THE wave rolled on for the Forster Tuncurry Dolphins at their Tuncurry rugby union base with a 69-0 defeat of their oldest rivals, the Manning River Ratz, at Peter Barclay Field.
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Winter has bitten deeply into the Ratz. They lacked no less than six front-line players in a combination which has seen 12 members 20 years of age and under representing the club’s First XV.
Aggravating the situation for beleaguered coach Jake Maurirere, his captain and Mid North Coast representative, Sam Hartnett, limped off before halftime with a painful leg injury. He received treatment only to be unable to complete the game, a major loss.
Nevertheless, the Dolphins reserved their season’s finest performance for the occasion, winning the lineouts, 12-8, through tyro lock Lachlan Daczko and flanker Brad Murray with Jack Woods troubled by injury, and gaining scrummaging mastery through James Clarke and Scott Walmsley.
Walmsley will be unfamiliar to rugby followers, at least on the Lower Mid North Coast, having joined the club this month, but the bearded forward is a 34-year-old veteran of more scrums than he cares to remember, via the Newcastle Griffins and Kempsey Cannonballs.
These rugby “wanderers” are the life blood of country clubs, yet another first-year Dolphin being the Welsh traveller, Tom Homer, who arrived out of the blue to claim the open-side flank with his pace and energy.
Homer and Walmsley were the Dolphins forwards who volunteered their services and won best and fairest awards for an under-staffed Myall Coast Mud Crabs this month at Hawks Nest. There is a generosity in the game with a spirit beyond price.
Hooker Nik Mylonas, flanker Bayly Holborrow, lock David Rees and tight-head Brendan Fuller had strong games for the Ratz, but coach Jake Maurirere will be subjecting his players to some demanding defensive drills and introducing them to the tackle bags over the next few weeks.
With their ample possession, the Dolphins’ nerve centre of inside backs, Liam Brady, Matt Nuku and Mark Hagarty, played havoc in creating their side’s 11 tries, MNC Axeman representative winger Jesse Logan settling reassuringly into the vacant outside-centre position.
A brief but pleasing event was the reappearance off the bench of the Dolphins’ champion centre, Tom Harris, returning after a water skiing lesson which went wrong, inflicting a triple torn hamstring muscle.
The unbeaten Dolphins now face the second-placed Wallamba Bulls at Nabiac next Saturday, the Bulls having overcome the Old Bar Clams for a bonus point 55-5 win at Trad Fields. Dismayingly, the Gloucester Cockies forfeited their away game to the Myall Coast due to a serious injury toll.