UNDER 18s
The under 18s Group Three rugby league season was on the line when they played Taree City at the Wingham Sporting Complex on Saturday afternoon.
They were off to a great start with a try by Joel Wilson in the first minute converted by Trent Grofos.
Five minutes later, Mark Fahey scored in the corner for a 10-0 lead.
Then Fahey crossed for his second try, followed by a four-pointer to Ryan Wells, and the Tigers led 18-0 midway through the first half.
A mistake by the home team gave the Bulls the ball which ended with a try.
Inside the last 10 minutes of the half, Nick Beacham cut through to score.
Grofos kicked the conversion and Wingham led by 24-4 at the break.
Early in the second half, Grofos scored from a Tim Watson bomb.
Grofos added the extra points to lead 30-4.
At the 10-minute mark, Beacham crossed for his second try.
With the conversion by Grofos, the Tigers led 36-4 after 45 minutes of the match.
But then the complexion of the game changed.
Taree City had a player sent to the sin-bin and, with just 12 players, scored two converted tries to trail 36-16.
They added two more tries to trail 36-24 with five minutes remaining.
A late try to Watson, converted by Grofos, sealed victory 42-24.
Tries: Mark Fahey (2), Nick Beacham (2), Joel Wilson, Ryan Wells, Trent Grofos, Tim Watson.
Goals: Trent Grofos (5).
LEAGUE TAG
The women’s league tag team played Taree City which scored twice to lead 2-0 before a try to Caitlin Williams got Wingham on the scoreboard.
Another try to the Bulls just before halftime gave them a 3-1 advantage.
Taree scored immediately after the break, and again soon afterward from an intercept, to lead 5-1.
But tries to Hayley Green and Kaycha Mills for the Tigers made the final score 5-3 in favour of the Bulls.
The women’s league tag Tigers were not able to get a team together for a midweek game at Port Macquarie, so they forfeited.
Tries: Caitlin Williams, Hayley Green, Kaycha Mills.
FIRST GRADE
The under-strength Wingham Tigers had the difficult task of travelling to Port Macquarie on Tuesday night, July 14, to play the reigning Group Three premiers, the Port City Breakers.
Wingham went without the injured Andrew Gilbert, Ben Welsh and Corey Sheehan, while Robert Moi Moi made an early return from injury to help out a depleted Tigers squad.
An early try to the Breakers under the posts gave the home team a 6-0 lead.
Ten minutes later they scored a second try, followed by two more within six minutes to lead 24-0 midway through the first half.
But the Tigers dug deep, and repelled Port City’s many raids on their goal line.
When the halftime siren sounded, the Breakers advantage was still 24 points.
Wingham got onto the scoreboard early in the second stanza, when Brent Dawson picked up the ball from a Port City error for an easy try.
Mick Murray scored in the corner for the Tigers after a good backline move, and the visitors trailed 28-8.
Inside the last 10 minutes, Josh Watson scored near the posts from a Dave Corbet offload, only to have the final pass ruled forward.
A couple of minutes later, Watson cut through for a legitimate try.
With just seconds to go in the match, the Breakers broke through the defence out wide to score under the posts.
After the conversion, the final score was 34-12.
After being down 24-0 after 20 minutes, the Tigers actually outscored the premiers 12-10 over the final sixty minutes of the match.
Tries: Brent Dawson, Mick Murray, Josh Watson.
RESERVE GRADE
The reserve grade game had contrasting halves.
Port City led 12-0 at halftime with three tries in a dominant performance.
Wingham lost Nat Lowman with a broken ankle just before halftime, along with Jason Hardy with a broken collar bone.
But the Tiger spirit was shown in the second half.
Midway through, Scott Murray scored beside the posts.
Tim Rees had no problem with the conversion and Wingham was back in the game, trailing 12-6.
The Breakers held on until the final minute when Rees scored in the corner.
He had the opportunity to level the scores with the conversion from the sideline but the kick just went wide.
Port City was victorious 12-10.
Tries: Scott Murray, Tim Rees.
Goal: Tim Rees.
UNDER 18s
Port City defeated Wingham during a rugby league match at Port Macquarie on Thursday night.
With injuries, illnesses and suspensions, the Tigers had to call on several under-16 players to put together a team.
The Breakers led 10-0 inside 10 minutes before Wingham started getting their defence organised.
Another try to the home team right on halftime gave Port City a 16-0 lead.
They scored early in the second stanza to lead 22-0.
The Tigers were rewarded with a try in the corner to Mark Fahey.
The Breakers added two more tries in the final 10 minutes to run out winners by 30-4.
Try: Mark Fahey.
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