Parkes Boars may have lost their Blowes Clothing Cup match against Dubbo Roos 38-19, but they gained plenty of admirers for their effort.
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The Roos came out on top following a highly physical matchup with the win not always looking likely.
The Boars fought back from a 12-5 halftime deficit and then 24-10 in the middle of the second half to get within a try of the hosts.
But, Dubbo regrouped to score 14 unanswered points in the final 20 minutes to run away with the win.
Roos captain Filisone Pauta said Parkes did not make it easy.
“It was a battle out there today,” Pauta said.
“It was a really physical game, but we knew coming from a loss we had to pick up our game.
“Big ups to Parkes for coming out here.
“They made us work for this win and congratulations to them.
“I think they played really good and tested us throughout all areas of the field.
“We knew it was always going to be a challenge against them and we are just happy to come through with it,” he said.
The seesawing match got off to a slow start, with Dubbo leading 12-5 at the end of a first half riddled with penalties.
Shaun McHugh got the Roos on the board when the ball was spread wide, splitting the Boars defence with space to stroll over the line.
Anthony Golding’s conversion extended the Roos lead before Rory Nock pushed over for Parkes to keep the scores tight at 7-5.
A try from hard-running youngster Josh Exner set the halftime score at 12-5, and Parkes captain Stuart Taylor said at that point, the undermanned Boars knew the game was still there for the taking.
“We just talked and said look at the score line,” Taylor said.
“There’s definitely a contest.
“We’ve had some tough weeks so definitely when it got to halftime we were looking for a win and kept our heads up to work towards that.
“There were some tough periods there.
“When we made a mistake, Roos got on top of us.”
Eli Kinscher opened the scoring in the second half, storming through the Parkes line 40 metres out to put the ball down just beside the posts, with Pauta going over eight minutes later.
Parkes then put their foot down, with Dylan Phillips and Joe Nash getting over for one each to bring the Boars within a try of the leaders.
It was then the Roos stepped up a notch, with Pauta going over for his second before a McHugh banana kick put Brad Pugh over in the corner.
Golding’s conversion, right on the buzzer, sealed the victory.
Best for Parkes were Joe Nash, James Peters Matt Hunter and Luke Rosa.
The Boars have a week off before they host Bathurst Bulldogs at Northparkes Oval on May 14.
