RONNIE Dellar still can’t work out his side managed to get beaten on Saturday.
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The Werris Creek Magpies were leading Quirindi Grasshoppers 32-18 in their Group 4 Second Division game at David Taylor Park and with eight minutes remaining in a game vital to the Magpie hopes.
Somehow they lost 34-32 to the fourth-placed Grasshoppers and, with it, went their semi-final hopes.
“We’re gone now,” Dellar said on Sunday.
“Bendy won again.”
That puts fifth-placed Bendemeer on 17 points, six clear of the Maggies with four rounds left.
The reigning premiers are a pale shadow of last year’s centenary premiership-winning side.
“We scored eight tries, couldn’t kick a goal,” their stalwart coach said.
“Eight minutes to go we led 32-18.
“We had just scored a try, they kicked off and we dropped the ball on the second tackle and didn’t touch it again.
“They scored three tries in eight minutes.
“Full credit to them though, they’d hung in there.”
Thomas Brown was a stand out for the Creek.
Rob Symington won the Commercial Hotel Award too.
“And Aaron Allan scored three tries for us,” Dellar said.
“They reckoned he was pretty quick.
“They should have seen him in his prime in ’95 or ’96.”
Up at Barraba the competition leaders were running away with a 54-16 win over a Kootingal side which had been second going into the weekend.
Bulldogs captain-coach Tim Coombes was delighted with the win but he realised the Roosters were under- manned.
“They had a few out – having Nathan Hamlin and Lonnie Hatch out didn’t help them,” he said.
“We’ll see them again this year.
“They’ll be in the semis and will be a whole different side when they get back to full strength.
“We’ll take the win of course.
“We are going along pretty well.
“We’ve got some good young kids going well and have the older players like Luke White and Joey Latham to play off.”
He was impressed with the efforts of twins Jock and Zac Mallise, 18 -year-old younger brothers to Tim Mallise.
“They were sensational today.”