The Wauchope Blues travelled to Taree on Sunday to take on the Taree City Bulls. With the chance to jump into third position on the first grade competition ladder the Blues were chasing a win.
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Co-captain Nick McCabe was ruled out mid week with a fractured thumb. This brought new signing Dalwyn Vale into the starting side.
The Blues were also missing starting front rower Caelum Reid with a knee injury pushing Kobi Hugen into the number ten jumper leaving space on the interchange bench for coach Anthony Boyd to strap on the boots and come out of retirement.
The Blues started strong and first points came through center Oral Monoghan.
The Blues struck another blow half way through the first half when the other co captain Mat Bird was taken from the field with suspected ankle ligament injuries. The Bulls jumped on the opportunity to get ahead of Wauchope as they tried to regather the teams structure.
The Bulls led at the half time break 22 to 8. It was all one way traffic in the second half with the Bulls keeping the Blues scoreless and piling on a few more tries of their own, the final score Taree City 38 to Wauchope's 8.
In the lower grades there were some mixed results with Reserve grade going down 30 to 14. Again the Blues started fairly strong in the first half, however after losing a few through injury and fatigue setting in the Blues just didn't have the petrol in the tank to match it with Taree in the second half.
The under 18's had a 12 all draw in a game they were disappointed not to win. After giving away a couple of silly penalties in the dying minutes of the game the Bulls managed to score out wide within the final minute of the match, taking the score to 12-10.
The Taree goal kicker kicked the conversion after the full time siren to level the score at 12 all. Under 18's coach Brad Maggs was disappointed his team let the game slip from their reach but was happy with his teams effort for 95% of the game.
The day started on a winning note for the Blues with the League tag haveing a solid 18 to 4 win. All the points came in the second half with the two teams going to half time at nil all. Maihali Scott starred in the second half scoring 2 tries with Nat Hurrell scoring the other after a stunning individual effort.
Emily Lester was pretty with the boot kicking 3 from 3. The win now places the Ladies in fourth position on the ladder.
This week will see the Blues play at home on Saturday against the Old Bar Pirates. After a couple of losses the Blues will be searching to get their season back on track taking on an in form Pirates side, it should be a great afternoon of footy.
The first game kicks off at 11.30 with the ladies league tag with the main game kicking off at 3.15. Full bar and canteen facilities will be available, so why not come on out and bring the family to watch the Blues in action.