GROUP 19 action is back into full swing this weekend with the Boomerangs preparing to host the Guyra Spuds.
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Perennial competition whipping boys, the Spuds recorded their first victory in three and a half years in Round 3 on April 17.
They beat the Moree Boars 32-28 and they’ll be hopeful they can upset Moree’s other outfit. They’ll pray history is in their favour as the Spuds last top grade victory came in the 2012 preliminary final against the Boomerangs.
The game kicks off at Burt Jovanovic Oval at 3pm with the Macintyre Warriors facing the Tingha Tigers in the weekend’s only other clash in Boggabilla.
The Boars have the bye while Inverell and Ashford played out a nail-biter in the Anzac Day clash.
Inverell Hawks trailed Ashford Roosters by 12 points midway through the second half but overcame some frustrating simple handling errors to score two late tries and win their Anzac Day local derby 24-22 at Varley Oval on Monday evening.
Finishing under the Varley Oval lights, it looked like the annual Anzac Day match would end in a Rooster celebration as the Hawks wasted numerous chances with some poor handling, Hawks coach Garry Lavender said. “It was frustrating,” the club president and first grade coach said yesterday.
“We dropped a lot of ball at critical stages, from taps and 20m restarts – just coughed it up cold.
“When we were down by 12 midway through the second half I thought we were gone.
“But to the boys’ credit they hung in there.
“It was a real nail-biter,” Lavender said.
‘“We had six players backing up from the Greater Northern Regional Championships with Group 19 and they all played big minutes down there in Tamworth. We knew they’d be tired so it was a great effort to overcome all that.”
Group 19 president Mick Lewis said the second Anzac Day clash between the two clubs had been another huge success with a massive crowd turning out at Varley Oval.