Mustangs take victory
sean.teuma@thechronicle.com.au I THINK THE PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS HOW FAR THE BOYS HAVE COME TOGETHER OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS
EUGENE SEDDON
RUGBY LEAGUE: The Western Mustangs have made a promising start to their Hastings Deering Colts campaign.
In their first trial of the U20s season at Esk, the Mustangs piled on four tries to one to claim a 16-4 win over the Ipswich Jets.
Benji Neliman laid claims to making the fullback jersey his own in an impressive twotry display, while Declan Buckley and Alex Dunemann also crossed the stripe.
“The win wasn’t the main priority for a game like this, but once the boys are out there, they play to win and were fortunate to get the result,” coach Eugene Seddon said.
“We started fairly strongly and were always in control of the match.
“We used a heavy rotation of players throughout the game. Every five or so minutes we’d try and move players.
“It had a bit of a stop-start effect, but I can’t fault the efforts of our players.”
Seddon said there was plenty to be pleased about in the trial, including a number of players stamping their claims fround one selection.
“There were a lot of individual efforts that made a difference,” he said.
“Front rower James Harlow chasing down their fullback and stopping a certain try is an example.
“Tyson O’Dea was really impressive and Benji Neliman played his best game I’ve seen him play in three years, but that’s no surprise with how hard he’s worked over the past few months.
“There’s a little bit of pressure with a bit of competition for the fullback spot.”
Seddon said he hopes the squad takes confidence out of the result as they firmly set their eyes on Souths Logan.
“I think the performance highlights how far the boys have come together over the last few months,” he said.
“While it’s only a trial, it’s a good reward for their efforts and gives them a boost in confidence and that they are on the right track.
“We’ll have a week off before taking on Easts on the 29th, which will give us a build-up for Souths Logan in round one.
“The game against Easts will have two 30-minute halves so we’ll treat it like round one and look towards our starting 17 as best we can.”
In a pair of Mal Meninga Cup fixtures against Ipswich, the Mustangs were downed in both games.
With 34 players in their squad, two teams were rolled out against the Jets.
They will have the chance to bounce back next weekend when they take part in a trial against Wynnum.