For 15 minutes, it seemed as if the Cowra Blues, making their return to competition for the first time after pulling out of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, were going to be a throwback to the force of old.
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Taking 18 players with them to George Park against the Bathurst Bushrangers Outlaws' side, who had a full contingent of 24, the undermanned Blues shot out of the blocks early, kicking the game's first two goals.
Franky Bright was creative in the middle, Blair Holgate was hitting packs, and the ball movement was quick and clean.
But reality soon came home to roost for the visiting side, who eventually lost by 128 points in a rough introduction back into the AFL Central West's senior men's competition.
Cameron Richards ran rampant for the Bushies, kicking five goals in a strong display up forward, while the best-on-ground Adrian Hickey kicked three goals alongside Peter Grundy and Alex Sparks.
It was a strong display from the powerhouse club, who hosted two games at home on Saturday, with the Rebels running out winners in a tight tussle against the Dubbo Demons by 21 points.
Despite the size of the loss though, new coach Ben Rodin found some positives to take out of the loss, particularly with his defensive unit, who did well to contain the oppositions with the number of entries that came in.
"Our defence battled hard all day," Rodin said.
"The inside-50 differential between the two teams was at least around 35-plus, but the way we defended worked to restrict their conversions, which is as much as you could ask for," he said.
The coach was particularly pleased with the efforts of full-back Joe Waters, who took several marks and showed a willingness to take the game on in his first ever game of Australian Rules.
"I couldn't speak higher of his effort and ferocity today," the new coach said.
"As with all new players there will be bigger challenges ahead for him, but if he keeps competing with that intensity at ground level, with his height and speed he'll be dominating his opponents and getting opportunities further up the ground in no time."
The midfield is the biggest area of concern the coach will have to remedy ahead of this week's match, with the Bushrangers moving the ball out of the middle far too easily against the under-manned midfield, despite the strong four-quarter effort of Holgate in the ruck.
"We were significantly beaten in that area," Rodin said.
"I'll never use a lack of personnel as an excuse, but it will certainly help to get some guys back playing at home this weekend."
The Blues host the Demons this Saturday at 2.30pm at Mulyan Oval.
- BATHURST BUSHRANGERS OUTLAWS 22-22-154 (Cameron Richards 5, Alex Sparks 3, Adrian Hickey 3, Peter Grundy 3, Alex Davey 2, Troy Robinson 2, Cameron Inwood, Scott Jablonskis, Steve Bonham, Ben Horn) defeated COWRA BLUES 4-2-26 (Paul Basham, Brad McLeish, Frank Bright, Chris Day)
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