The Lower Macleay Magpies women’s rugby league team completed the penultimate round of the 2018 Hastings/Group 3 CRL 9’s competition in Wauchope last Saturday.
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The Magpies were up against the two top teams in the competition; the red hot Old Bar Pirates team, featuring Australian Jillaroos player Holli Wheeler and the Kendall Blues.
The Magpies have been quietly going about their business this season and until last weekend they have been vastly underrated.
In this competition teams play two games each week with all games played at the one venue. Up first for the Magpies were the Old Bar Pirates, this season’s runaway undefeated leaders.
From the opening whistle the game was played at a high intensity. Both teams weren’t giving an inch in what was an extremely physical affair.
The game was free flowing with play going from end to end. While the attacking display from both teams was exciting it was the unrelenting defence that most impressed the strong crowd.
Time after time both teams were able to break their opponents line but every time the desperate defence of both teams held firm.
While a final score line of nil-all could suggest a dour struggle, this game was anything but. While the game finished a draw, it felt like a win for the Magpies who had been written off in the lead up to the game.
Next up for the confident Magpies teams was the physically imposing Kendall Blues team fresh from utterly dominating the Wingham Tigers 26-4 in their previous game.
The Magpies buoyed from their earlier result again came out of the blocks fast, with their high completion rate and unrelenting defence frustrating the Kendall side.
This pressure by the Magpies forced the Blues into several mistakes and the Magpies were able to capitalise on the resulting field position to cross the line out wide and go into halftime ahead 4-0. The second half followed the same script with the Magpies dominating the possession and field position.
Unfortunately however with the Magpies again applying pressure to the Blues line and with only a couple of minutes remaining a Kendall player suffered a major leg injury and the referee called time on the game.
While this was a sombre end to a brilliant day for the Magpies, they still went home buoyed by a win and a draw against the two competition heavyweights and finally shedding the underdog tag.
This weekend the Magpies will complete the final round of the competition against the Beechwood Shamrocks and the Forster Hawks with the lure of the finals firmly on the horizon. The Magpies enter the last round in third position, only one point behind Beechwood.
While the Magpies can finish as high as second there are also several teams who can still push for the top four and semi-final football with positive results on the weekend.
If anyone is looking for a football fix this weekend please come and support the Magpies on Saturday at Wauchope’s Lake Bain Sporting Complex. Games commence at 1.00pm and spectators can be assured of some high quality and evenly contested rugby league. These girls sure can play!
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