THE Lower Macleay Magpies took on competition heavy weights, the Comboyne Tigers in the Hastings League 'Match of the Round' on Saturday.
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It promised to be a tough and physical encounter and both sides did not disappoint at Smithtown Oval.
The Magpies, without classy second rower Tom (FA) Sheaves and flyer Jayden Fuller were on the back foot in the opening minutes.
Towering Tigers front rower Blake Debrecency crashed over in the second minute on the back of a Magpies penalty.
This was followed by five-eighth George Jones scoring in the seventh minute with fullback Mitch Williams adding the extras to give Comboyne an early 10-0 lead.
Captain Luke Dufty rallied his troupes and led from the front to score in the 15th minute.
Rampaging forward Corey Grigg followed suit a few minutes later. Sharp shooter Will Law converted both to take the lead 12-10.
Zac McKiernan's quick thinking saw him toe the ball from dummy-half through the Comboyne defence on their line and regather to cross the line.
Another conversion by Law took the score to 18-10.
Before the half-time break Comboyne winger Jesse Jones scored out wide to take the score to 18-14 in favour of the home side.
The intensity and big hits continued when play resumed, with Comboyne making the best of their opportunities scoring two quick tries through Jesse Jones and George Jones, both bagging doubles for the day.
Comboyne were on the attack again in the Magpies red zone, when Hayden Stuart plucked an intercept and made it to the half-way line before running out of steam.
Clint McCabe made good metres before a backline move, lead by classy fullback Jesse Gleeson, saw star half-back Mick Webber show his aerial and juggling skills regathering a high ball mid air to put the ball down out wide.
The difficult conversion was missed and the scores were locked at 22-all with nine minutes to go.
Centre Law looked to have slotted a field goal over in the next set of six, however the attempt was waved away and the deadlock remained. After a Comboyne mistake, the Magpies gained position in their attacking end. The whole team digged deep and produced the perfect set, which saw winger Tim Forrest score out wide.
Law made the kick from the sideline, taking the full-time score to 28-22 in favour of the Magpies in an exciting finish to a great encounter at Smithtown Oval.
The Magpies are coming together well as a team, with new combinations gelling well as the season progresses.
The new-look young side are finding their feet and making a mark on the competition. Players' players for the Magpies were shared between Jesse Gleeson, Clint McCabe and Ben Walker. Hastings League referees best and fairest points went to Corey Grigg (three) Bevan Castles - Comboyne (two) and Zac McKiernan LM(1)
This week sees the Magpies travel to Harrington to take on the Hurricanes.