Moree’s mighty Weebolla Bulls have kicked off their 2018 season in fine form, fiercely defeating the Inverell Highlanders in an emotional round one clash.
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The Bulls’ first and second grade sides both put points on the Central North rugby union 2018 ladder, coming away with strong wins in front of a home crowd at Weebolla Oval on Saturday, April 7.
Dominating on the field, with both possession and defense, the second grade Bulls charged ahead to win with an impressive score of 43-7.
In first grade, Inverell put up a good fight but they were no match for Moree’s seasoned side who won 47-10.
Bulls first grade coach Peter Copeman said both grades played well.
“We moved the ball around well, although we dropped it a little more than we should have,” he said of first grade’s performance.
“Our lineouts and scrums were good and our structure was better than the trial games.
“Our backs scored some good tries.”
Early in the second half the Bulls lacked structure, but Copeman said the play picked up again once some fresh players took the field.
“It got a bit scrappy but we put a few fresh reserves on and tightened things up,” he said.
“We scored two tries at the end which was good.
“I’m happy with the win.”
Standout players for the match were Dan Coulthurst, Ben Williams, Jaime Sampson, Will Carrigan and Gus Smith, who Copeman said all played well against an Inverell side who weren’t as strong as they have been in the past.
The Bulls are now looking ahead to round two this Saturday, April 14 when they travel to Tamworth to take on last year’s premiers, Pirates.
Pirates are once again looking like the team to beat after defeating Quirindi by more than 80 points on Saturday.
Although it’s going to be a tough match, Copeman said it’s probably a good thing to meet them early on in the competition.
“It’s going to be a difficult but it’ll give us an idea of how we’re going; it’s early days yet,” he said.
“They’ll be the benchmark to see how we’re going.
“We’ll have two or three away, so we’ll be weakened a little but you go with what you’ve got.”
Copeman said his side will have to work on being more patient when they meet Pirates.
