Although prior commitments prevented the red and whites from participating on the second day of the Bathurst Knockout, they weren’t to be slowed down during Friday’s double header.
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Cowra and Orange CYMS fell victim to the Dragons as Sebastian Flack’s first division men kick-started the night with a disciplined display against the Magpies.
“Tommy Lawson was a good inclusion for us,” Flack said.
“He scored a couple of tries and had a couple disallowed.”
Although the second tier squad didn’t light the world on fire, Flack was happy with the ball control shown by his side and thinks that will set a good standard for the upcoming campaign.
“It’s a good sign for the rest of the year considering the amount of people we had out on the day,” he said.
“We still managed to get over the top of Cowra who is a red hot first division team so I’m really happy with it.”
Although a first division triumph was nice, Dragons’ faithful would admit a strong premier division performance was more important in the lead up to the season and that’s exactly what was put forward by Ben Gregory’s men.
After placing fourth in the nines tournament, the Dragons’ top flight squad downed Orange CYMS on Friday and Gregory attributed the win to hard work and enthusiasm.
“We didn’t do anything too special. We just played with purpose and structure,” Gregory said.
“That pays off when teams give you enough possession.
“The confidence that we showed with the ball was a reflection of the positive attitude.”
Not only did the top tier outfit sign show a willingness Gregory loved, it was dealing with several holes that were filled by first division troops.
“We had a number of blokes back-up from reserve grade and they really put in,” he said.
“Their effort showed how well the football club is going across all grades.”
Despite playing on a depleted side, several premier division players caught Gregory’s attention on Friday.
“I thought Jared Robinson was outstanding. He played at half and provided excellent direction,” he said.
“I was really happy with the effort from Tom Burke who’s just coming into premier league and Nathan O’Brien who’s been in premier league for longer than Tom Burke’s possibly been alive.”
Not to be forgotten, Gregory touched on the women’s league-tag side who turned in a strong display during Sunday’s Western Challenge carnival at Canowindra’s Tom Clyburn Oval.
“They won three of their four games and were only defeated by St Pat’s who are a really good side,” he said.
“They’re going better and better every week and only growing in confidence.”
The Group 10 season kicks off in just under a month.