It mightn’t have been their biggest, but Saturday’s 29-22 win over Inverell was arguably Gunnedah’s best.
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For one they were in enemy territory. Secondly they trailed at half-time and then after hitting the front had to hold on as the Highlanders pressed for a late try.
“They were coming back quite strong,” Red Devils coach Jason Waerea said.
“They spent the last five minutes with the opportunity to square it up.”
But the Red Devils hung on to claim their third win.
“It was in the forwards very tight. They were pretty physical but we expected them to be,” he said.
The Highlanders jumped out to a 12-nil lead, the Red Devils game not quite clicking.
“We had a lot of ball and a lot of second effort possession that just missed the mark a couple of times,” Wearea said.
Will Archer’s introduction again made a big difference, with his more direct running.
“Once we started straightening up we started holding onto the ball and started making good metres,” Waerea said.
Archer picked up the two points behind half-back Zack Harris, with Harris’ halves partner Jamie Mitchell earning the one. Brad Swain also had a strong game coming in at fullback, and was one of their five tryscorers.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the performance for Wearea was the lineout. He’d spoken leading into the game about looking for an improved lineout display.
“The lineout was a strong point for the game, which was a lovely change,” he said.
“They just – for whatever reason – were throwing very plain balls.”