Tahs bounce back to ‘win ugly’
IT wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done.
Waratah has continued its memorable start to the season with a not-so-memorable 24point win over a young Wanderers side at TIO Stadium last night.
In a scrappy affair, the experience of senior Tahs guns Timmy Mosquito, Justin Beugelaar, Abe Ankers and Sam Godden shone through to propel the Warriors to their third consecutive victory.
First-year Waratah coach Ryan Ayres lauded his team’s ability to “win ugly”.
“It was good to get the four points, but obviously it was a really scrappy game,” he told the Sunday Territorian.
“It was really positive that we could get the win even when we were down for periods of the game. Perhaps in the past we would have dropped a match like that.
“Whether you win pretty or you win ugly, a win is a win.”
Former Nichols medallist Mosquito continued his blistering start to the season with a complete performance off half back, regularly setting up attacking forays with pinpoint kicking and a natural ability to read the play.
Ankers nailed three majors in his first match in the red and white for the season, while Beugelaar was the most dominant player in the air.
“Timmy Mosquito was great again for us all over the park,” Ayres said.
“It was hard to pick the other best players. A few others played well in patches.”
Ayres said the Warriors were building towards being able to match it with the competition’s best.
“It’s really good to bounce back from that first week when we had a loss,” he said.
“We turn our focus to St Mary’s now. It’s a home game (at Gardens Oval) so it’s going to be a really big day for the footy club.” For the Eagles, emerging youngster Joel Jeffrey (two goals) started brightly up forward and looks to be a future star, while fellow prodigy Tyrrell Lui snared three majors of his own.