First Grade earned a much-needed win to the tune of 44-26 to stay within top six on the table.

Captain-coach Luke Branighan was pleased with his team’s efforts but said there is always room for improvement.

“We played well in patches, but still had some defensive lapses which is a concern - we’re going to need to play a lot better if we’re going to trouble the top teams,” he said.

“We scored some nice tries, but at the same time some of our catching and passing needs some work. At the end of the day it was a step in the right direction - we needed a win and we got a win.”

The crowd were on the edge of their seats during Reserve Grade’s match as they won their first game for the season, 16-12. 

The return of Timmy Norman and man of the match Dicky Campbell upped the tempo for the ‘Pickers, with Campbell putting away two intense tries.

The Cherryettes joined only one other team so far this season to have scored against Brothers - top of the table premiers of four years.

It was first-year senior Tanika Silk who scored the golden try.

Despite going down 6-16, player Jessica McInerney was happy with the result, but said the team didn’t play to their full potential.

“We definitely had a few mistakes we need to work on, but that's just getting numbers to training in the cold,” she said.

Players player went to Laura Eastlake who excelled on the field despite playing out of her usual position.

The Under 18 ‘Pickers won on a forfeit, and the 16s took a 28-12 victory to place them back in the lead. 

A full report in Friday’s edition of The Young Witness.