Yenda Blueheelers start their 2020 Group Nine campaign

The under 16s made a flying start to their temporary life in the Group Nine competition as they came away with a 30-6 win over Wagga Brothers.

It was the home side who were able to hit the scoreboard first after a well-placed kick resulting in a six-point lead for Brothers.

Yenda was able to force a mistake off the kick-off to get the ball back just 20 metres out, and Judd Stevenson was able to make the most of the chance to crash over.

The Blueheelers strong defence once again shone through as they forced another mistake from Brothers and with Bodean Tereva diving over the Yenda side held a four-point advantage with the successful conversion.

It was an arm wrestle for the remainder of the first half before Blueheelers hooker Chaise Sergi crossed with three minutes left in the half to see Yenda leading 16-6 at halftime.

The Blueheelers picked up from where they left off in the second half with Riley Piva pushing his way through the Brothers defence to score next to the post to push their lead out to 16 points.

After making a mistake from the kick-off, Yenda's defence was put under pressure which they were able to withstand before a dropped ball from Brothers saw Same Burley able to cross the line after a high kick from Jyden Harris.

Brothers continued to put pressure on the Blueheelers defensive line, but they were able to hold strong.

With three minutes to go Yenda put the icing on the cake as they moved the ball through the backline before Stevenson broke the line and ran 60 metres to score his second try of the game and wrapping up the 24-point win.

The coaching staff from the under 16s were pleased with their efforts and feel that if they are able to improve their completion rate, they will be competitive in the Group Nine competition.

In a physical encounter, the under 18s fell just short in a 16-10 defeat at the hands of the Young Cherrypickers.

It took 20 minutes for the deadlock to be broken as both sides showed strong defensive efforts before the Cheerypickers opened the scoring.

Both sides had chances in the latter stages of the first half, but the defence from both sides proved too strong with Young holding a 6-0 advantage at the interval.

It looked like being a nail-biting finish with the strong defensive nature of the game continuing in the second half.

Young scored to tries in the second half but tries to Deakin Bright, and Harry Rudd saw Yenda close to within a converted try.

Yenda was able to force a goal-line dropout and get a repeat set two minutes before the full-time siren, but the Young side was able to hold out and pick up the two points.

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