The Dungog Warriors have reclaimed the Charity Shield with a 40-8 win against Stroud on Saturday.
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The Brekelmans brothers Aiden and Trai continue to flourish in their new roles of hooker and halfback and were the Warriors best in a game which unearthed a couple of fine new recruits.
Aiden scored two tries to claim bragging rights over Trai who crossed the line for one.
However, Trai took honours when it came to the most spectacular try of the day, with a 90-metre beauty to finish off the scoring for the day.
The Warriors began their effort 10 metres from their own line with a kick into space from a scrum .
Trai recovered the ball before putting in another kick and raced to 80-metres to score much to the delight of a huge home crowd in the first game at Bennett Park this season.
The Charity Shield is always a keenly contested game and Dungog were seeking redemption after last year’s 14-0 loss at Stroud last year.
Dungog’s Peter Howard said the game was a bit fiery at times with a Dungog player hurt in a late tackle and a Stroud player sent off later in the last quarter.
The two teams were very different in make-up from last year and while Stroud were game they were outclassed by Dungog on the day.
Played over four quarters it was 10-4 at first break, 26-4 at half-time, 36-8 at final break before the Warriors adding another try in the final period.
The form of the Brekelmans brothers was very encouraging for the Warriors as they step into the roles vacated by Dungog’s best two players from last year halfback Jeremy Fredericks, who signed with Greta Branxton Colts, and hooker Daniel Bates who retired.
Equally pleasing was the performance of new players Mick Craigie and Luke Whaler who had strong games in their first outing for Dungog.
Other good players were Kieran and Matt Hinton and Brad Barnes on the wing.
Barnes showed plenty of pace and if he can be given a bit of space he will score plenty of tries in 2018.
Hudson said Stroud were in a rebuilding phase, but despite losing their two best players last year in Fredericks and Bates the Warriors showed they have nucleus of a good side which will get better with time.
“With a couple of new blokes coming on board showing a bit of potential we are looking a lot better than we were a month ago,” Hudson said.
Dungog are on the road this coming weekend playing Windale at Windale on Saturday at 3pm.
The game will be the club’s final pre-season game before the season starts proper on April 28.
“We have a week off, although some teams have organised trials for the weekend of April 21,” Hudson said.
The Newcastle and Hunter Rugby League will finalise gradings soon after the completion of the trials.
Hudson thanked the generosity of the big crowd at Bennett Park on Saturday in donating money towards the club’s charity this year palliative care.
“It was a huge crowd and everyone dug in deep when we went around the ground seeking donations. We were able to raise more than $450, which is a great effort,” he said. “It was the first game we had at Bennett Park and the place was packed.”