They might not have played together as a team before, but Parkes Spacemen coach Jimmy Clyburn was 'super proud' of his boys as they got off to a winning start in their opening game of the 2022 Western Rams under 21s competition on Sunday.
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It was the hot weather every country rugby league player detests early in the season, but Parkes finished stronger than Bathurst Panthers to win 18-14 at Sid Kallas Oval in Cowra.
A footy team, especially a newly configured one, being a bit rusty in game one is implied, but combine that with the ever-changing nature of this league in the preseason, getting off to a win against such a strong club was a brilliant way to start the season.
"It was a pretty rocky start," said Clyburn after the game.
"The Panthers got first points on the board, but then we had a good changeover with Billy Simpson and Jesse Shorter through the middle which really changed the momentum and got us back in the game.
Zayne Eshman steered the ship around well, he had a brilliant show and go and cross over untouched, he has such good vision
"The Panthers were really strong all game so I'm really stoked to get the win," said Clyburn.
Cale Dunn, Sonny Knights and Bill Quarmby, Nyngan Tigers juniors who played for Macquarie in last year's 21s competition, came across to Parkes after Macquarie pulled out of this year's edition a week before the opener.
Manildra forward Ben Sharpless has also made the short drive across on the Henry Parkes Way and brought a few teammates.
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According to Clyburn though, no one had trouble fitting into the strong club culture at Parkes.
"We've missed out on several blokes who are playing rep footy for the Rams or are down in Sydney, like Jack Smith, Kyle Mawhinney, Finnley Neilsen and Benny Lovett," he said.
"But our two strike centres today, Cale and Sonny, picked us up a fair bit with a few tackle breaks and each scored a try which was brilliant.
"They've fit straight into the club culture, and they certainly aren't shy!
"Bill Quarmby also fitted in well and had really good impact while Ben Sharpless played brilliant off the bench," said Clyburn.
While Bathurst dominated much of the opening half, Clyburn said he was particularly pleased with the way his side finished - even when things didn't go their way in trying conditions.
"A lot of the boys have never played together before so obviously for us there's a lot of improvement to come," he said.
"Our completions and penalties in particular hurt us a bit, but the heat was mid-30s and obviously took a lot out of the boys so I was pleased with their effort.
"It was a good, grinding way of winning a football game; the discipline the boys showed and the fact they didn't put their heads down when they made a mistake...I was just super proud of the boys," said Clyburn.
In the other games for the round, St Pats made a statement with a 44-10 thrashing of the Cowra Magpies, while Dubbo CYMS defeated the Orange Hawks 20-12. The Spacemen head to Apex Oval in Dubbo for Round 2 on Sunday to take on CYMS.
PARKES SPACEMEN 18 (Sonny Knight, Zayne Eshman, Cale Dunn tries; Mitch Wright 3 goals) defeated BATHURST PANTHERS 14 (Callum Limon, Charlie Hutchings, Evan Café tries; Noah Griffiths goal)
