Young Yabbies Under 8’s once again showed they are a force to be reckoned with, playing some tremendous rugby over both matches on Sunday.

First up was arch rival Griffith, who had been a strong opponent the last time the teams met.

The mighty Yabbies pulled out the goods with unreal attack from Will Stoney and Max Schilt – running straight through and breaking the line making Griffith heads turn!

Our breakdown go-to- man Hugo Davidson, put the pressure on at the ruck and allowed a cheeky steal from Sam Newell to take a blind run or two.

The boys were strong in defence with Oscar McCann making a try saving tackle or three but despite the boy’s gallant efforts in a very hotly contested match, Griffith snuck in five tries to give the boys a 5-all draw.

The second opponent for the day was Hay – with only five players, Coach Em was very proud to see Henry Hewson and Sam Newell voluntarily pull on the opposition jerseys to allow everyone an equal run for the day.

Playing your team mates can create all sorts of fun and the Yabbies had a cracker of a game with Noah Lewin making some exceptional tackles the entire time!

Fantastic team work from all the boys allowed Max Schilt to cross the line numerous times showing his classic side step was too strong.

Darcy Woodward was instrumental at the breakdown pushing over the ball.

With some female opposition, the boys were chivalrous in their defensive efforts with a gentleman tackle made by Oscar McCann.

Will Stoney once again proved size was no obstacle, running straight up and into the opposition territory to gain some fast metres to secure the boys with a great 10-7 win.

The improvement from our Yabbies was incredible and Coaches Em, Charlie, Will and Caleb are super proud of just how far the boys have come.

A huge thank you to our wonderful sideline families who provide all the moral support, oranges and lollies we could ever need.

Under 10s White

The West Wyalong Gala day saw a strong return to form for the Under 10s White Yabbies team.

The boys played with great structure for most of the day with some strong running and good clean outs which provided good ball for our backs to do their thing – score lots of tries. 

The first game was against Wagga B and the boys were switched on from the start and played with great structure to get two early tries.

However, the Wagga boys are a much-improved team and they came back strong to keep the scores tight until the last few minutes when the Yabbies ran away with the game winning 45 – 20.

There was some good work in the forwards by Sam Scott, Charlie Webber, Liam and Ethan Miller.

Oliver Burgess again played strong and ended up with two tries for the game.

Jesse Jewitt controlled the game and picked up three tries himself. Drew Edwards and Jackson Riley where the other try scorers.

The second game was against a big Griffith White outfit. The Yabbies continued their strong form from the first game.

There was some great defensive work from Callum Hewitt, Drew Edwards and Oliver Burgess. There was some strong running from Ethan Miller and Riley Noakes who set Jackson Riley up for the try of the day from a set piece play.

Jackson Riley founds some space at times to pick up three tries.

Drew Edwards was again in all aspects of the games and his extremely strong and evasive running picked up an impressive 6 tries (which gave him 9 for the day!).

Other try scorers included Jesse Jewitt and Oliver Burgess. The Yabbies finished 65 – 5 winners.

Under 10s Green

On a very crisp Sunday morning the Young Under 10s Green Yabbies ventured to West Wyalong where they took on Temora at 9 am.

Although a player down the boys were keen and showed plenty of enthusiasm in the chilly conditions.

Lots of turnover once again at the breakdown cost them dearly, mixed with a lot of knockons, the yabbies were on the back foot as they went try for try.

Some soft missed one on one tackles gifted Temora easy tries as the game finished in another 35 all draw.

Doubles went to Sam Schilt and Riley Butcher while Josh Cameron, Lucas Maloney and Toby Dowling also crossed the line.

The Yabbies claws finally thawed out as they muscled up 7 on 7 in a very fast entertaining game.

They were a lot more dominant with their decision making and made easy yards with smart decisions letting the ball flow around freely.

Five tries to Samuel Schilt in a classy performance had the Yabbies going in the right direction and he was well backed up by Max Shea and Dean Starling who was in everything especially at the breakdown where he continually gets in the thick of the action.

Tries were also scored by Nate Reid and Riley Butcher with doubles, Trent Shean, Toby Dowling and Josh Cameron also crossed the line in their 60-25 win.

Well done boys on a solid performance.

Just remember the ball is gold, you can’t win a game without it, and it must be secured straight away at the breakdown.

VIVAS Under 12s Green

The girl’s first game was against a handy Griffith side with some fast and evasive ball runners testing the Green’s defence early.

The girl’s discipline and defence held firm with good work from Sophie Maloney, Sarah Macdonald and Tayliah Butcher in tight taking out their runners and shutting down the scoring opportunities.

In attack Aleiah Breust was devastating scoring 2 tries, as was Lucinda Madden and Bridie Turner each scoring one each.

Majella McGrath and super sub Isabel Duke were excellent in attack and put the girls up the right end of the field for the tries to be scored.

Viva Greens ran out winners 4 tries to 2.

Viva Greens second game was against a well drilled Albury team who were keen to attack the unbeaten Young side.

Again the defence in tight by the girls held firm with Tayliah Butcher, Lucinda Madden, Sophie Maloney and Isobel Duke outstanding while Aleiah Breust and the speedy Sarah McDonald out wide saving tries.

Young were ahead 2 tries to 1 close to full time after tries by Majella McGrath and Bridie Turner, however a late Albury try ended up with a 2 all draw on the final whistle.

The Viva 13 Greens should be congratulated for their enthusiasm and skill levels and providing the crowd with two very exciting games of football.

Special mention and thanks also to Isabel Duke from Viva Whites who played both games for the Greens, was invaluable, and then played her two games for the Whites, that’s commitment.

VIVAS Under 16s

The Yabbies Under 16s VIVA side traveled to West Wyalong a little short on numbers however were bolstered by the return of a couple of stars from yesteryear in the form of Olivia Turner and Taylah Stoney.

The first game was the top-of- the-table clash against Leeton however the Young girls started very slowly and lacked spark which has unfortunately become a familiar pattern for the girl’s first game of the day.

Despite these problems Young had a better second half and were competitive only to let themselves down at crucial times with poor attacking options and defensive lapses.

The result, however, was one-sided with Leeton running out the victors by 6 tries to nil, cementing their growing reputation as being the team to beat in this year’s competition.

The second game of the day was against Griffith and the Yabbies came out a different side playing a fast-paced and expansive attacking game that saw Taylah Stoney score 2 tries, the second of which demonstrated the rewards of good support play after Grace Shannon made an 80 metre sideline break of which Taylah was able to finish but not until after a flurry of back and forth passing between the two girls in the final 10 metres to successfully evade the desperate lone Griffith defender.

Ella McRae also had a great game scoring a try and recovering many of Griffith’s kicks with strong return running, converting defence into dangerous counter-attack prompting the comment from one astute rugby spectator that she was ‘a natural fullback’.

Two more tries were scored by the Yabbies through Georgia Richens and Grace Shannon capping off a successful second game for Young, beating the third-placed Griffith side by 5 tries to nil.

The win was a fitting send-off for one of the team’s most consistent players, Heidi Waddell, who is off to boarding school next term which will be a huge loss for the team.

Under 8s

Despite a two-week break from the rugby field, the boys showed up to play some great rugby at Grenfell on Sunday.

Our first opponent was Temora, who has given the boys a run for their money on several occasions.

Max Schilt showed no mercy making some huge runs right through the defensive line to cross the try line three times.

James Rowntree showed off that quick step, also running across the white line twice for a try.

Henry Hewson showed huge improvement running very strongly into the blue jumpers and making many metres.

Birthday boy Will Stoney made some fantastic quick runs up the sideline with Hugo Davidson making some try saving tackles to keep the opponents at bay giving the boys a solid 45- 20 win.

Up next was the black and red stripes of Tumut who were always a tough competitor and this time was no exception.

Strong tackling and impressive defence shook the Yabbies a little early on but to the boy’s credit, the intensity increased and the battle was on!

Fantastic tackling from Darcy Woodward gave the boys some breathing space which put Oscar McCann over the try line to give the boys a leg up.

Tumut came fighting back which saw Sam Newell came out of the woodwork and play an exceptional running game making huge metres and huge tackles.

Unfortunately, Tumut snuck in two more tries than the Yabbies, seeing the boys go down 45-35. A gallant effort of rugby all day by every player!

Under 10s Greens

The Young Yabbies Under 10s Greens did battle against the undefeated Coota outfit for the third time this year.

Great ball control from both teams and great play at the breakdown had Young cleaning out really well but it was Coota who took the early lead with a couple of tries.

Dean Starling and Billy Brown were strong up front and well supported by Trent Shean, Billy Davis and Max Shea as Young clawed their way back to be down 20-10 at the break.

Nick Canellis and Nate Reid were on fire with the ball and with some dominant runs from Lucas Maloney and Toby Dowling Young had tied the game up with a hat trick of tries to the electric Sam Schilt, a double to the courageous Josh Cameron and a try to Riley Butcher, this game was a beauty and it was there to be won by either team.

Young defended valiantly on their own goal line and had plenty of opportunity but poor ball control and plenty of pressure from Coota saw them finally crack the defence to score the match winning try. Great Game by all!

Young took on Tumut in their next game after a huge break and came out all guns blazing led by the magnificent Nick Canellis who was back to his best.

With Riley Butcher and Billy Brown surging forward and strong defence by Toby Dowling, Billy Davis and Max Shea Young ran out comfortable 60-12 winners.

Three tries each to Nate Reid and Josh Cameron, doubles by Trent Shean and Sam Schilt and a try each to two of Young’s best in Lucas Maloney and Dean Starling. Well done boys on a clinical display!

With the season almost at an end, we have one round to go before the teams are decided as to who will be progressing to the finals. Also worth noting that the U8’s do not have finals and the top four teams will progress to the semi-finals that will be played in Young on August 13, with the finals the following weekend, August 20, location yet to be decided. This is how the ladder looks after the round at West Wyalong, note that this was up to date at the time of publication.

Under 8’s  – 3^rd 

Under 10s White – 3^rd 

Under 10s Green – 4^th 

Under 12s – 3^rd 

Under 14s – 3^rd 

Viva 10s White – 3^rd 

Viva 10 Green – 4^th 

Viva 13 White – 1^st 

Viva 13 Green – 4^th 

Viva 16 – 2^nd