Sport
3 August, 2024
Bogan Bulls celebrate Ladies Day against a red-hot Walgett
The Bogan Bulls came up against two red hot Walgett sides on Saturday, with the Women’s Tri Tag almost losing its unbeaten record and the men losing 24-15.
It was the annual Bulls’ Ladies Day fixture and there was a large crowd on the sideline at Larkin Oval to cheer on the home team.
The Tri Tag side was short a few key players and had to fight hard for a 5-all draw against a significantly improved Walgett side. Captain Meeghan Seymour said the Walgett girls were the only team so far to seriously threaten the Bulls – and it was a wake-up call for the local girls to up their efforts in the run to the finals. “They got into our head and they knew how to rile us up,” she said.
New recruit Alex McLaughlin was awarded three points, captain Meeghan was given two, consistent try scorer Molly Smith was given one point. Player’s player was Amy Motley.
The men were also short key players, including injured captain Brendan Nelson. Coach Rob Kennedy said Walgett had set the standard throughout the competition and turned up to Nyngan with it’s a game. “They played exceptional football for the first 25 minutes and we couldn’t go with them and before we knew it we were down 12-0,” he said.
“With Brendo out, the line out didn’t work and as a result we just couldn’t get the ball. We defended very well given how much ball they had and it should have been 25-0 except for our courage!” Kennedy said the game switched more to Nyngan’s favour when Bubba Perry ran on from the bench. “We finally got some footy and got on the board with a great try to the Yesman with a good backline movement for him to score under the posts,” Kennedy said. “We scored again and we were back in it at with a half time score of 12-10.”
Walgett used their speed advantage out wide using the chip kick to set up their quality wingers and Nyngan struggled to defend it. The Walgett Rams were 24-15 winners over the Bogan Bulls at full-time. “As the match went on we stayed in the fight but the lack of ball took its toll given the defence we had to do in the first 25 minutes and then we just weren’t fit enough,” Kennedy said.
“Luckily we’ve got a few weeks to attempt to fix it, I called out a few fellas about their fitness and they aren’t alone. Genuinely Western Plains footy is 75 per cent fitness. All in all, if we can fix the line out and continue to improve our fitness we can give it one hell of a shake!”
The loss on Saturday has meant the Bulls cannot finish the competition rounds higher than third place and has the competitive Bourke-Brewarrina side breathing down its neck on fourth. “Playing (Bourke-Brewarrina) Bre at Bre in a do or die semifinal is not getting me excited that’s for sure!” Kennedy said. “But we just have to worry about Warren at Warren next week which is a mountain to climb given they beat Walgett three weeks ago by 20 points so no doubt we are up against it, but the challenge is why we do it, we want to test ourselves against the best sides.
“Best on day was Henry Weston who tackled his heart out and continues to do the hard stuff. Big Bubba was great along with Welsh Lestyn and Boagy was also close to his best. I thought Irish Kenny was also great in defence and Tommy Cleaver hit like a sledgy in defence. The best part is we get to try and fix it next week against Warren the best in the competition.”
Following the games there were some fun Ladies Day activities including a shirtless player running race – won by Bubba; and the awarding of the Chick’s Pick – this year won by Will Boag.
