The Greater Northern Tigers were “rammed” in their Country Championships clashes at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School’s John Simpson Oval in Tamworth at the weekend.
But, it was better news for the Newcastle Hunter Region Knights.
The Tigers faced the Western Rams in four games and lost all four, dropping the under-16 match 24-16, the under-18s 20-10, the men’s 38-8 and the women’s 22-12.
At Raymond Terrace, the Knights accounted for the Northern Rivers Titans 28-18 (men’s) and 40-6 (women’s).
Greater Northern’s under-16s failed to lift after trailing 16-0 at the break.
Simple errors cost the Tigers, especially in the first half.
A high mistake rate also proved dire for the under-18s.
They trailed 12-6 at half-time but could only add an Alex Lawrence try in the second stanza.
The Brad McManus-coached Tigers men were still in the showdown, going to the break 10-4 down.
However, handling errors and penalties disrupted their momentum in the second period as the Rams ran away with the game.
The Tigers scored just the one lone try, a fine kick and chase for fullback Mitch Doring.
The Greater Northern women were closest of the four sides to claiming a home win.
Although they trailed 16-6 at half-time, they pulled it back to 16-12 when Gaynor Blackadder scored a good try under the posts.
The Tigresses had their chances, too, before big Rams prop Tabua Tuinakauvadra crossed for her second four-pointer.
“They all tried their hearts out,” disappointed coach Mick Schmiedel said.
“They showed we are competitive.
“It’s just a shame we only get two games.”
Hannah Rando, Hannah Crisp, Brooke Davis, Kate Brown and Sarah Byrne all excelled for a team where Schmiedel said there wasn’t “one bad player”.
“We tried a couple of things today, played Hannah Rando in the centres and she had a great game there while we played Shai Blackadder in the second-row and she also went really well.”
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