Inverell Hawks president described their 74-4 win over the Uralla Tigers on Saturday as a ‘pretty good hit-out’.
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The game was played in some of the heaviest rain seen for months in this area, but it had little effect on the Hawks’ supporters.
“Surprisingly, we had a pretty good crowd,” Lavender said.
“The Ladies’ Day was well represented upstairs. A couple of business houses had displays set up upstairs and the champagne was flowing, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, I think.”
Lavender said the recent improvements to the clubhouse proved their worth on the weekend.
“Upstairs was pretty handy, it was really good. It was jammed packed, and underneath the pavilion itself, there were people just standing underneath there. Mostly blokes,” he chuckled.
He said it was unbelievable how well the Hawks players handled the ball on the day, considering the conditions they were playing in.
“It was like they were playing a dry weather game. They threw it around and they didn’t hold back, and by geez it was wet. That pitch was sloppy towards the end,” Lavender said.
Armidale were defeated by Glen Innes on the weekend, which Lavenders said was a shot in the arm for the Hawks.
“That puts us clear third at this stage, with a bit of breathing space. But we’ve got to get over Goondiwindi next weekend, and just rely on a couple of results,” he said.
“There is a slim chance we could end up second if Moree Boars can beat Glen, but it’s all in the air at the moment. We’ll just concentrate on the Goondiwindi game now and try to get a home semi-final.”
Lavender said the Under 18s match was also a very entertaining game.
“We ended up 20-18 at the bell,” he said.
“We led 12-4 at the break and then Uralla scored and then scored again, and we ended up trailing there, something like 16-18.
“We scored two tries on the bell more or less to get over the top of them. It was a good win but we had to work for it and it was a good game to watch.”
No reserve grade game was played on the day.