It wasn’t the start they wanted, but the Jillaroos showed plenty of promise when they took on five-time grand finalists Uralla Tigers in the opening round of the Group 19 second division competition on Friday night.
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A sluggish start from Walcha saw the Tigers shoot out of the starting gate to pile on three unanswered tries.
Midway through the opening half, Katelyn Smith grubbered and regathered to earn the side’s first four-pointer and the Jillaroos kicked into gear.
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Uralla hit back shortly after before Jillaroos captain Robyn Broadbent brought the deficit back to eight with a converted try.
The Tigers extended again two minutes before the break to hold a 26-12 lead.
The second stanza only saw one try apiece scored with Uralla adding to their points before Broadbent grabbed her second try to bring the scoreline to 32-16 with the hosts taking the two points.
While Walcha didn’t land the win, Broadbent said there were plenty of positives to take out of it.
“We have a few new faces in the squad and were nervous at the start of the game,” she said.
“Once we got the nerves out of the way, we improved heaps – our second half was awesome.”
In the men’s fixture, the home side were too classy from the get-go, running in 48 points to Walcha’s four.
This Saturday, the Roos play at home at John Oxley against Ashford Roosters.