THE second week of the group 3 preseason competition was played on Sunday at the Wingham sporting complex.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Both of Wauchope's under 18's and first grade teams travelled away to play in their respective matches. The under 18's started the day on a winning note, narrowly beating Old bar beach by two points. The young blues played strong and did well to contain some much bigger opposition.
First grade took the field aiming for a place in the final to be played later in the evening, coming up against a young Wingham tigers outfit the Clayton cup winning premiers weren't going into the game thinking it would be a walk in the park.
The match was kept scoreless for the first 15 minutes with Wauchope eventually crossing the line in the corner through winger Reuben Trick. Wingham finished the half with 2 successive tries taking them to the break in the lead 12 to 4.
Wauchope brought the score back to within 2 points early in the second half when Beau Kettle used his brute strength the cross the line carrying 2 Wingham defenders with him.
The Blues were denied the chance to take the lead on a number of occasions with tries being disallowed by some questionable refereeing decisions.
The game was not without drama, a Wingham player was sin-binned for his part in an all in brawl and later another Wingham player sent from the field after a gruesome head-butt which could see him spending some lengthy time on the sideline.
Wingham finished the game with 12 players and proved to be too good for Wauchope.
The under 18's played directly after first grade in their plate final against new comers to the competition Kempsey Mustangs. In a well-played match the score ended 12 points all, however Wauchope were named winners as the preseason competition rules state that the first try scorer wins if the game results in a draw. Shaun Hinton was one of Wauchope's best along with Dylan Hemsley and Ben McMillan showing that the young Blues are set for a competitive season.