The 61-23 score line showed the Dolphins ran away with the game and full accolades to them.

They were a well drilled and slick team and deserve their title of defending premiers.

Our Thunder boys were dealt a rugby lesson, particularly those guys playing their first competitive game. But there were a lot of positives and our coach Marc Minor was particularly pleased with the effort the boys put in, never giving up.

Former Wauchope Blues captain coach, Robbie Trembath, played strongly all game and put the Thunder’s first points on the board with a slick try beside the posts half way through the first half.

Our young captain and tight head prop, Tom Blanch, put in a man of the match performance leading from the front all game. He scored our second try and with the score line already blown out, Tom’s enthusiasm and passion motivated the boys to keep on fighting.

To finish the game off one of the Thunder’s debutant players, Steve Davis, brought the big crowd to their feet with a great run down the sideline. With his first touch of the ball, Steve took off like a hare and scored in the corner right in front of his sons Josh and Mika who were ball boys.

The game was played in great spirit and the Forster players and management were full of compliments for the enthusiasm our Thunder boys showed. In particular our young front row of Blanch, Nick Minor and Dan Franks, who took a tight head with the very first scrum of the game.

With an average age of only 21, the boys have a big future in front of them. We comfortably matched the Dolphins in the forwards with the likes of big James Stribling putting in a dominant performance.

His lock partner Aaron Hamilton tried hard all game, while blindside breakaway JJ Hennessy pulled off some big hits. Beau Tobler at No.8 and open side flanker Andy Mackay had to do a lot of scrambling defending while our veteran halfback, Dean Hawkins, was like a cattle dog at the heels of players, never giving up all game.

Another of the Thunder’s elder statesmen, Aaron Robinson, showed his class with a great game at fly half. Robbo delivered some quality ball to his inside backs Robbie Trembath and Sam Steel.

The backs had limited opportunities but when the ball did get to Nick Williams and Ben Phillpott on the wing and Brendan Cunningham at fullback, they showed plenty of heart.

The depth of our Club was also highlighted with our bench players also getting plenty of game time and making valuable contributions. Matt Attard, David Bosco and Peter Daley used their size to advantage with some barnstorming runs, while Brad Cunningham, Luke Woodhouse and Josh Guthrie weren’t scared to get into the fray and have a go.

Marc Minor was pleased with many aspects of the game, however defence is an obvious area the boys will need to work on if we are going to be serious contenders in this year’s competition.

The Thunder’s next game is away to Old Bar on the May 9. With four weeks to fill in, the boys have plenty of time to work on their fitness and address key positional aspects of their game.