Beau Hartley lifts Orange High School to Astley Cup win over Dubbo College

That was Orange High School's game plan going into their June 15 rugby league match against Dubbo College, according to captain Beau Hartley.

In what was the final match from day one of the opening Astley Cup tie, it was the home side who ran out huge 46-6 winners at Wade Park.

Hartley himself bagged a hat-trick and more often than not, took at least four tacklers to bring him down anytime he touched the ball.

"It means everything to me," he said of the tri-school tournament which is in its 100^th year of existence.

"This school has given me so much and I want to give back to it. To give it everything you've got is the best feeling."

OHS got off to a flying start in the game and went into the half-time break up 28-0.

"Once we got our first touch and we started getting a roll-on, we knew it was coming," Hartley added.

"It's just unreal. We knew we had to make a statement and get as many points as possible."

With the scoring system for the Cup based around total points across all eight matches and not simply wins, every try mattered. At no point was this more evident than the start of the second half.

After OHS dropped the kick-off, they defended their goal-line for six straight minutes, with Dubbo failing to crack the try-line in that period.

To make matters even worse for the visitors, OHS stormed down the other end of the field to grab a four-pointer of their own right after.

Although Dubbo would finally break OHS's hopes for a shutout with three minutes left, it didn't dampen Hartley's spirits after the game.

"I'm so proud of the boys. We knew we had to do it for the school and do it for each other," he said.

"We're going to come into Friday full of confidence. We know the soccer boys will give it their best and athletics as well. I think we've got it here."

Coach Cam Jones was all praise for his captain after the win.

"He's a big game player. Whether it's a grand final or the Astley Cup, he's a big game player and he's absolutely amazing," Jones said.

"We've gotten off to a pretty good start. I don't see why we can't go on with it tomorrow."

On top of Hartley, OHS's try scorers on the day included Hayden Buesnel (two), Angust Thompson, Preston Magick and Billy Morgan.

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