The Axemen turned an early 12-0 deficit into a 21-12 half-time lead before they held out a determined Far North Coast to win 31-17.

It was the first time the zone had won the Richardson Shield.

Coach Angus Anderson, who had been entrusted with turning their fortunes around, had delivered.

“Never in the history, ever, of Mid North Coast rugby union have we won this – not once,” he said.

“It’s great for Mid North Coast rugby.

“It’s an injection of enthusiasm, it’s an injection of passion and in our own backyard it’s great to have put something on the park that we can be proud of.”

Port Pirates captain Bleddyn Gant led the way up front, while Hastings Valley Viking Adam McCormack pulled the strings to ensure the Axemen got the job done.

Prior to their win, the Axemen had previously battled with western NSW to avoid the wooden spoon of the Richardson Shield.

The Axemen’s success was from working as a collective unit rather than relying on pieces of individual brilliance.

“The thing about our team is that it’s a team effort, there’s no individuals,” Anderson said.

“I don’t coach for individuals, it’s about the team and that’s why we won it.”

They didn’t have it all their own way after two quick tries in the opening five minutes had Mid North Coast on the back foot.

But Anderson was confident they could drag themselves back into the contest and they did.

“Ideally we don’t want to give anyone 12 points start, but there’s nothing we can do about that,” he said.

“We didn’t panic, we kept our heads in the game and trusted the work we’d done and how we’d prepared.

“There was still a lot of the game to be played and we knew where we wanted to expose their weaknesses and we knew where our strengths were so we trusted that and ground it out.”

Tries to AJ Gilbert and a 50-metre effort from Kyle Hancock put them in the box seat at the break.

Vikings winger Dan Willoughby added another try shortly into the second half, but Far North Coast wouldn’t be denied and had closed to 26-17 with 23 minutes remaining.

Anderson admitted a 15-minute period halfway through the second half when they were camped on their own line set up the win.

“The defence from the boys was absolutely extraordinary,” he said.

“That showed the attitude and the head space they were in.

“That’s stage one of three complete, we’ve got a couple of years to go, but that’s step one done and dusted.”