Weak defence, poor decision-making and inaccurate goal kicking saw the Boars lose 50-32 to Gunnedah at Boughton Oval on Saturday.
Had more tackles been made, more sets of six been completed and more conversions landed, the score would have been reversed.
The Boars were their own worst enemy, with every one of the Bulldogs’ nine tries being the result of sloppy tackling and cover defence. They were also guilty when in possession, frequently knocking on and completing only four sets for the entire match.
The visitors opened the scoring in the second minute, before the Boars hit back eight minutes later. Harry Key broke down the right wing, evaded two tacklers during a 25 metre gallop and, as the defence was about to smother him, passed inside to Jarrod See, who took a sharp catch and crossed unopposed.
After Gunnedah had skipped out to 18-4, the Boars were given two sets of six on the opposition line. Their hard running, thoughtful movement and crisp passing broke the opposition resistance, allowing Grant Lowien to force his way over.
In the 25th minute, with the score 24-8, five-eighth Alex Barker scored a wonderful try in the left corner. Positioned centrally 10 metres out, he did a clever run-around, ghosted left and put enough doubt in the defenders’ minds to sneak over.
But Gunnedah responded with two more tries, to make it 34-12 at halftime.
Just after the restart, they took what appeared to be an insurmountable 38-12 lead. But Moree - who had snatched a 46-42 last-minute win the previous week after trailing 30-4 - refused to surrender.
From a Gunnedah kick, the Boars received the ball 70 metres out. Powerful hit-ups and a 30-metre burst from fullback Jerome Hammond saw halfback Ben Bailey reduce the deficit to 38-16.
In the 52nd minute, it became 38-22. On the last tackle, Barker received the ball 40 metres out and shaped to kick. Instead, he drifted across field, catching the defence by surprise and finding a gap, before offloading to Hammond for an unopposed run to the posts.
Five minutes later, when Moree pulled the score back to 38-26, another heroic comeback appeared possible. Eight metres out, hooker Stan Swan surprised the Bulldogs with a blindside run. He then flicked the ball to centre Luke Raveneau, who crashed through three desperate tackles to barge over and excite the crowd.
But more poor defence cost the home side, allowing Gunnedah to pull out to 44-26 with a quarter of an hour remaining.
In the 70th minute, the score became 44-32, as See crossed under the posts to reignite Moree’s hopes. It followed a midfield bust from Swan and then a couple of sharp passes to the rampaging centre, who was providing excellent support.
Three minutes later, though, the match was as good as over, with more flimsy defence allowing the Bulldogs to advance 70 metres and score their ninth try.
Coach Gavin Hann was disappointed with his men’s performance. He lamented their poor one-on-one defence, saying that they’d worked on it in training, “but some blokes don’t like tackling.”
In the second half, he had genuinely believed that the Boars were going to run over the top of Gunnedah. However, by giving their opponents too much of a start, they had deprived themselves of any realistic chance of victory.
In reserve grade, the Boars had an impressive 36-18 win over the second-placed Bulldogs, after being convincingly beaten in the reverse fixture. The under-18s also won, 12-10, while the under-16s lost 20-4.
Email a friend