Winning start for Riverina in Andrew Johns Cup

Despite conceding two tries in the first eight minutes against Illawarra South Coast at Shellharbour on Sunday, the under 16s side showed plenty of fight to get themselves back in the contest.

Coach Ben Mott was thrilled with the tenacity of the side to take a 24-18 victory.

"It was a really good start," Mott said.

"We made a lot of errors and put a lot of pressure on ourselves but they were brave enough to keep tackling.

"The boys did a good job."

After the Dragons jumped out to a 12-0 lead, Mott was impressed with how the young side kept their cool.

Tries to Josh Harris and Isaiah Pulleine leading into half-time levelled things before Riverina benefited from some luck from the restart to put themselves back in front.

Harry Boxsell was able to score after the Bulls regained their own kick to start the second half.

Their rivals responded with another try before Pulleine edged Riverina back in front with his second try of the day.

From there they were able to hold on to claim their first win over Illawarra since 2020.

Jude Cattle and Kayne Crowe were among the leaders in the forward pack while all of their tries were scored by Cootamundra products.

Mott is now looking to add to their winning start when they tackle Western at Cowra on Sunday.

The Rams started their campaign with a 24-20 loss to Macquarie Wests Tigers.

There wasn't a great deal between the two teams in their trial earlier this year and Mott is hoping to build on their first win.

"There's plenty to work on and that's pretty exciting actually," he said.

While the Andrew Johns Cup side were able to get off to a winning start, it was a tough day out for Riverina in the Laurie Daley Cup.

After trailing 14-0 at half-time, the floodgates really opened in the second stanza.

The Dragons scored six more tries to take a 48-6 with Darcey O'Toole scoring a late try for the Bulls.