Lithgow Workies have given their finals chances a boost with a 36-20 victory over the Orange Hawks at Tony Luchetti Showground on Sunday afternoon.
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A strong second half performance helped Workies run over the top of their opponents as Lithgow scores three converted tries in the final half hour.
Captain Jono Van-Veen said the 16-point win could be chalked up to simply holding onto the ball.
"We just kept completing our sets in the second half so it was a good second half for a change," he said.
The final three weeks of the regular season present a straightforward equation for Lithgow.
"We just got to keep winning... got to win all three, that's what it comes down to," Van-Veen said.
"I think we can do it but we need to play footy for 80 minutes against sides like St Pats, CYMS and Mudgee so we need to be better and I think we can be.
"We're confident of beating anyone. If we can play the kind of footy we know we can play we can beat anyone."
Orange Hawks captain-coach Willie Heta said his side was confident going into the game but Lithgow deserved the two points in the end.
Heta said Lithgow dominated field position in the second half which prevented his side going on the attack.
"They used the wind a lot better than we did, we managed to clean up but it's always harder going 100 metres instead of playing 20 metres to the goal line like we wanted to," he said.
Workies were the first to score after six minutes.
Jono Van-Veen spun out of a weak tackle to score under the posts. Harry Bender’s conversion made it 6-0.
The Orange side hit back with two unconverted tries.
Hawks five-eighth Willie Heta dove on a loose ball to score in the 18th minute and the two blues took the lead ten minutes later as centre Jack Aumulla crashed over making it 6-8.
Workies gained a one-man advantage on the half-hour mark as Hawks big man Sione Tongia was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge off the ball.
However the Hawks were the next to score in the 37th minute.
They kept the ball alive on the Workies line and second rower Max Wolfson found a hole in the defence to score.
Heta nailed the conversion to give the Hawks a 6-14 lead at the half-time break.
Lithgow started to reel their opponents in with a try to Eli Felton on the 44 minute mark but the Hawks hit straight back through Sione Tongia.
Tongia took full advantage of his size and strength to barge over on the right edge and Heta’s conversion brought the score to 12-20.
The tide changed from then on as Workies made it 18-20 through a converted try to Mitch Case after 52 minutes.
Lithgow took the lead with ten minutes to go as Brendon Van-Veen busted through the line and passed to Eli Felton to sprint over and score. Bender’s conversion made it 24-20.
The Van-Veen connection sealed the win for Workies with three minutes left on the clock.
Jono Van-Veen broke through the defence and dished the ball off to younger brother Brendon who beat a couple of defenders to score under the posts.
But Jono Van-Veen wasn’t done yet as he left the Hawks defence for dead in the last minute. He started on his heels but managed to beat a few defenders and carry two over the line to score his second try.
Bender made it 6 from 6 with the boot to leave the final score 36-20 to Workies.
LITHGOW WORKIES 36 (Jono Van-Veen 2, Eli Felton 2, Mitch Case, Brendon Van-Veen tries; Harry Bender 6 goals) def ORANGE HAWKS 20 (Caleb Lewis, Jack Aumuller, Max Wolfson, Sione Tongia tries; Willie Heta 2 goals)