SCONE Thoroughbreds chalked up an amazing arithmetic progression to beat Muswellbrook Rams 16-14 in Sunday’s pulsating A Plus Hunter Valley Group 21 Grand Final at Olympic Park, Muswellbrook.
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The Thoroughbreds had won G21 first grade premierships in 1976, 1996, 2006 and now 2016, advised Scone club president Scott Pennell.
“It’s 10 years to the day since we won our last one,” Pennell said.
“John (Johnson) and Daniel (Ritter) are the only ones left from that.”
The Thoroughbreds had been dreading the thought of another grand final loss after losing to Denman in a 120-minute plus golden point loss the previous year.
That the Thoroughbreds went in to the game without outstanding captain-coach Daniel Ritter, who ripped his knee apart against Aberdeen the week before, made it an even bigger effort from the side. He and Country Under 18 coach Aaron Watts drove the side from the sideline and both admitted to an “emotional roller coaster”.
“We trained hard for this, had a good week and really prepared well. We had to do a lot of hard work in defence today. There was some big contacts out there today,” Ritter said.
The Thoroughbreds muscled up in the second half to hammer the Rams coming out of their own quarter.
“We let them off the hook a few times, turned the ball over,” he said of a tough second half dominated by many forward charges. We stuck at it and come away with a big win.
The Thoroughbreds pulled the right rein early on when veteran hooker John Johnson started the game and young number nine Jarrod Wicks came off the bench. Johnson was a dominant figure making a number of breaks from dummy half before reverting to a running back role when Wicks entered the game to make some numerous tackles.
It was a winning move. They were two of the stars in a side where prop James Barker was outstanding while backrowers Tim Watson, James Eveleigh and Tom Hagan all made some big tackles.
Isaac Austin, the JMG Maintenance and Fabrication/ Muswellbrook Workers Club G21 rookie of the year, was also impressive making some crucial tackles. His lanky frame was a constant tormenter of the Rams attackers.
Red-headed winger Lachlan Walsmsley was also a standout. He was airborne three or four times taking one memorable highball and somersaulting to the ground. He bounced up immediately and was in everything throughout. Centre Josh Adams also made numerous half breaks in and around the ruck to grab crucial metres while fullback Hayden Topliss also had some great moments.
For the Thoroughbreds the celebrations turned towards wishing Ritter the best with a full knee reconstruction being performed on Monday.
Ritter said doctors had told him he’d “done everything possible to his knee”.
“Wrecked everything,” he said.
“The worst they’d seen for a long while. Just means a lot of rehab.”
The 28-year-old believes it might mean him missing all next season.