Although his Orange Hawks side won just one of five games at last weekend’s Mudgee Nines, new captain-coach Willie Heta saw enough promising signs to be confident his two blues can cause a stir in this year’s Group 10 premier league competition.
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It was Heta’s first foray in the two blue jersey and the Hawks’ faithful also had their first look at a number of the club’s other 2017 recruits, including former Group 11 back rower Ethan McKellar, wrecking ball centre Sione Tongia and potential half Joey Dunlop.
“It was good experience for the boys, it was a good bit of bonding and everyone enjoyed it,” Heta said.
“We probably could’ve won three or four of the games we played but just couldn’t hold on long enough.
“I’m really happy with the way it went, we rewarded the boys who have been at training and they did a good job.”
After finishing fourth in their pool Hawks were trumped in their one and only play-off game against eventual runners-up Kurri Kurri.
Jordan Baker and Mick Cooper both found the stripe for Hawks, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs ran in four of their own to win 16-8.
Prior to that, in the preliminary stage, Hawks defeated Dubbo Westside (16-6) but lost out to The Entrance Tigers (16-4), Mudgee Dragons (18-14) and eventual champions Macquarie Scorpions (26-0).
The two blues skipped out to an early 8-0 lead against the Dragons, but were reined in after half-time by the reigning Group 10 premiers.
Heta was impressive in the limited time he spent on the paddock, particularly his pinpoint kicking game.
The Hawks’ new mentor said he was overwhelmingly impressed with one of his charges though, 2016 player of the year Nathan Potts, who has added substantial weight to his frame and looks set for a huge season.
“I was very impressed with Nathan Potts, he’s a good kid and played really, really well,” Heta said.
“Sione was very good as well, I’m glad we brought him over because he needed the fitness.
“He’s a real wrecking ball and is pretty dangerous, he’s someone we could really build our side around.”
The prize match, worth $5,000, started with the Bulldogs’ Ben Wyborn and the Scorpions’ Andrew Sumner trading tries before Randall Briggs broke the stalemate just before half-time, his converted try made it 10-4.
Leading 10-4 into the second half, Macquarie proved why its defence was one of the most lauded of the tournament, continually keeping the Bulldogs out.
Five-eighth Matt Simon closed out the competition with one more for the Scorpions, pushing the score out to 14-4.
Macquarie’s Dave Woods was named player of the tournament.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
