A resurgent Tamworth has just fallen short of a miracle come-from-behind win over Moree on Saturday.
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The Magpies came back from a 19-point half-time deficit to square things up at 24-all with about eight minutes on the clock to set up a grandstand finish.
However, it was the Bulls who responded with two tries to seal a 38-24 victory.
“It came down to a bit of desire, a bit of effort and a bit of focus,” Moree coach David Silversides said following the win.
“I was very pleased with the last five or six minutes.
“The Magpies came back to 24-all and it was pretty tight but in the last five or six minutes, we refocused, got back to what we wanted to do as far as game plan goes, executed it a lot better and scored a couple of good tries there at the end.”
The opening play of the match – a Tamworth kickoff that didn’t travel 10 metres – handed Moree early territory.
The Bulls took full advantage and scored through William Carrigan four minutes later.
Two more tries to the Bulls followed as Moree quickly shot to a 19-point lead.
An unconverted try to each side saw the lead remain the same at the break.
Enter, a rejuvenated Tamworth outfit.
Cooper Thompson scored the first points of the half and converted his own try to make the score 24-12.
Moree’s Anthony O’Donnell was yellow carded eight minutes into the second stanza and Tamworth took immediate advantage as Jack Barker scored from the resulting scrum.
The Magpies continued to ride their wave of momentum up until the final stages of the match when Moree hit back to secure victory.
Despite losing, Tamworth coach Craig Summers couldn’t have asked for more from his troops.
“That was probably the best we’ve played all year,” Summers said.
“Moree are always a quality side, they're always in the race and up there, I think they're second while we’re on the opposite end.
“It’s positive moving forward for the rest of the season and next week we can build on that and hopefully go to Quirindi and get a win.”
As far as best players on the day, one name instantly sprung to mind for Summers.
“Definitely Sam Gray, our halfback,” Summers said when asked who his standout from the match was.
“He’s an under 17s player who made his debut today and he had an absolute blinder.
“He brings a level of enthusiasm to us which is fantastic.”
Silversides said there were several star performers from his side.
“I thought our number eight Sam Callow played particularly well today and Dan Sweeney at fullback cleaned up a fair bit of loose ball – got us out of a bit of trouble,” Silversides said.
“I thought Tony O’Donnell at nine, stepping up from second grade to first grade this week with a couple injuries, was certainly under pressure and I thought he really came to the party today.
“I thought the effort from him was really good, I’m happy with how he went in general play.”
FINAL SCORE: Moree Bulls 38 (W Carrigan, J Cosh, A Drotoni, J Walker, D Silversides, S Joseph tries; J Cosh 2, D Sweeney 2 cons) d Tamworth Magpies 24 (R Marshman, N Ellerton, J Barker, C Thompson tries; C Thompson 2 cons)