When Jack Afamasaga was promoted to the Mudgee Dragons’ starting line-up on Sunday, spectators had the right to expect fireworks between he and Oberon’s Josh Starling as the two former NRL stars were set to square off for 80 minutes in the Group 10 premier league.
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What Glen Willow faithful didn’t expect was a full-blown fist fight that erupted between the two front rowers just 25 minutes into the match, prompting a pair of send offs and a ten-minute rest for Tigers’ winger Lochie Gilmore who was the third man in.
The altercation, which started after Starling gave Afamasaga some extra attention in the ruck, allowed the Dragons to add another try to an already imposing first-half lead, before running out 36-18 victors as they put a roadblock in front of Oberon and its quest for a top three finish.
Mudgee’ Dragons coach Ben Gregory didn’t see a whole lot of malice in Starling’s tackle that led to the scuffle, and would have been happy to see both blokes stay on the field.
“Being an old school front rower, I don’t have an issue with the big boys buttin’ heads,” Gregory said.
“I know that’s not the state of play in the 2018 era. If one goes then they both have to go so if that’s the ruling then I think that’s fair to be honest.”
The seven-try showcase didn’t start until after Oberon’s Brenton Gibson snatched a cross-field bomb, giving the the away side a 6-0 lead inside the first ten minutes.
The Tigers looked set to pounce again until they failed to clean-up a routine kick that was scooped by Nathan Orr who ran 50 metres, opening the account for the red and whites.
It was Orr’s pace that led to the Dragons’ second four-pointer as Gary Reilly dished the ball off after coming up with an intercept deep in Mudgee territory, sending the centre 90 metres to the try line.
The try saw Gregory’s men take an 8-6 lead after Lachie Hill missed both conversions.
Chanse Burgess pushed the floodgates open in the 19th minute as he cut through the Tigers’ goal-line defence before offloading to a barnstorming Tom Lawson.
When the Red V got more field position just three minutes later, Luke Moody carried four Oberon defenders to the goal line as stretched out for his side’s fourth try of the half.
It was after Moody’s four-pointer when tempers flared as Afamasaga ran at Starling before being worked over in the ruck – too much for big Jack’s liking.
Some would say the melee was coming as the pair had already come to blows several times before the punches were thrown in the 25th minute.
A try to Tom Baddock in the 32nd minute saw the two sides enter the sheds at 26-6, before scoring two tries each in the second half in a stanza that was far less entertaining than the one that preceded it.
Oberon captain-coach Luke Branighan admitted being down to 11 blokes at one stage didn’t help, but his side’s problems stretched beyond that 10-minute period.
“We were on top early then we didn’t react to the two tries they scored against the run of play,” Branighan said.
“We weren’t good enough today. We need to be better. It was a danger game for us and I’ve got a very high opinion of the Mudgee side. They’re a lot better than where they sit.”
“At the end of the day, we’ve just got to put that game to bed and get on with it. It’s just disappointing because it’s going to be a bit of a battle to get into the top three from here but we’ve got to move forward and get ready for Blayney next week.”
Branighan’s takeaway from the Starling-Afamasaga tussle was similar to Gregory’s and doesn’t think it will take long for both players to put the incident behind them.”
“What happens on the field stay on the field. They’re both experienced players and I’m sure they’ll both get on with it.”
It was all smiles out the front of Mudgee’s sheds after the game as Ben Gregory reflected on memorable performance.
“We’ve always had the ability to play this way and this is where we’ve set up from day one,” he said.
We’ve always had the ability to play this way and this is where we’ve set up from day one
- Ben Gregory
“We’ve been so hamstrung throughout the year with injuries and it’s been hard to get any cohesion and consistency but the boys carried out some instruction today.
“They’re good footballers – we’re just at the wrong end of the season to be getting all this right.”
A 26-point showcase in the first half had Gregory licking his lips as the Dragons’ coaching staff is already looking towards the 2019 season and beyond.
“We’ve already started the process for next season and we’ll continue to do that right up until the end of the year and make sure we secure all of the blokes we’ve got,” he said.
“We’re building a culture and a team where we all put in and we win games. That was self-evident today.
“I thought we were pretty lucky in the first part of the game but the double send off… that suits us. It’s more grass for us to play on and we’ve got some blokes who can move.”
The Dragons were able to get the win today without pocket rocket Jack Beasley who’s nursing a knee strain.
Luckily for Gregory, Gary Reilly filled the void at five-eighth after the veteran came over from St Pat’s in a mid-season transfer.
“He approached us about getting a game of footy. He’d been missing out over at St Pat’s,” he said.
“He came here on no promises that he’d end up in the premier league team and as the injuries turned out, he’s slotted in.
“As long as he can keep giving Nathan Orr some good ball, he’ll be good for us.”
MUDGEE DRAGONS 36 (Tom Lawson 2, Nathan Orr 2, Tom Baddock 2, Luke Moody 1 tries; Lachie Hill 4 goals) DEF OBERON TIGERS 18 (Brenton Gibson 1, Luke Christie-Johnston 1, Michael Hawkings; Luke Branighan 3 goals).