Deni keeps cup
The Deniliquin Rovers have retained the highly contested Warner Tasker Cup for the third consecutive time.
The traditional rivalry match with the Blighty Redeyes was hosted at the Rovers’ home ground at Memorial Park on Saturday in front of a bumper crowd.
It’s been two years since the cup was last in play, with the season cancelled last year because of Coronavirus.
The Rovers were confident going into the hit out, and this proved justified.
The Rovers had a 75 point victory.
Final score: Deni Rovers 18.15 (123) def Blighty 7.6 (48).
The Rovers’ dominance was clear by the end of the first quarter. They hit hard and quick to boot five goals.
Blighty volleyed back with a goal of their own, but the effort wasn’t enough.
The second quarter saw the Rovers continue their onslaught, claiming three more goals.
The defensive efforts of Blighty were strong, but not enough to keep Deni at bay despite Blighty attempting to make a dent on the scoreboard with two goals in reply.
At half time, the Rovers had their fingertips on the cup, leading 8.7 to Blighty’s 3.3.
The Rovers continued their onslaught in the third quarter, running right through Blighty’s defence and scoring four goals.
The Redeyes found a few holes of their own in the Rovers’ backline, and were able to score three of their own.
The last quarter saw the Rovers hammer in their victory, with six more goals before the siren sounded.
Blighty only managed one more goal in that final stanza.
Despite the loss to the Deni Rovers, Saturday’s performance from Blighty was their strongest so far this season.
The Redeyes’ improved skills may be a sign that Blighty is making a mid-season recovery, captain Brad Haines said.
Blighty’s Sam Singleton proved to again be a core asset on Saturday, with Haines also praising Kane Morris, Anthony Street, Jack Bunnett and Jack Michael.
This week, Blighty will indulge in some hard earned recovery time, and take the bye.
‘‘We will just keep working on our skills. We also got a few injuries on the weekend, but after the bye we will get a few more back out of the tractor which will make it a bit easier again,’’ Haines said.