The Yass Magpies took on powerhouse club Woden on the weekend with the Canberra side undefeated in first grade, it was always going to be a tough day for the black and whites.
After a very difficult game against Queanbeyan Blues on May 25, where the Magpies went down 10 tries to nil, Yass turned things around this week, holding Woden to 22 points and scoring 12 themselves.
First grade coach Adam Kyle was happy with the sides’ turnaround, however, knows there is more work to be done.
He said, “As a club they are flying, we probably had one of our strongest sides on the paddock this weekend.
Our forward pack really stood up for us in the middle and we also had a Canberra Raiders 19 year old come back this week and he played in the front row. Our fullback Cooper O’Connor, the amount of work he got through was incredible. He never stops working, never stops talking.
Reserve grade were in the lead on Saturday but fell away at the end, going down to Woden.
“Woden probably had six or seven first graders from last year in their side.”
Yass eventually succumb to Woden 24-12.
Playing numbers has always been an issue for Yass sitting on the doorstep of Canberra where nearly half a million people in population sit just down the road 10 minutes from lots of clubs. There is still plenty of local community in the club though.
Adam said, “We had a function over the weekend where we had over 100 people attend which was really great.”
The League Tag side had a fairly big loss to Woden, at 42-6 and the tackle side went down 32-12.
U19s had a very tough day out going down 50-6.
The Magpies will take on Tuggerannong at Greenway Oval on the 15th.
Next week, watch out for our competition wrap on the Magpies and their chances at making the finals and where.
More to come.
By Matthew Stadtmiller
Yass Valley Times
