OCLife20220707sp

community life | OCLife

sport@oclife.com.au

Cowra Eagles penalty denies Emus’ classic thriller victory

SPORT

with ANTHONY BARBAGALLO

ST PAT’S PREVAIL IN NAIL-BITER AGAINST BRAVE ORANGE UNITED

An 80th-minute penalty goal gifted Cowra Eagles a slim 13-11 victory over Orange Emus in Saturday’s Round 10 of the Blowes Cup. It was a hard-fought contest that will go down in Central West Rugby folklore.

After coming off the back of a 36-11 derby win over Orange City, the Emus came into this contest without some key players. But despite making the trip to Cowra with a depleted side, the men in green still put on a brave display against the competition’s leaders.

The field at the Cowra Rugby Club seemed to be in a reasonable state, unlike the muddy conditions in the Orange City-Bulldogs game at Pride Park.

It was a tight tussle in the opening exchanges of this contest, with both sides putting on impressive defensive displays. In the 17th minute, Nigel Staniforth kicked a penalty goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead. But the lead didn’t last long as the Eagles charged down the field and opened the opposition defence to score the game’s first try three minutes later.

During the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Emus started to play with more aggression. This forced Cowra into producing some errors within their half and inviting pressure on their goal-line. But as the Emus were closing in on a try, an Eagles break led to a successfully converted penalty kick which saw them take a 10-3 lead into the break.

The Emus came out with more intensity from the restart. After breaking downfield and embarking on an explosive counter-attack in the 52nd minute, the visitors won another penalty which Staniforth successfully converted to reduce the deficit to four points.

In the 63rd minute, the Emus turned the game on its head when they scored their first try of the match. Some fantastic movement and quick passes on the right flank found Harry Cummins, who crossed over the line to give his side a precious 11-10 lead. But with Staniforth’s conversion flying wide of the posts, the Orange side had to dig deep in the defence for the last 15 minutes of the contest.

After defending so well in the closing stages, Emus conceded a late penalty that provided a fatal blow to their chances of victory. With the game’s last play, the Eagles snatched a two-point win in the cruellest circumstances.

It may be a bitter defeat, but the Orange Emus can be proud of how they took the competition’s leaders down to the wire.

Brave display from Orange United hockey side saw them go down 2-0 to St Pat’s at Bathurst Hockey Complex in last Saturday’s Indigenous Round of the Women’s Central West Premier League Hockey.

St Pat’s defeated Orange United 2-0 at Bathurst Hockey Complex in last Saturday’s Indigenous Round of the Women’s Central West Premier League Hockey.

The scoreline, however, didn’t reflect how Orange United matched their opponents and pushed them to the limit.

Both sides came into this match looking to bounce back with a vital win in Round eight. But, despite the challenging wet weather conditions, the players still produced a nail-biting contest.

It was a cagey affair in the opening stages, with both sides showing excellent defensive skills. Orange United almost broke the deadlock a couple of minutes later, but some brave defending and sharp reflexes from St Pat’s goalkeeper kept the ball out of the goal.

In the closing stages of the first quarter, St Pat’s won a penalty corner following a foul within the striking circle.

But the hosts failed to convert from this opportunity, keeping it a scoreless first quarter.

St Pat’s threatened the United goal on several more occasions in the second quarter, but some neat saves from the visitors’ goalkeeper kept the clean sheet intact.

With Orange United boxed in their half, the defence and keeper worked diligently to fend off the home side’s relentless attacking pressure.

United had a rare chance in the 25th minute but couldn’t find the clinical edge to score the goal. As a

ORANGE CITY LIFE | JULY 7 — JULY 13, 2022

35

result, both sides went into the break deadlocked nil-all.

After a stalemate display in the first 30 minutes, the second stanza turned out to be a different tale for both teams. Orange United started playing with more creativity as they ventured forward, which surprisingly opened up the tight battle as the game progressed.

St Pat’s then won a second penalty corner moments later, coming within inches of taking the lead after their shot hit the post. But another foul by United gifted the hosts another penalty corner, where they converted this chance to go 1-0 ahead. Some deflection along the way helped the shot creep into the net.

After 40 minutes of play, St Pat’s finally broke the resilient Orange United defence as St Pat’s continued to dominate the possession and chances on goal during the third quarter, making it difficult for United to leave their half and search for an equaliser.

In the early moments of the final quarter, St Pat’s almost doubled their lead from a fifth penalty corner.

But Orange United’s goalkeeper produced another great save to keep her side well in the contest. In the last six minutes, the Bathurst side took a 2-0 lead after some intelligent passing led to a well-worked goal.

St Pat’s controlled the game’s tempo until the full-time siren, capping off a composed second-half performance.

Despite losing the match, Orange United still put on a spirited performance against a third-placed opponent and one of the Central West’s fiercest hockey sides.

AROUNDTHEGROUNDS with ANTHONY BARBAGALLO

BARRACKER THE

Western Premier League: Wet weather forces Orange teams to miss Round 13 Last Saturday’s wet weather in Orange forced Waratahs and Barnstoneworth to reschedule their round 13 matches. Waratahs were taking on Bathurst ‘75, while Barnies were hosting Macquarie United. Orange CYMS had the bye in this round.

In light of the circumstances, now seems like an ideal time to recap the performances of Orange’s trio in this season’s Western Premier League.

ORGANIC NATURE OF THE GREAT SPORTING RIVALRY

Watching NSW bounce back from their dispiriting loss in the first State of Origin game to record a top-shelf win in Perth showed that, after more than 40 years, this sporting rivalry can still produce stunning surprises.

Later reading our Orange City Life report on the heated and highly competitive local derby football (soccer) match recently played out between “Tahs” (Waratahs) and “Barnies” (Barnstoneworth United) in the Western Premier League competition, a theme of great sporting rivalries began to emerge.

For any genuine elite sporting competition, or even the local football contest, rivalries are promotional gold. They bring out that rarest of sporting emotions — true passion in players, coaches, fans, and even casual observers.

As English writer, JB Priestley, once said: “To think of football as 22 hirelings kicking a ball, is merely to say that a violin is wood and catgut.”

Sport matters and the idea that “it is only a game” is a misunderstanding of how it acts as a release and escape from our own lives; as an opportunity for communal expression; and something which also provides a vital sense of identity and belonging for so many people.

This mostly positive social capital is multiplied two or three times for matches against rival teams that supporters love to hate.

With this vital role that rivalries create and for which sports competitions thrive on, it’s interesting to note, how they are almost impossible to artificially manufacture.

The competition was put out of its misery after one season when the catalyst for this “elite competition”, the Brisbane Broncos won the most forgettable grand final in any sporting code in history, beating the Cronulla Sharks 26-8.

Despite almost unlimited funding from one of the world’s largest media companies and blanket positive coverage from all of News Corps television, radio, and newspaper interests, it was regularly beaten cold by the traditional ARL competition in crowds, passion, and television ratings.

This was partly because the vestigial old competition run by the independent Australian Rugby League (ARL) and featuring the remaining Sydney teams and Newcastle, took the opposite approach, emphasising old rivalries and tribal loyalties.

These duelling tactics were emphasised by the two competitions’ advertising campaigns, Super League running a “taking it to the world” approach, the ARL a catchy “It’s My Game” theme.

To be genuine, a sporting rivalry must firstly grow and develop organically and, secondly, be between rivals that are reasonably-competitive year-in, year-out.

That is why, 25 years ago when Australia had a top-level Wallaby’s side led by the inspirational John Eales, people started calling the annual Bledisloe Cup matches against the mighty All-Blacks, the “new Ashes”.

The north of England, the home of rugby league once trialled their own State of Origin-style “War of the Roses” between players from Lancashire and Yorkshire, the two main rugby league counties in Britain, but dropped the concept after two or three years of derisory interest, moderate crowds, and lacklustre play.

This was also the time when the English cricket side had gone 15 years without putting up a semblance of real resistance against the Australian cricket team filled with champions like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, and the Waugh twins.

Rupert Murdoch’s breakaway Super League competition in the mid-1990s suffered the same fate.

Ten years later, the Wallabies had returned to being the regular whipping boys for the All-Blacks and England had just won the most pulsating cricket test series ever against Australia.

Eschewed by the traditional Sydney clubs like South Sydney, St George, Eastern Suburbs, and Manly, the competition with its matching guernseys and regional-based teams like the Western Reds and Adelaide Rams, eventually became a homogenous mess.

Which is the other thing about great rivalries, while they usually only develop over decades, they can fade and disappear a lot quicker!

36

Waratahs: Currently sitting second The Tahs have been one of the competition’s menacing sides this season. Apart from the minor hiccups against leaders Panorama FC and Barnies, the Sky Blues have only lost two games in 11 rounds.

They are currently leading the goal-scoring charts thanks to their high-pressure and clinical frontline. Craig Sugden’s creativity and Guy Burgess’ eye for goal, have made them one of the most entertaining and lethal attacking duos this year, causing countless headaches for defenders in the league.

But Waratahs’ tendency to switch-off has often left them exposed in the back, especially in the 3-3 draw with Bathurst ‘75 and the losses to Panorama and Barnies. With their experience in the midfield and up front, there’s no doubt this tenacious side will go away that easily towards the latter stages of the campaign.

Barnstoneworth United: Currently sitting fifth It has been a roller-coaster journey for Barnies so far. After losing 5-0 to Waratahs in the opening round, the red-and-whites have made an emphatic comeback to sit just outside the topfour; they currently sit in fifth after Dubbo Bulls played in round 13.

As the season has progressed, Barnstoneworth has become a dominant force. Their defence, built alongside Duncan Logan and Grant Koch, has been the backbone in many of their recent performances.

But, apart from their impressive defending, Barnies’ attack has also been another key to their success. Their passing fluidity and counterattacks have helped them record famous victories against Dubbo Bulls and Waratahs. If they continue on this run, then Barnies certainly stand a chance of chasing that elusive Western Premier League title.

Orange CYMS: Currently sitting in last place It hasn’t been an easy return to the Western Premier League for CYMS. Entering the region’s best football competition was always going to be a challenging transition for this largely inexperienced squad.

The green-and-gold have endured heavy defeats throughout this campaign, exposing their weakness in the defence and midfield. Scoring goals has also been an issue for CYMS, as they have only put seven in the net so far.

But in recent weeks, CYMS have managed to gain their first three points from three consecutive draws. It looked like they were improving at the back until they lost 8-1 to Bathurst ‘75 in Round 12. This young side will face Mudgee Wolves in round 14, which could be a good chance to register their first win in 2022.

ORANGE CITY LIFE | JULY 7 — JULY 13, 2022

sport@oclife.com.au

Rugby Union: Blowes Cup first-grade action Second-half charge helps Bulldogs down Orange City Orange City is yet to register their first win of the 2022 season. And things only got worse with Saturday’s 31-10 loss against second-placed Bathurst Bulldogs.

Despite the muddy surface at Pride Park, both sides still put in a decent shift to play some entertaining footy. The Bulldogs scored the only try in the first half, taking a 7-0 lead into the break.

In the second stanza, Orange City came out firing. The orange-and-green got on the board in the 45th minute when they crossed over for their first try. Harry West’s unsuccessful conversion kept the score at 5-7.

The visitors extended their lead seven minutes later after scoring their second try from a scrum.

But City’s tenacity paid dividends moments later after they pulled back another try to make 10-14.

Despite the Lions’ fight-back, the flood gates opened in the backline in the last 30 minutes.

The Bathurst Bulldogs ran away with the game, scoring three tries to secure a 31-10 victory.

Rugby League: Peter McDonald Premiership action Orange CYMS edge out vital win over St Pat’s Orange CYMS are back to their winning ways.

After last round’s upset loss to Dubbo Raiders, the 12-time Group 10 premiers bounced back with a 10-6 victory over a gritty St Pat’s on Saturday at Wade Park.

With a 6pm kick-off, the green-and-gold got things rolling when Alexander McMillan crossed over for the game’s opening try in the 15th minute. Holding onto a 6-0 lead for 22 minutes, CYMS finally cracked just before halftime when St Pat’s pulled a try back. The visitors’ unsuccessful conversion sent the hosts with a 6-4 lead into the break.

Neither side was able to their establish dominance in the second half. A penalty goal from St Pat’s in the 66th minute levelled the contest at 6-all, but a CYMS try four minutes later was enough to snatch the victory and two points.

Mudgee Dragons secure comfortable win over Orange Hawks Mudgee Dragons were too strong for Orange Hawks in their 28-12 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium.

The Group 10 leaders weren’t troubled by the two blues throughout the match, demonstrating their superiority in the defence and clinical edge in attack. With this recent defeat, the Hawks still sit outside of Group 10’s top four.

The Hawks are now winless in their last three games, a concerning trend that is ruining their chances of making finals footy at the end of the regular season.

community life | OCLife

SPORTSCAM

with HENRY DEROOY

SPORT

The Orange PCYC School Holiday Activity Program got underway with a bang on Monday, with kids enjoying a parkour session in the PCYC gym. Activities run every weekday of the school holidays (until July 15), visit www.pcycnsw.org.au/orange for the daily program.

ORANGE CITY LIFE | JULY 7 — JULY 13, 2022

37