Bec Ford’s taking hits this season but she’s not complaining.
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The Group 10 half was instrumental in her side’s latest Western Women’s Rugby League victory on Sunday, a round two, 50-0 clinic against a quality Woodbridge Cup side at Grenfell.
A star with Orange Hawks’ league tag side, Ford says transitioning to the full-blown contact side of the game has taken time – as a lot of the new players in the WWRL competition are finding out.
But the biggest challenge she has to face as a half?
“You have to learn to take a hit,” Ford laughed.
“It’s obviously a lot more psychical (than league tag) and, being a half, you need to take the ball to the line, you do get hit a fair bit.”
Ford booted seven goals and helped lay on a swag of tries for the so-far-unbeaten Group 10 girls at Grenfell’s Lawson Oval.
After impressing on debut at Blayney at fortnight ago, backrower Kaitlyn Phillips again shone with three tries while prop Haylee Lepaio bagged a double in her first game with Group 10 this season.
Backs Elise Woods, Claire Woolmington, Emily McDonald and Meredith Jones also crossed for four-points.
Just about all of Group 10’s try-scorers have some form of tackle rugby league experience, be that in last year’s nines competition or with Western in 2018.
Ford says that time playing together has helped fast-track Group 10’s cohesion.
“I think our success comes from playing together with Rams, from memory we have around nine players in that group,” Ford said.
“Playing together more, you’re able to read each other better and that’s probably the biggest difference between us and a few other sides.”
The crafty No.7 says Woodbridge Cup was a sterner test than the nine-tries-to-none scoreline suggests.
“They put up a good fight, they just need to play together a bit more,” she added.
“It didn’t feel like 50-0. It was tough, phsyical ... just at times they showed a bit of inexperience.”
In round two’s other opens game, Group 11 bounced back from a round one loss to knock-off Castlereagh 36-12, former Wallaroo Rebecca Smyth scoring four tries at Spooner Oval.
ROUND TWO SCORES:
OPENS:
- GROUP 11 36 (Rebecca Smyth 4, Cassandra Toomey, Kaitlyn Mason, April Townsend tries; Tarlee Roberts 4 goals) def CASTLEREAGH 12 (Zoe Harland, Sam Turnbull tries; Harland 2 goals) at Forbes.
- GROUP 10 50 def WOODBRIDGE CUP 0 at Grenfell.
UNDER 18s:
- GROUP 11 40 (Larrissa Kennedy 3, Madison McGuiness 2, Alahna Ryan, Kiara Singh, Taneaka Todhunter tries, Kennedy 3, Ryan goals) def CASTLEREAGH 16 (Lakeisha Hull 3, Maddy Wallace tries)
- WOODBRIDGE CUP 32 def GROUP 10 10