The Cobar Roosters ruled the roost on their home turf on Saturday at Tom Knight Memorial Oval when they claimed the 2021 Christie and Hood Castlereagh League pre-season carnival shield.
In front of an appreciative home crowd the large and mobile Roosters outfit put on three dominant displays in their First Grade games, scoring a total of 74 points while only having their try line crossed on one occasion.
The Roosters opened the day with a first up 20-6 win over Gilgandra in Round 1.
They backed that up with an even better 30-0 result over Coonamble in Round 4 but it was the final where the Roosters would put on their best display to finish with an emphatic 24-0 win over Gulgong.
Gulgong didn’t have as smooth a run to Saturday’s final as the Roosters did.
In their first game in Round 3 the Terriers drew 12-all with Gilgandra and then had a close 12-8 win over Baradine in Round 5, with that match played just before the final.
The Roosters, led this season by new captain Loma Atuau, were definitely fresher go-ing into Saturday’s final and it was their supe-rior fitness (coupled with a full bench of subs) that saw them through to a walkover win of the Gulgong visitors.
Immediately after the kick-off the Roosters scored three quick tries and then pretty much had it all their own way throughout the rest of the match.
The Roosters were pleased to welcome back playmaker and goal kicker Jimmy Neyland this season after Neyland had announced at the end of the 2020 season that he would be retiring.
Neyland however had a change of heart and on Saturday looked to playing as well as he ever has.
The Roosters fans also got to have a look at a few of the new players this season including their new Hooker, Tom Platter, who has big shoes to fill taking over from last year’s superstar player Jarrad Whitty.
Like Whitty before him, Platter is also quick around the ruck and he crossed for a number of tries for the Roosters on Saturday.
Despite the fact that three clubs, Dunedoo, Trangie and Coonabarabran did not participate in the knockout carnival, the day provided a good pre-season hit out for the five clubs in attendance but certainly the performance by the Roosters suggests that they will be a force to be reckoned with in season 2021.
