RUGBY LEAGUE
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ABERDEEN Tigers might have won some wooden spoons in the past few seasons, but they have become the big success story of the A Plus Contracting Hunter Valley Group 21 competition.
On Sunday the Daniel Hoogerwerf-captain/coached Tigers beat Greta Branxton Colts at Greta Central.
The Tigers came from a 22-6 halftime deficit to win 24-22 and end the Colts’ winning run at eight.
The Colts had lost their first three games of the season but won the next eight to put themselves into outright second until a mixup in registrations cost the Colts dearly. Four points to be exact.
And that made Sunday’s Tiger success so much better for Hoogerwerf and his young evolving side as it allowed them to leapfrog the Colts into outright second.
“It was a good team win,” Hoogerwerf reckoned Sunday night.
“That jumps us into outright second. Fingers crossed we can go on from here.”
Clinton Blenman and Cal Belsham were strong in the Tiger pack with Josh Bell and Shane Hasselmann outstanding in the halves. Colts coach Ron Griffiths was disappointed the winning run had come to an end but thought the Tigers “wanted it more”.
“Full credit to them they were very gritty. They had more desire than us. We led them comfortably at different stages but they hung in there and wanted it more than us.
“We had won eight straight.”
It might have been the loss his side needed to have especially with a huge game against Scone at Scone Park looming this Sunday.
Griffith did have some positives to take from the loss.
“We had a couple of kids on debut,” he said.
“Dylan Cornes played a full game in the 18s and then came and played in the centres for us,” he said.
“He was extremely good. And Liam Leggett played lock. He was in the Group 21 and Greater Northern Tigers Under 18s and acquitted himself well. He also played a full 18s game.
“I was also very happy with Jake Moore. He’s only 19 but started in the second row. He’s not big, there’s not much of him, but he has a very good tackling technique.”
Griffiths said losing the four competition points over the registration issue was disappointing.
“We weren’t trying to cheat, it was a player who has played five seasons here,” he said.
“It was just a change in the way they do the registrations. We got caught out. Life throws up these little challenges. It’s how you deal with them.”
In other games Scone led 20-nil at halftime then trailed 26-24 but scored two late tries for a 36-26 win while Denman Devils beat Singleton 46-6.
n Full scores, tables and draw in Sport Details.
FIRST GRADE TABLE: Scone 21, Aberdeen 13, Greta Branxton 12, Denman 11, Singleton 7, Muswellbrook 4.