If the Blayney Rams play next week's grand final against Coonabarabran like they did in the second half of Saturday's semi-final against Coolah, they'll be a sure thing for holding aloft the Oilsplus Cup.
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Blayney beat Coolah 37-12 in a match that could well have been two very different teams, playing two very different halves.
In the first half the two sides were neck and neck.
Baz Hobby was the first to cross the line for the Rams followed twice by Ryan Oborn in the south western corner.
The wind tormented the boot of Lachie Hobby whose conversion attempts all went frustratingly astray.
With the south-westerly wind behind them the Roos were able to add two points to their two tries and at half time the score was a nail-biting 15-12.
For Coolah, their side of the scoresheet was unmarked for the second half as the Rams launched a blistering attack doubling their score in the first 12 minutes with three very quick tries.
Rams coach Steve Hamson said that the half-time chat was where the change came about for the side.
"We could see a couple of things differently from the sideline and agreed to get back to what we'd planned to do," he said.
"We tried to play up-tempo footy in the second half and not compete so heavily in the breakdown, play more on our feet and put our energy into getting the defensive line forward."
The old adage that defence wins games was part of last Saturday's success, but Hamson knows that come this weekend's grand final against the Coonabarabran Kookas in Coonabarabran, the Rams will need to make their already polished defensive line impenetrable.
"As we get more tired we tend to defend a bit more narrower when going across the field, rather than going forward, and that puts us into a more passive situation," he said.
"Our fitness though has been improving every week and if we have as much energy as we did this week in our defence, and keep it going forward not sideways, that will hold us in good stead."
Ticket details will be made public in coming days. Check out the Rams' Facebook page for updates.
Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
