Having trailed from start to finish, the Group 10 side – featuring Bathurst players Kurt Toole, Joshua Lander, Ben Whitley, Matt Giliver, Blake Lawson and Jake Bright – clawed their way to within two points of their opponents with 10 minutes to play before two late tries stretched the margin for the mid-North Coast based side.

It was a tribute to their effort and composure that they were even able to make a game of it after trailing 16-nil mid-way through the first half.

"We were right in it until those last 10 minutes," said coach, Nick Lander. "We just got off to a really bad start and trailed by 16 but we worked our way back into it. It just seemed though that every time we got back into the game and looked like drawing level they pulled away on us.

"I'm rapt with the way our boys played though, Group 2 were a little bit bigger than us but our fitness was probably a bit better, even though we let it slip late in the game."

Lander said his side was strong across the board – and they had to be after losing classy Oberon fullback Cody Sharah early in the second half – and that the likes of winger Toole, prop Seamus Leyland and Lawson at lock were all among his team's best, as well as Cowra centre Dominic Ashe.

"The two hookers – Josh Lander and Zac Elwin – both did their job as well, and at the end of the day there was no-one that let the side down," the coach enthused.

"I'm very proud of them – I couldn't be any prouder, the effort was great and they really made Group 2 work hard for the win."

GROUP 2 32 defeated GROUP 10 18.