IT was a golden day for the Blues at Bellevue Oval on Sunday.
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Armidale won all four encounters against St Albert’s, and convincingly.
First grade topped off the day with a 53-8 win.
It was billed as the Blues’ biggest test so far, with the students similarly undefeated, but the Blues were far too good.
“We blew them off the park,” coach Anthony McMillan said.
“It was probably one of the best games of football I’ve seen our first grade side play.”
“Everything they touched turned to gold.”
It started up front.
“Our scrum was dominant,” McMillan said.
“We pushed them off the ball.
“We won three or four tight heads.”
The lineout also functioned superbly as did their rolling maul.
“We scored one try from a rolling maul that went 30+m,” McMillan said.
“That sort of broke their back. Our forward pack got fired up by that effort.”
Albies were still hanging on at half-time. It was only 21-8.
But by 10 minutes into the second half the landscape had completely changed.
“We came out and within 10 minutes put three tries on them,” McMillan said.
He said there were a few things he was unhappy with, their kick-off receivals for one, but couldn’t really fault the performance.
“Once again our defence was outstanding,” he said.
“We only leaked eight points.”
“In three games that’s only seven points a game.”
The Blues didn’t have a bad player. They were all “fantastic”, McMillan said.
It made picking the points difficult.
Breakaway Cedric Fadel was adjudged their best.
“He was absolutely outstanding,” McMillan said.
As was requested of him, he was a serial pest for the 80 minutes.
Nicola Furlan on the wing also had one of the best games McMillan’s seen him play.
“He scored two tries, two individual efforts where he palmed off three or four defenders and ran about 40m,” he said.
And while they weren’t showing much charity to Albies on Sunday, the Blues did show their charitable side last week.
The club donated $1170 to the Westpac Helicopter Service New England North West as the charity of choice from their annual Charity Shield clash with Barbarians, which will help keep the helicopter in the sky.
Club president Jason Wall said the Blues made the choice to donate towards the service for the first time this year, a decision which was warmly greeted by the service.
“Unfortunately the chopper is needed in the local community and it’s people like this supporting us that keeps us there,” Westpac Helicopter Service New England North West volunteer Pam Wilby said.
