CYMS REMAIN UNDEFEATED
A FIVE-MINUTE burst of brilliance straight after half-time was the catalyst behind Dubbo CYMS maintaining their unbeaten start to 2015 with a 26-14 win over Forbes at Apex Oval on Friday night.
The Fishies scored twice upon the resumption of play after taking a 14-8 lead into the break, which effectively killed off the contest, however to Forbes' credit, they dug in and held firm for the final 35 minutes of the contest.
Respective coaches Tim Ryan (CYMS) and Zac Merritt (Forbes) left the ground happy, with Ryan again praising his side's ability to win ugly.
"Last week we were tested against Westside and came through and tonight we played a good Forbes side and they came here to play," Ryan said.
"As premiers, every week sides are going to fire up to play us and we have to be ready for that.
"I thought we did a good job of winning key moments of the game. When they were digging in and putting it to us we were able to find points and then that patch just after half-time was pretty crucial."
Prior to the match the two sides observed a minute's silence to honour Jaye Davie, a popular 21-year-old from Forbes who was killed in a car crash near Bogan Gate last Sunday. Inspired by that, the Magpies started strong and after conceding the first try to John Grey in the third minute, hit back with four-pointers of their own to centre Tyson Rewiti and winger Pat Murphy to take an 8-4 lead at the mid-way point of the first half.
But as they have a habit of doing, CYMS were able to hit back immediately through a converted try to hooker Alex Bonham, before Tony Pellow scored in the 25th minute to take the score out to 14-8.
From there the sides went back-and-forth up to half-time but immediately after the break the Fishies blew the game wide open.
Grey backed up a Billy Sing bust to cross for his second try before the fans could even take their seats, and from the ensuing kick-off fullback Kieran Shipp supported a rampaging Ainsley Coxsedge to push the margin out to 18 points.
That was the end of the scoring for CYMS though as the match turned into a dour arm wrestle. Despite their best efforts it took Forbes until the 71st minute to cross again through prop Ben Robinson, who was close to best on ground in a losing side, but any chance of a miracle comeback was curtailed by a pair of late errors as they searched for the miracle plays required.
Even though they went home without the win, Merritt was happy with his side's effort as they look to rebuild from a few lean years.
"We've put a lot of effort into building a strong club and we're on the right path," he said.
"Forbes sides over the past couple of years might have put the cue in the rack when they scored those two quick tries after half-time, but we dug our heels in and stayed in the contest.
"We came here with a plan to try and attack them physically. I think we've got the best forward pack in the competition and I think we got over them, it was just our execution at times and that five minutes right after half-time that hurt us."
DUBBO CYMS 26 (John Grey 2, Alex Bonham, Tony Pellow, Kieran Shipp tries; Colby Pellow 3 goals) def FORBES MAGPIES 14 (Tyson Rewiti, Pat Murphy, Ben Robinson tries; Ethan Williams goal)
By BEN WALKER