The Temora Dragons have not played in the Group 9 finals for 14 years but that will all change this season after the club secured an all-important top-three finish.
Playing a struggling Wagga Brothers in Round 14, the Dragons decimated their opposition, running in 13 tries to win 76-12 at McDonalds Park on Sunday.
Captain/coach Josh McCrone was pleased to lock down a top-three finish but was disappointed to concede two tries against a Wagga side that has really hit the wall in the latter stages of the 2022 season.
“We were still a bit disappointed, and we know we shouldn’t have let them score a couple,” McCrone said.
“Their captain/coach James Hay and a couple of others played a full game of reserves and came out and played a full game of first-grade, so it’s obvious they are doing it pretty tough.”
With two rounds to go in the regular season, Temora sit in second position behind the top-of-the-table unbeaten Gundagai Tigers. While winning the Minor Premiership seems unlikely, the Dragons have a real opportunity to secure second position and a hometown Semi-final in the first week of finals.
McCrone wasn’t overly concerned about finishing second or third though, and he was just pleased that both experienced players and the youth coming through would get at least two chances to play finals footy this season.
“We haven’t played finals for 14 years; 2008 was the last year,” he said.
“Even our senior blokes like Kris Rands and Gavin Kite; they won the 2008 Under 18s Grand Final, but have never played senior finals footy for the club.
“It’s just so exciting, and we have some good youth coming through like Drew Robinson, Tyler Madden, Billy Reardon and those kids. With such a young team, if we can keep them together, who knows what we can do in the future.”
McCrone, who played 161 first-grade games with the Canberra Raiders and St George Illawarra Dragons, is happy to be back playing for his hometown in a predominantly local squad that is taking it to the strong Group 9 competition.
“The big thing is, we have a local team, and we only have three blokes that didn’t play junior footy for Temora and those three blokes moved here for work and not to play footy,” McCrone said.
“Obviously it’s worked out with those three players, and having blokes like me and Hayden (Lomax) coming back to play for the town, but we didn’t go out to buy a team to win a comp.
“We just have a good group here, and to have 14 Temora juniors turn out and make our 17 is great and something the club and town should be really proud of.”
Temora do face a tough stretch of games leading into finals, firstly taking on the in-form Tumut Blues at Twickenham in Round 15 before rounding out the home and away season with a home game against the Young Cherrypickers at Nixon Park in Round 16.
McCrone is looking forward to the challenge, and hopes to win back the Group 9 Challenge Cup against Tumut on Sunday before a huge game against the Cherrypickers.
“Tumut are holding the cup for the minute, and we held it for a few games earlier in the season and we are looking forward to challenging for that back,” McCrone said.
“We get a good test against Tumut into Young for the last two rounds, and we can finish second at the minute, but we will finish top three, and it is just exciting to be playing a home final in either week one or two.”
RESULTS
Group 9 Round 14 results: Tumut def Southcity 76-6; Temora def Wagga Brothers 76-12; Gundagai and Young drew 0-nil (flooded out); Albury and Wagga Kangaroos were on the bye.
Ground 9 Round 15 draw: Wagga Kangaroos v Gundagai; Tumut v Temora; Wagga Brothers, Southcity, Young and Albury on the bye.
Group 9 standings: Gundagai 26, Temora 24, Young 23, Tumut 18, Kangaroos 14, Albury 13, Brothers 10, Southcity 8.
Group 20 Round 16 results: Yenda Blue Heelers def Yanco-Wamoon Hawks 44-4; Leeton Galloping Greens def Tullibigeal-Lake Cargelligo Sharks 64-10; West Wyalong Mallee Men def Hay Magpies 22-6; and Griffith Black and Whites had the bye.
Group 20 Round 17 draw: Griffith Black and Whites v Hay; Tullibigeal-Lake Cargelligo v West Wyalong; Leeton v Yanco-Wamoon; Griffith Black and Whites v Yenda; Darlington Point-Coleambally are on the bye.
Group 20 standings: Darlington Point-Coleambally 30, Leeton 26, Griffith Black and Whites 26, West Wyalong 20, Griffith Waratahs-Tigers 18, Hay 14, Yenda 12, Yanco-Wamoon 8, Tullibigeal-Lake Cargelligo 6.
