NARRABRI brought back the razzle dazzle at Inverell on Saturday to deliver the Highlanders their second consecutive heavy defeat and put some distance on itself and Moree.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 58-21win pushes the Blue Boars six points clear of the Bulls in second and keeps them only a point adrift of Pirates at the top with a round to play.
It was just what the doctor ordered after their last-round loss to Pirates and had co-coach Hunter Harley in raptures.
“Absolutely delighted,” Harley said.
With the win but more the manner of it.
“The probably first 50 minutes were just outstanding,” he said.
“I thought our boys were just clinical.
“And the pleasing thing from Tom’s (Cullen) and my perspective was the things we addressed after the loss against Pirates.
“They went out and undid all the wrongs.”
They were a lot better reacting off broken play and, most critically, they maintained their structure.
That allowed them to get out of their own end without too much trouble and then pile on the points when they got down the other end.
Matt Schwager and Henri Knight in the halves were great as the generals.
“They ran the show,” Harley said.
“They were the conductors and, especially in the first 40, they set the framework.”
“The kicking game of both was the best it’s been all year.”
They just kept turning the Highlanders around.
It was Knight’s first run back at five-eighth since returning from injury and he’s given Harley something to think about.
“I wasn’t settled on things,” he said. “Henri showed me he can run things.”
In the forwards, Sam Clements was very strong in the second row while Tim O’Brien and Henry Curtin were “back to their consistent selves”.
Highlanders coach Scott Bremner said they were a bit flat in the first half.
The Blue Boars made them pay, opening up a 25-nil lead.
“Narrabri played well. They played really good structured footy,” Bremner said.
“Their forwards were fantastic. They put all our set pieces under pressure.”
It made it hard for them to get any clean ball to work from.
“My guys are starting to run out of a bit of confidence,” he said.
They seemed to find it a bit late in the game, scoring a couple of tries.
“They all of a sudden remembered how we like to play footy,” Bremner said.
Will Hollingworth was a standout at breakaway. He earned the three points and players’ vote.
Five-eighth Jeremy Hallam got the two and half-back Scott Houston the one.