CYMS claim bragging rights
Story - BEN WALKER Photos - KATHRYN O'SULLIVAN
A WINNING coach who was slightly disappointed and a losing coach proud of his team.
That was the wash-up from Sunday's Group 11 local derby between Dubbo CYMS and Dubbo Macquarie, which ultimately saw the green side of town smiling courtesy of a 24-22 scoreline.
In a see-sawing contest the two-time defending premiers looked set to win easily when they led 24-10 with 18 minutes to go but Macquarie showed they were made of stern stuff as they roared back on the back of Fijian centre Etuate Gusuivalu.
After a quiet opening hour, Gusuivalu came to life in the final quarter of the match and ultimately came up with the play that decided the result of the match.
With less than a minute remaining he made a break and with winger Ash Widders looming on his outside and only Kieran Shipp to beat, elected to put in a kick.
In a foot race between two of the competition's speedsters, Shipp did enough to force the ball into touch and the siren sounded to end a flat but intriguing contest.
"The Fijian way is usually to run and pass the ball so I don't know why Eddie kicked but I'm not going to blame him, he helped get us back in the match," Raiders coach Steve McLellan said.
"We've said all along that people wouldn't doubt out effort this year, and to come back from 24-10 down and almost win showed effort.
"There's some positive things we can take from that. CYMS are the benchmark and we could have beaten them so even though we would have loved to win, we can take some good things out of it."
Macquarie led early after newcomer Timoci Yauvoli crashed over in the third minute but it was CYMS who took the lead into half-time courtesy of tries to Alex Bonham (23rd minute) and Billy Sing (34th minute).
Four minutes into the second stanza Macquarie half Josh Merritt was sin-binned and the Fishies took advantage with the ageless Luke Jenkins darting over from dummy-half.
Widders scored in the 52nd minute to cut the margin back to six but an error from the ensuing kick-off ultimately put Macquarie under pressure and Jyie Chapman pounced on a loose kick to cross in the corner.
Just after the hour mark CYMS slotted a crucial penalty goal but the drama wasn't over.
Yauvoli's second try of the afternoon got the margin back to eight points, and when Josh Merritt scored with four to go a grandstand finish was ensured.
But CYMS did enough, just, to hang on and win, although coach Tim Ryan was far from pleased at full-time.
"We're capable of much better than that. I came here expecting a tough game but I expected us to probably play better," he said.
"In the end we'll take the win but we've got some work to do this week.
"It's only round one and the start to the year has been unsettled with the comp being put back a week and a couple of trials but I still think we can play much better than that."
Earlier in the day, CYMS league tag side got the better of their Macquarie opponents, winning 30-8 while in the other grades Macquarie won the under-18s 28-20 and the reserves 22-10.
DUBBO CYMS 24 (Alex Bonham, Billy Sing, Luke Jenkins, Jyie Chapman tries; Bonham 3, Colby Pellow goals) def DUBBO MACQUARIE 22 (Timoci Yauvoli 2, Ash Widders, Josh Merritt tries; Jeremy Smith 3 goals)