ORANGE Barbarians have announced themselves as top Centennial Coal Cup contenders with an exceptional opening round 26-18 win over last year’s premiers Kandos.
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Played at Max Stewart Oval on Saturday afternoon, the home side was fierce up the middle and dominating in the forwards, enabling the team to successfully complete their sets.
A glittering combined effort by Sam Sweeting and Charles Fahey allowed the side to score early in the game off a chip and chase, strongly finished by Fahey.
Barbarians coach Jason McClymont was happy to see his side continue to play a solid game for the remainder of the match, although, a few slip-ups allowed Kandos to strike back, regaining only partial satisfaction on the scoreboard.
“Following the first try the boys kept playing well, but suffered from a few disciplinary issues, including dropped balls and penalties, seeing Kandos score off the back of these,” McClymont said.
This victorious first round for the Barbarians presents the possibility of an exciting year for the side, however, coach McClymont stressed the importance for the team to keep working hard at polishing their game.
“Its obviously a good start to the season for the boys, but hopefully we will be able to fix up the few disciplinary issues holding them back, then we can continue improving for the rest of the competition,” he said.
The players’ player for the Barbarians on the day went to Hina Farrow who did a praiseworthy job in his position.
McClymont also made mention that it was pleasing to see a worthy crowd of spectators and support this early in the season.