WEST Lions overcame an Aaron Donnelly-inspired Gunnedah Bulldogs to convert a two-point halftime lead into a solid 50-24 victory at Kitchener Park in Gunnedah on Saturday night.
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The Bulldogs had benched their normal red, white and blue jumpers for a special black and white jumper with John “Dallas” Donnelly’s 708 club number with Western Suburbs (now Wests Tigers) emblazoned on the back.
The Gunnedah Rugby League Football Club and Western Suburbs Fanatics (supporters club) had staged “A Night With Dallas”, a John Donnelly Memorial Ball at the Gunnedah Services and Bowling Club on Friday night.
They had celebrated the life of one of the Bulldogs legends who tragically died in the surf at Byron Bay after suffering an epileptic fit when just 31.
The memorial ball was a major success for the Bulldogs and Fanatics and, for a while, it seemed the Bulldogs might transfer that to Kitchener Park, where the club and Western Suburbs Fanatics had painted the John Donnelly Stand black and white on Saturday morning.
At the forefront was his nephew, 23-year-old fullback Aaron.
He scored a try and set one up before suffering a head wound and being replaced.
“It was the turning point,” West captain-coach Phil Beaton said after the game.
“When Aaron got hurt it changed the game.”
Beaton said his side was ordinary in the first half.
“We played terrible,” he said.
“The only time we completed a set of six we scored.”
He thought Chris Vidler, Zac Hatch and Jake McLoughlin, who he moved from the centres back into the forwards, were impressive up front.
That in turn enabled Matt Nean to orchestrate some second-half destruction.
“But we’ve got a fair bit of work to do,” Beaton said.
“Gunnedah will improve too.
They were a bit short tonight and played a few juniors.”
Gunnedah coaches Trent Hilton and Wayne Griffiths are moulding together a new, young side.
“If you give someone like Matt Nean time to play you are going to pay the consequences,” Griffiths said.
“We turned the ball over and couldn’t get to the end of our sets. That gave them a pathway to our tryline.”
He said the Bulldogs were lacking in experience and the young players were working hard.
“Everyone has a responsibility on the field to do their job but not everyone is on the same page at the moment,” he said.
