A GLIMMER of hope now rests with the Leeton Greens after they took out Darlington Point-Coleambally on Sunday.
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Many had their doubts, but the Greens were able to get a 34-28 win over the Roosters at Coleambally.
The back-to-back victory means the Greens now find themselves in a good position if they are to make this year’s Group 20 finals.
The club will enjoy the bye this weekend, meaning yesterday’s game was effectively worth four points to the side.
“We always said if we could win that one, it would be like getting four points thanks to the bye the week after,” coach Brent Pike said.
The Greens were well-served by Dan Patu and Jayke Stevenson in the forwards, which helped greatly in their quest on Sunday.
Patu did come off injured after a nasty tackle.
“It was a high tackle and he come off with three of his teeth pushed right back,” Pike said.
“I’ll be catching up with him (Monday after work) to see how he’s going.
“He was having a great game up to then.
“When he came off, Jayke really stepped up.
“It’s probably the best game I’ve seen him play all season.”
The win means there is still a chance the team could find themselves playing finals football.
Pike gave credit to the Roosters following the match, but was pleased his team was able to put in the effort and get the results.
“I don’t think they were shell-shocked or surprised by us,” he said.
“From our end it was probably the first time all season we’ve played a full 80 minutes of footy, so that was a big part of it.
“It was a very fast and physical game.
“There were some big hits, but it was just a good game of footy.
“Even spectators from both sides were saying how good the match was for them to watch.
“We seem to go well against them over there, especially in recent years.”
The Hawks kept their season alive with a stunning 24-20 win over the Mallee Men on Sunday.
Sunday’s match had been described as a must-win by assistant coach Phil Puntoriero and his players stood up to the call.
The game started well for Yanco-Wamoon, scoring a try within minutes of the opening first half.
However, the situation started to look dire for the home side as the Mallee Men came back with punishing force, scoring the next three tries of the match.
The Hawks pushed forward to be ahead at the break, which pleased Puntoriero.
“They really could have dropped their heads when Wyalong scored those three unanswered tries,” he said.
“To the boys credit, they didn’t.
“They got on with the job and were able to be ahead at half-time.”
The second half was a much more grinding affair.
West Wyalong spent plenty of time on the attack, but the Hawks soon learned their defence was they key.
“We didn’t make many mistakes in that second half and when they did we took our chances,” he said.
The victory meant the side can maintain hope it will make the finals of this year’s Group 20 competition.
Yanco-Wamoon remain in sixth position, just one point out of the top five behind the Mallee Men.