BOTH Hawkesbury rugby clubs tasted victory at the weekend in the NSW Suburban Rugby Union competition.
After a disappointing loss to Barker Old Boys, Hawkesbury Ag College bounced back against Redfield Old Boys in first grade, while Hawkesbury Valley had a big road win over Newport on Saturday.
Hawkesbury Ag College coach Mick West said he was impressed with how the team turned its attitude around to defeat Redfield Old Boys in round 11 of the competition.
“The loss against Barker was a wake up call,” he said.
“I think we thought we didn't have to try that hard and we didn't respect the opposition enough and on Saturday it was a complete turnaround of attitude.”
West said the team responded well to the loss, and were firing from the moment they turned up to the next training session.
“The effort and turnaround was great. We've been flat for the past four games,” he said.
“Everyone realised we weren't pulling our weight. Everyone's attitude was markedly different.”
The first grade team lost to a late penalty goal against Barker, but against Redfield, they piled on the points early, before conceding a couple of late tries to see the scores finish 48-19.
West said fatigue was a big factor at the end of the game, as Redfield crossed the stripe three times, despite being outmatched for the majority of the match.
“They're a good squad, and we let them in a couple of times toward the back end of the game, which was a little bit disappointing,” he said.
He said it was something the team would need to fix up, if the second-placed squad was to potentially win another grand final this year.
West said Ben Goodier was named best player on the field for Ag College.
“Ben is not a fancy footballer, just tough. He gets the ball and runs hard and makes his tackles. People see the effort he puts in every week,” he said.
“He deserves it. He is not someone you would notice, because he works away quietly but plays some excellent footy.”
Meanwhile, Hawkesbury Valley won 34-7 over Newport at Porter Reserve.
It was the fourth win of the season for the first grade side, which is now only a handful of points outside of finals contention.
In second grade, Ag College won but Valley lost and it was the same in the colts. In third grade, both clubs lost.
In round 12, Hawkesbury Valley will take on Old Ignatians on the road, while Hawkesbury Ag College will also hit the road to play St Ives.