The Narooma Devils stood firm at Bill Smyth Oval on Sunday, beating the depleted Batemans Bay Tigers 26-16 to pick up their second victory of the season.
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The Devils came into the match not having played in three weeks, as last weekend’s rain-out against the Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs consigned them to two straight weeks on the sidelines.
The Tigers went down to the Moruya Sharks last weekend, and lost starting props Peter Lett and Jarrod Wicks during the week.
The loss was noticed early, as the replacement forwards struggled to gain ground against a tough Narooma pack.
Todd and Kane Ayers were particularly impressive early on, with a number of line-bending runs gifting the Devils early territorial advantage.
The match was broken open in the eighth minute when Bay halfback Luke Farmer put up a spiraling bomb near the halfway line.
The ball took a big bounce back towards the Tigers’ tryline, and young Devils’ centre Matt Parsons was quickest to react.
He took the footy, and ran away from the Tigers’ chasers to give Narooma an early 4-0 lead.
The Devils were in again shortly afterwards, as Kane Ayers broke through three tackles to score a fairly soft try next to the posts.
Ryan Norris’ conversion gave the home-side a deserved 10-0 advantage.
The Tigers worked their way back into the contest, and in-form centre Tom Bollard got their first points of the afternoon.
Luke Farmer finally found himself with some space off the scrum, and he started a slick backline move that ended with Bollard stepping inside his defender to score.
The Devils would score in the shades of half time to steal back any momentum the Tigers had gained. Norris’ missed conversion meant the Devils led 14-6 at the break.
The Tigers came out the brighter side in the second half, with Tom Bollard getting his second try of the afternoon from dummy half.
The match became an arm-wrestle from that point, as both forward packs started to tire.
The fatigue showed in the Devils’ next try, as Kane Ayers ran onto a good inside ball to score right under the posts.
Ayers was in again for his hat-trick not long after, this time from a solo effort. Ayers broke through the defensive line in his own half, and showed good footwork and pace to run away from Adam McCann for the try.
Michael Tadich would score a final try for the Tigers, but this was Narooma’s day, as they ran out 26-16 victors.
Devils’ captain Todd Ayers was happy with his side’s effort, but lamented the errors they made.
“We sort of developed control a bit too easily in the first half, and I think it backfired on us,” he said.
“We’re learning that we can be a force to be reckoned with once we cut the mistakes out, there’s still just a few too many errors.
“They were unforced errors, not forced errors. It’s not disappointing considering the two weeks off, but it’s something we have to improve on.”
Ayers said the club is well set up after a victory over a “quality outfit”.
“I think they had a couple out today, but everyone in this comp is strong, so you get a win any weekend, and your very happy with it,” he said.
Tigers’ captain Luke Farmer wouldn’t use injuries as an excuse for the loss.
“That happens, other players filled their sports, but we just weren’t good enough today,” he said.
“Credit to the boys that were in there today, they don’t usually play front row.”
Farmer described the loss as frustrating, but said his side should be boosted by returning players in the next couple of weeks.
“We’re confident we can field a healthy side,” he said. “We’re hoping those boys come back over the next two or three weeks.
“That’s just football, and you have to live with it.”
Despite the loss, the Tigers aren’t letting their heads drop.
“Everyone’s down from their performance, but they’ve still got their heads up,” Farmer said.
“We’re 3-3, and it’s been a while since Batemans Bay was 3-3.”
In other results, the under 18s played out a thrilling 16-16 draw thanks to a try on the siren from Batemans Bay’s Ethan Wood.
Mitch Hockey and William Bruce showed why they’re in first grade for the Tigers, while Matt Parsons, Jackson Kelly, and Dillon Smith impressed for the Devils.
The Tigers’ reserves had the bye, while the Narooma reserves lost 28-10 to Tathra.
