Fun in the Mud for the Chooks
[ June 18, 2007 ]
By John Preston

The Bungendore Mudchooks carved out a solid win against an admittedly under strength Boorowa team at the Coop of Pain on the weekend.

Playing at the unusually late timeslot of 3:15 following the Tiger's Rugby League game, the Mudchooks once again started slowly but came back strongly to defeat the Golds by 21 points to 5.

In heavy conditions, after some welcome rain, the Bungendore defence proved to be the telling factor in this interesting game. A greater level of commitment at the breakdown saw the level of turnovers on Bungendore's ball reduced from previous matches although work still needs to be done in this area.

The Bungendore defensive line was, on occasions, slow to respond and this allowed the Boorowa team to make the advantage line on a number of plays where they should have been closed down much earlier. However, when the tackles were made, there was significant improvement in the number of first time put downs and the missed tackle statistics were much lower than in previous games.

Shane Botham - the dynamic prop, had an outstanding game both in controlling the scrum and with some solid hit ups one off from the ruck. He was rewarded with three points from the players' player tally. Pete Payten picked up two points for another solid, try-scoring performance and Andrew Turner picked up a point for a commendable effort as rake. Chick's Pick went to new captain Pete Henderson.

A bit of a gala day at the ground saw a well attended sponsor's tent and an impressive crowd watch this encounter. As usual, with games between Boorowa and Bungendore, the passions were high and the quality of the football did not disappoint the keen Bungendore crowd.

Next week sees Bungendore travel to the Aranda oval in Canberra for a hit out against Wests. Although languishing at the bottom of the ladder, Wests should be regarded with some respect at their home ground. However, this should prove an opportunity for the Bungendore young guns to step up and get themselves noticed by the coaching staff in order to cement their positions in the team.

Come in and support the lads at the Aranda oval at 2.30pm on Saturday.