The Cowra Magpies ended their season on a bitter note, going down in a final match that saw a string of setbacks, including two players sent off in the last 10 minutes, leaving them with only 11 men on the field.
Against the Molong Bulls, Cowra had a promising performance early in the match but was overshadowed by a series of setbacks, including a penalty and multiple send offs in the final few minutes.
The game ended in an elimination of the Cowra Magpies, with Molong Bulls coming out on top 28-24.
The match had promise, as Cowra was ahead with a pair of back to back tries that gave them the upper hand.
“We were on top of them when we scored a couple of back to back tries,” Coach, Phil Ingram, said.
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“Then we got a silly penalty when we had the ball, and that changed the momentum in their favour.”
Ingram explained that during the last few minutes of the game, defense had become a challenge after two players were sent off.
“We were defending really well, trying to scramble and turn up for one another,” Ingram said.
“But it made it hard when in the last 10 minutes we had two players sent to the sin bin, we ended up finishing the game with 11 players.”
“It was really difficult to defend the line with only 11 players.”
Beyond the scoreboard, the loss cut deeper because it marked the final game of the season and a farewell to a few retiring players.
“The boys are shattered,” Ingram said.
“It was our last home game for the year and the last game for a couple of players who are retiring.”
“It was really dissappointing that we weren’t able to send them out the right way, but that’s footy sometimes.”
Among the bright spots in the match were standout efforts from Toby Apps and Ricky Whitton.
“Toby was really good for us,” Ingram said.
“He’s been strong over the last month just holding that middle.”
“But he can’t do it all by himself, the boys needed to get around and help him.”
“Ricky’s been a standout all year, he was trying his best, but we just couldn’t crack them.”
“We couldn’t get that extra try to get away from them,” Ingram said.
With experienced players moving on, the team will be looking to its younger talent to step up next season.
“We’ve got a couple of players retiring, key players for a number of years, so it’s just a matter of these young fellas stepping up and taking their opportunity when they get the chance,” Ingram said.
Ingram said there was little to fault in the team’s preparation, with the team training hard since November last year.
While commitment was there, game consistency wasn’t.
“The boys trained really well,” Ingram said.
“There’s not really much I would’ve changed, it’s just our performances on the field at times, we let games slip away from us when we were in control.”
Ingram said the team had a habit of taking their foot off the gas when they should have been pressing harder.
“We kind of eased off, took our foot off the throat, tried to coast to an easy win,” Ingram said.
“When you give teams a sniff, they’ll come and get you on the backside and that’s what happened on the weekend.”
Ingram praised the strong bond within the team, which remained tight throughout the year.
“The camaraderie we have throughout the whole group is really good,” Ingram said.
“That loss was just heartbreaking because the boys really felt it.”
“They thought we’d be able to go a bit further than we did,” he said.
As the Magpies reflect on missed chances, there’s still hope for the club’s season next year.
Ingram also thanked the staff who supported the team all year, including manager Chris Wilson, strapper Craig Magus, and water boys Rory and Brian.
Ingram also sent his best wishes to the club’s girls League Tag team and junior sides, who are preparing for their major semi-finals.
“If they get a win, they’ll be in the Grand Final,” Ingram said.
“I hope the community gets out there to support them.”
