The Goulburn Dirty Reds 2nd grade team has work to do while the Crookwell Dogs are looking the goods ahead of their season opener on Saturday.
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The two sides clashed at Simon Poidevin Oval on Saturday, March 26 for the inaugural Luke McCue Memorial Cup.
McCue was a Dirty Reds junior player from Crookwell who died in a single vehicle accident due to driver fatigue in 2020.
He played number four and really liked the lineouts. He was the team motivator and the team spirit.
His mother Glenda McCue, who was pleased to see the Dogs have a comfortable 34-5 win, said it was a fabulous day.
"We're here to raise funds to create the Luke McCue Memorial Players fund," Glenda said.
"If any players are injured in the regular rugby season, the funds will help them out with rent and accommodation."
The Dogs were on fire early on, scoring the opening try, before an instant reply from the home side halted them momentarily.
However, it was one-way traffic from there on in.
Dogs coach Bruce Nixon was delighted with the victory, but didn't want to get ahead of himself.
"Our fitness level and our game for our first hit out were great," Nixon said.
"It was good to see the players enjoying themselves and committing to the structures and things we worked on in training."
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Although the Dogs looked very good, Nixon said his side was still in a transitioning stage.
"We had 14 new players last year and we're lucky they stayed with us," he said.
"For us, it's not about winning or losing, but about improving the players' skill levels.
"Having said that, the results will come if we're good enough and if it doesn't, it means we have to work harder."
The Dirty Reds were dominated in most aspects of the match, but their coach Jack Anable wasn't too discouraged by what he saw.
"That was the first hitout for the year for that group," he said.
"We've got some good things to work with and I think we can push for finals footy."
There's still a month to go until the start of the season for the Dirty Reds, but for Crookwell, their season begins against the Braidwood Redbacks on Saturday, April 2 at the Braidwood Recreation Ground.
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Burney Wong
I love sport. You can reach me at burney.wong@austcommunitymedia.com.au or on 0437 291 518.
I love sport. You can reach me at burney.wong@austcommunitymedia.com.au or on 0437 291 518.
