Dubbo CYMS defeat Nyngan Tigers in Group 11 league tag

That was the case at Apex Oval on Sunday though as Dubbo CYMS league tag coach Nicholas Wilson spoke after an 18-6 win over the Nyngan Tigresses.

CYMS were well below their best on Sunday, with dropped ball a regular occurrence while plenty of penalties were also conceded.

"Dreadful. I don't know where that came from. It was the worst we've played all season," Wilson said.

"Hopefully that's our lowest and we can start building up.

"I don't know what we can blame but it wasn't really good. It wasn't quality but they know that. They know they didn't play well."

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After piling on close to 100 points in the first games, CYMS struggled to get out of their own half during the opening stages of Sunday's match.

A youthful and energetic Nyngan side that has shown development already this season showed real speed in defence and made life hard for the powerhouse Fishies.

But the Tigresses couldn't make the most of attacking territory and on 11 minutes Matilda Montague made them pay.

From deep within her own half, Montague sliced through the Nyngan defensive line and then raced away to put the ball down under the black dot.

It was the moment CYMS need to spark them into life and just over five minutes later it was 12-0 after a smart run from Em Caton led to Hannah Allen flying down the wing and across the line.

That remained the score until the break and little changed in the second half as CYMS struggled to build momentum and were repeatedly penalised.

Despite them being below their best, the individual talent within the lineup still kept them in the ascendency.

Madi Crowe put her side firmly in control midway through the second half and slipped through the defence and raced away to score.

The tagging ability of each side shone throughout the match and it ensured chances remained limited, until the final minutes when a fine run Abbie Smith led to a deserved Nyngan try for Ebony Martin.

"We just wipe that from the memory bank," Wilson said.

"We know we've got to be better and we know we can be better. The emphasis really is back on the girls. You've got to want to be better.

"Our defence is outstanding. I'm really happy with our tagging, it's really good. We've just got fine-tune our attack. I think we can be one of the really, really top teams in the competition and we can be up there but we've got a bit to fine-tune. And that will be an attitude thing.

"I've got a very, very talented side and it's going to be up to them to want to get to that point."

Nyngan coach Alister Quarmby was all too aware his side was going to be up against it against a side the quality of CYMS but he was proud of the team's effort.

It wasn't too long ago the Tigresses were struggling to even win a game, but they're now regularly in the contest no matter who they are playing.

"We went close a lot and it could have gone either way sometimes but the girls did really well," Quarmby said.

"We've got a good side there. There's a lot of younger girls and the oldest girl is about 24 and then there's 21 and under after that.

"We've been thereabouts but it's a little bit of execution. That's something we can work towards and they're good girls who want to learn and want to be better."

As disappointed as he was in his own side, Wilson liked what he saw from Nyngan.

Sunday marked the second time CYMS has beaten the Tigresses this season.

"Nyngan has improved out of sight over the years," Wilson said.

"They're really young and over the next 12 months or two years they're going to be one of the top sides in the comp.

"All the teams are improving out of sight. The talent is just moving up in leaps and bounds."

Elsewhere on Sunday, Macquarie suffered its first loss of the season.

The Raidettes were beaten 20-18 by Parkes while at Forbes the Magpies scored their first win of the season when they defeated Wellington 20-16.

Next weekend will headlined by the top-of-the-table derby battle between CYMS and Macquarie.

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