TAMWORTH Thunderbolt men won ugly, but the women had a close shave when beaten by the Port Macquarie Dolphins.

The Dolphins won 59-57 to continue the losing start to the Waratah State League for the Thunderbolts, but the men beat the Bellinger Valley Braves 91-57 on the Tamworth Sports Dome Show Court.

Luke Krug was one of the Thunderbolt men stars, finishing with 24 points, but coach John Ireland was far from impressed with the effort of the Thunderbolt men.

“It was an ugly win,” Ireland said.

“Very patchy. We didn’t play well, didn’t play for the full 40 minutes.

“Defensively we relaxed too much.”

While Luke Krug had a strong game and led the scoring, young Gunnedah forward Joe Hassan had one of his best games in a Thunderbolt shirt.

“He was great at both the defensive and offensive end,” Ireland said.

“Jonny (Miller) and Matty (Monckton) had good aggression too and scored 15 points apiece. Great to have Bourkie back too,” he said of skipper David Bourke.

Thunderbolt women’s coach Chris Tudman said his side’s loss was disappointing.

“It’s a game we should have won,” he said. “We did lead at one stage but let it slip. We didn’t capitalise on a lot of good work. Our shooting was poor and they did have two big girls.”

One of those “bigs”, Madeline Plunkett, topscored with 33 points.

“We couldn’t match her size and physicality.”

Taylor Skelton (16pts), Emily Bailey (12) and Tammy McMahon (12) led the scoring, while Tudman thought Chantelle Lee, Kirsten Allgayer and Lauren Burns-Rees, were his best.

Lee and Tshinta Knox had also played three Northern Junior League games with the Thunderbolt Under 18 women before the State League match.

Both Thunderbolt sides have a few weeks off, with the women heading to central venue clashes with Queanbeyan Yowies and Wagga Blaze at Minto on April 11, while the men play Newcastle Hunters in Newcastle on April 11.