The battle between Camden and Picton for the 2015 minor premiership is on in earnest after they both recorded big wins this afternoon. Mike Shean reports.
Camden relinquished top spot after the deferred round 11 matches, but only by percentages, after both teams posted 50 plus points in their respective victories.
Picton beat Oakdale Workers 50-0 and the Rams were clinical in their 58-10 win over The Oaks Tigers at Dudley Chesham Oval, but they did suffer a key injury in the process.
Five eighth Ryan Borg appeared to hurt his hamstring after 20 minutes and came off the field, leaving the visitors a man down for a large portion of the match. The injury didn’t seem to hamper the Rams, as new signing, former NRL star Dean Collis, moved to the pivot role with ease.
The Rams took control of the game early, scoring several tries to help them control the entire game.
Lee Russell, who was among Scott Borg’s better players, bagged the first try of the day early.
The Tigers though appeared to be lacking communication from the kick off.
Chris Browne, who bagged three tries, scored his first after nine minutes, reward for a nice piece of support play.
Nick Crouch then added his name to the list in the 15th minute, and the Rams were in control at 16-0.
To the Tigers credit, they kept trying all afternoon and were rewarded when Brayden Goulding opened their account 22 minutes in, following some nice play down their left hand side of attack.
Borg then scored an easy try and Browne added a second before the break as the Rams cruised to a 28-4 lead at oranges.
The Tigers started the second half positively when Andrew Small crossed four minutes after the resumption to reduce the margin to 28-10, but the comeback didn’t last long.
Matt Applebee, who played well from dummy half all afternoon, scored a solo try to restore the margin at 24 points, before the Rams went up a gear to add another four tries in the last 21 minutes of the match.
These included Browne’s third and touchdowns by Jack Davey and Jesse Jackson.
Rams captain/coach Scott Borg said after the game that The Oaks were tough opposition and proved to be a difficult side to beat, despite the final scoreline.
“Dean Collis was an excellent stand-in for Ryan when he went off injured; his experience was invaluable,’’ Borg said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“I was pleased with the performance from my team but we know that we need to keep winning.[/social_quote]
“This will be tested on Saturday night when we travel to Moss Vale to play the Dragons at Community Oval.’’
RESULTS:
Moss Vale Dragons 30 Campbelltown City 40;
The Oaks Tigers 10 Camden Rams 58;
Mittagong Lions 14 Narellan Jets 28;
Picton Magpies 50 Oakdale Workers 0
LADDER:
Picton 24
Camden 24
Appin 15
Moss Vale 13
Narellan 12
Mittagong 12
The Oaks 9
Campbelltown City 9
Thirlmere 7
Oakdale 5
Reserve Grade:
Moss Vale 22 Campbelltown City 44;
The Oaks 0 Camden 34;
Mittagong 10 Narellan 30;
Picton 12 Oakdale 6
NEXT WEEK – ROUND 14 – FIRST GRADE
Moss Vale vs Camden (Saturday 6.30pm);
The Oaks vs Appin;
Campbelltown City vs Thirlmere (Fullwood Reserve);
Mittagong vs Oakdale;
Picton vs Narellan (all Sunday 2.30pm)
