MUSTANGS DOMINATE BULLS IN SEASON OPENERS
RUGBY LEAGUE: As far as hot starts to a season go, this was an absolute scorcher.
The Western Mustangs launched a tirade on the Wide Bay Bulls in Bundaberg to start the QRL statewide competition season.
It started with the U16s blitzing their opponents 44-0 in the Cyril Connell Challenge.
The visitors started strongly, with three tries in the opening 15 minutes opening up an 18-0 advantage early on.
Two quick tries after halftime pushed the lead out to 28, before a late Brayden Crawford double helped to extend the scoreline even further.
Their success was backed up by the U18s, who reached the half century with a 50-6 demolition of Wide Bay.
Like their younger counterparts, the Mustangs got into their groove early, striking in the opening stages to lead 16-0 after 18 minutes, with a double to Xavier Va’a pushing that ascendancy out to 28-0 at the break.
Another four tries shortly after halftime saw them reach 50 points inside 54 minutes, with halfback Matthew Wilson finishing with an 18-point haul.
Coach Brendan Wilson said it was an impressive first showing from his side, who shrugged off a heavy travel load to come home with a commanding victory.
“It was a really good performance,” Wilson said.
“It was a big day for them. We had to leave at 7am and travel five and a half hours on the bus.
“We played well, but we can still get better. The last 20 minutes we dropped off a bit, but you can cut them some slack.
“They’ve been really good trainers. They’ve all put in and bought into what we want to accomplish.
“We’ll start setting a few more goals. It will be a tough game this weekend against Central Queensland, so we’ll make sure we get on the front foot.”
Va’a earned the praise of his coach for a true captain’s knock, with Wilson commending all 17 players for turning up to play.
“Xavier was voted as player’s player and he really led from the front,” he said.
“The boys really get behind him and there were some really good overall performances.
“We talked about wanting to start the competition quickly, and we’ll know that we have to be at our best in the coming weeks.”
The U21s Mustangs had their first hitout of the season in a Hastings Deering Colts trial against Ipswich.
The Mustangs went down 32-24 at North Ipswich Reserve, and will next trial in a fortnight.