.
"We had a good last 15 minutes of the first half but the Rhinos came out screaming in the second half and we were doing all we could but they were the better team on the day," he said.
"The better team won it."
Forgione also took time to praise the crowd at full-time, with healthy numbers in and steel drums and horns creating a lively atmosphere.
"That was good. The boys were vocal and crowd was loud so it gets us going," he said.
The Rhinos won two-from-two on Saturday as their second grade side had earlier scored a commanding 55-12 win over the Boars.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
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.
