Lithgow Workies | 10

Mudgee has continued its winning start to the Group 10 Leaguetag season after defeating Lithgow Workies 24-10 At Glen Willow Stadium yesterday.

The home side started slowly but found its rhythm with several surging runs setting up their attacking raids.

Mudgee coach Ivan Giammarco raved about his side’s performance.

“We started slow in the first five minutes and we made back-to back errors and that cost us with them going in early,” Giammarco said.

“But after that it was one way traffic and the girls’ defence was extremely strong which is something we have worked hard at training and Lithgow couldn’t handle the pressure and they turned the ball over.

Ahead of the clash Lithgow’s Chrissie West loomed at the key player Mudgee had to stop and to a large capacity they managed to do that.

“We focussed to kick away from Chrissie (West) and we managed to find space and our kick chase was very good,” Giammarco said.

“We out some pressure on her (West) and the blockers, and to be honest I have never seen her kick so poorly.”

In her return from injury Sally Harris played the full 50 minutes and starred for the home side scoring one try and setting up another.

“She stayed on for the whole game and her fitness was better than I expected and she had a blinder of a game as well,” the Mudgee coach said.

Workies were first on the board when Tahlia Nugent made a break through the Dragons line to score next to the uprights for 6-0.

However, Mudgee hit back when they made the most of possession deep in Lithgow’s half when Sally Harris capitalised on some excellent lead-up work to score under the sticks to level the game up at 6-all.

The home side went ahead after an excellent run from Billy-Jane Hoole led to Marita Shoulder finding her way through a packed defensive line.

The successful conversion too the score to be 12-6.

Mudgee continued to apply the screws mid-way through the first half as they pinned the away side deep inside their own half.

As a result Kelly Dowdy crossed as they Dragons earned a two try converted lead in the shadows of half-time.

Much like the first half, Mudgee took its time to get back into the rhythm of the game as Workies looking to capitalise on small handling mistakes.

Lithgow’s West loomed dangerously on the left wing early in the second stanza, however unlike the corresponding game last year, the Dragons were able to keep the star player in check.

The home side scored a vital try in the 35th minute to continue the scoreboard pressure on their opponents as Caitlin Shoulders dove across.

Hayley Joseph continued her excellent day with the boot as the margin became 18.

Mudgee could have extended the lead even more when they earned a line dropout but lax handling and a penalty let Workies off the hook as time started to out for the visitors.

Lithgow looked certain to score a consolation try before an excellent diving tags from Haley Joseph and Bec Spinner.

However, the Mudgee defence could only hold out so long as West strolled over outside to put some respectability into the score at 24-10.