Nicholas Sapulo, Narrandera Argus
Barellan Two Blues coach Alex Lawder lamented his side’s injury troubles as they were thrashed 114-35 at home to Charles Sturt University.
After last week’s loss, the Two Blues were certainly up for the fight.
Barellan went into the second quarter only two points behind matching their opponents well in front of goal.
Lawder’s side slowed down in the second quarter but were by no means down and out.
However, when Sean Browning went down in the first half and John Evans with his hamstring shortly after it was an uphill battle.
Barellan couldn’t keep up with CSU with rotations and the young and hungry side swept Barellan away scoring a whopping 51 points in the final quarter.
CSU kept Barellan to just seven points in the second half. Coach Lawder rued the injuries that meant his side couldn’t keep up.
“We knew after last week we needed to be up for the fight and we’d be better and we did,” he said. “We lost Sean Browning in the first half, and Evans done his hammy with no rotations from half_time.
“We knew nothing is gonna come easy at Barellan we’ll fight for every inch.
“We kicked the first goal of the third quarter but then it ran away from us in the second half.
“We spoke after the game, we don’t think the scoreboard truly reflected where we were at against them.”
Whether the scoreboard reflected the tides of the match or not, Barellan were virtually embarrassed in the second half.
“To lower our stripes so badly in the last quarter, especially knowing we were matching with them (is disappointing),” he said.
“We know we are good enough to match it, we’ve got to be stronger for longer, playing two good quarters of footy isn’t gonna win it.”
In more positive news for the Two Blues, their reserve side notched up a 25-point victory over Charles Sturt University as Will Overs scored seven goals to win it for Barellan.
The Barellan club is also expanding. Last weekend saw the second match for the new Coleambally Barellan Three Blues, a unique combined Barellan and Coleambally team in the Farrer U17.5s competition.
Unfortunately, the North Wagga Saints gave them a welcome present, a huge 146-7 win over the new team.
Despite that, the new combined team is a sign of growth for both clubs.
Barellan were without an U17s team since 2018 with President Glen Tooth hailing it a “great concept” and offered the plaudits to Danny Graham, the man who was pivotal in the set up for the team.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 29 April 2021.
