THE Oberon Tigers made the trip to Kandos last Saturday and came away with a dominant win in the men's open 50-6 and a hard fought, knife's edge 10-all draw in the ladies' league tag.
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The high-flying Tigers remain undefeated, once again notching up a big score in their 50-6 demolition of the Kandos Waratahs.
Captain/coach Dallas Booth took a big squad of 24 players on the trip to take on the Waratahs, which shows the depth in the squad.
Booth started with a strong combination in the first quarter and it was soon apparent that the Waratahs were no match for the visitors with the likes of Luke Christie-Johnston, Nathan Booth and Ty Simmonds eating up the metres in the middle of the park.
The Tigers welcomed back Josh Rivett, starting at fullback, and he took no time to stamp his class on the game, crossing for the first try of the match minutes after the kick-off. Jake Foley converted and Oberon scooted out to a 6-0 lead.
In the blink of an eye, Caylib Marston burst through off the back of another Tigers pack charge and found Rivett backing up before passing back to Marston on the tryline to extend the lead to 12-0.
Big hits were the order of the day as the Tigers pack fired up and punished the Kandos attacking raids.
Winger Jamie Arriola is one of the most deceptive runners you will see as he continuously beats three and four defenders. He was at it again as he sent Zane Rowlandson on a 60-metre dash to post Oberon's third try of the opening stanza. Blockbusting centre, Jacob Howes, put a full stop to the first quarter to score and send the 'Tiges' to drinks at 22-0.
With a high rotation off the bench ensuring that the large squad all had game time, the tempo slowed slightly, but not before Blake Fitzpatrick sliced through before putting a perfectly weighted cross kick for Rivett to dive on and claim his second try, taking the score to 28-0.
Kandos rallied and the Tigers found themselves grimly defending for large periods.
When Oberon finally had some possession, Howes scored his double. The Tigers went to the break at 32-0.
The second half could have easily become a procession but Kandos, through the likes of their captain Glen Osgood and half Jake Hellegers, showed resilience.
Their effort was rewarded when Ethan Parsons scorched the grass to get the home side on the scoreboard at 32-6.
Prop Luke Christie-Johnston was rewarded with a well-deserved try late and Ty Simmonds opened his account for the day, running onto a perfectly timed Rivett pass, for the final score of 50-6.
LEAGUE TAG
THE undefeated ladies' league tag side were caught in the headlights as Kandos started at a frenetic pace. The Waratahs' strike player, Emma Ashford, got the home side off to a flying start at 6-0.
The Tigers recomposed themselves and set about chasing down the lead.
Ash Bleakely was simply superb in defence, cutting down the Kandos attack and applying pressure with her kick-chases.
In the try of the day, Shannon Foley and Jade Taggart exchanged passes before Foley lofted a beautiful ball to Georgia Rich, who scored to level up the game at 6-6. Kandos returned to the field after the half-time break in a whirlwind.
The home side threw everything they had at the Tigers, with the likes of Bleakley, Taggart and Rich called on to continually repel attacking raids.
Bec McCusker made a break to post the Tigers deep in Kandos' territory. Lourie Bailey pounced, scoring out wide.
With the clock winding down, it was the Waratahs captain Ashford who crossed to secure a 10-all draw.
This Saturday, the Tigers travel to Wade Park, Orange to face the Warriors. League tag at 12.15pm and men at 2.45pm.