Parkes travelled to Bathurst last weekend to face the Bulldogs. An early lead after a try under the posts by Joe Nash and conversion by James Dean, was unfortunately not a sign of things to come.
After a few unyielding phases of play the Bulldogs moved the ball wide and began their scoring. Parkes looked good in attack with solid performances from forwards Sam Dension and Dylan Hood, but were unable to match the Bulldogs with their intensity.
Great defence by the utility forward Jason Lowe provided some of the biggest tackles of the day. The Bulldogs had an excellent display scoring nine tries until a 46m penalty goal from James Dean, which was a highlight for the Boars.
The second half was all Bulldogs with four more tries until Jonny Rathbone swooped on a loose ball to send Joe Nash over the try line and conversion by James Dean.
Despite another six tries scored by the Bulldogs, the Parkes players remained committed to provide a full eighty minute game with a final result of 123 to 17. The Boars can hold their heads high as they never gave up and played with unrelenting determination until the final whistle.
COLTS
A struggling Boars Colts could only field 13 players against the Bathurst Bulldogs with four under 17 players. Right from the kick-off the Bulldogs went on the attack with tries coming at a regular pace from a much bigger and more experienced team.
The Bulldogs played structured rugby with their forwards moving up the park before moving the ball wide and using their pace to out class the Boars to make the half time score 48 – 0. The second half saw the Boars defence lift when Jarrod Westcott, Jason Lowe and Alex McHugh-Douglas lead the forwards in attack resulting in a penalty. James Sellings deciding to attempt a shot at goal from the 40m mark to give the Boars their first points.
After a kick-off, Chris Selling gathered a loose ball to race 46m to score a well-deserved try for the Boars out wide. The final score was 53 to 8.
By Jake Elliott