The mild winter sun, a gentle presence in the clear sky above Alfred Oval in Young, illuminated the rugby league pitch, setting the stage for a Group 9 first-grade clash. For the Wagga Brothers, however, any warmth from the sun was quickly overshadowed by the chilling reality unfolding on the pitch. Across the green expanse, the Young Cherrypickers were a blur of motion, their red jerseys a vibrant streak against the winter landscape. This wasn’t just another game; for Young, it was a statement.
From the moment the whistle blew, the Cherrypickers were relentless. Their forwards crashed through the Brothers’ defensive line like a well-oiled machine, creating space for the halves to weave their magic. Tries came thick and fast, each one met with a roar from the home crowd. It was a masterclass in attacking rugby, with the ball moving swiftly through hands, offloads finding their mark, and players like Thomas Giles seemingly everywhere, crossing the try line multiple times. The Brothers, valiant as they tried to be, had no answers. They were outmatched in every facet of the game, their solitary converted try a mere footnote in a one-sided affair.
When the final whistle mercifully blew, the scoreboard screamed the story: Young Cherrypickers 86, Wagga Brothers 6. For the Brothers, it was another tough day at the office, a continuation of a season they’d rather forget. But for Young, this emphatic victory was more than just two points. It was a massive boost to their for-and-against differential, a crucial factor in the tight Group 9 competition. It solidified their position as genuine title contenders, sending a clear message to the rest of the league: the Cherrypickers are a force to be reckoned with. This win, more than any other this season, showed the league just what Young is capable of, instilling confidence and momentum as they charge towards the finals.
President Andrew Smith was happy but not surprised with the result,” It was a good hit out for the boys. Brothers weren’t the best as the score depicted, but it was just great to see the boys gel a bit together and throw the ball around. It was just one of those games. It was pretty difficult to watch, to be honest.
“Brothers weren’t much chop. We were pretty much scoring every time we touched the ball.
“It was good to get through a game, get the two points on the board and get a bit of confidence back.
“Dev (Makoare-Boyce) was good on the day. Our fullback CJ Hill was excellent. He was making a lot of metres every time he touched the ball, scored a couple of tries, and had his hand in a few as well. That was great to see him finally find his legs at the back after a couple after arriving a couple of games ago. He was probably the pick of the back line.
“They (Albury) are going to be very tough, it’s tough playing them at home let alone travelling down to Albury. I think it is the longest trip in Group 9. The boys will be up for it but Albury has hit some red-hot form.
They’re the type of team that you don’t know which side you’re going to get on the day, when they turn up, they can beat any side in the comp. We are going to have to be on our toes. We are going to be missing a few blokes as well.
“We just have to get down there and get through it, put a good performance in and we hopefully come back with the two points.
“We’ve got a very good for and against, but we are on equal points and it’s the winner of that game that jumps into fifth.
“It’s a very important game. It would have been nice to have a full-strength side on the paddock but the footy Gods weren’t kind to us there.
“CJ Hill won’t be there. He’s away this week. Aaron Slater is away. Jake Walker picked up a bit of an ankle injury and a bit of complaint, so we’ll get him assessed today and hopefully, he’ll be right.
“We should be getting Boro Navori back for this weekend as well.
“We’ve come through pretty good besides Jake Walker. He was done after about 15 minutes rolling his ankle, so that was his day over. We will get him sorted this week and think and fingers crossed he’s right.
“These sort of the games, we need to be winning because we’ve got a bit of a run here when we’re playing sides, either equal or below us. The more games we win, the easier it’s going to be at the back end because then we play all the sides above us.
“I know you’ve got to beat everyone on their day to win a competition, but you need to beat those sides below you to try and get that little gap to make your finals position a bit safer.
“We are looking to go on a bit of a run over the next few weeks, especially with the bye next weekend too, so it gives us a bit of time to do a bit of healing.
“We are hoping to get Tom Demeio back for Gundagai. So he’s well ahead of his rehab. Originally, it was going to be a ten to twelve-week injury, but he’s doing great guns with his rehab, so he’s looking at coming back a lot earlier than expected, which should be a great boost for the team.
“We just can’t leave it to that point to try and push for finals, we need to be in there when he comes back.
“It would be magic if we could pull off a win down there against Albury. It’s going to be tough, very tough with the guys we’ve got out.
“I’m hoping we get a start, to be honest. It’s so hard to read which way they sort of go, but if you want to go off recent results, Tumut beating us and then they flogged Tumut then you would have to say that we’d get a start. You can’t go off a game against Brothers and they probably would have put 80-odd points on Brothers yesterday too.
Young Cherrypickers (86) tries, Devon Makoare Boyce (3), Charlie Corcoran, Tom Giles, Matt Noakes (2), Matt Murray, CJ Hill (2), Bobby Roberts, Cooper Smith and Drew Edwards def Wagga Brothers (6) tries, Pat Sagigi.
Conversions Young, Bobby Roberts 13/15. Wagga Dom Schiro-Cook 1/1.
Tully Potts SWST Sports Editor
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