IT would be hard to find a better way for St Pat’s to start their Group 10 Premier League season as the side walked over the Blayney Bears 64-16.
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The blue and white spent a week on the sidelines with the first round bye, but the side came to King George Oval on Sunday, playing like a team with months of football together behind them.
The English off-season recruits Luke Newcombe and John Hanscombe each bagged a hat-trick in what was nothing short of a Pat’s demolishing of the home side.
Pat’s coach Kurt Hancock said his team had to survive some early aggression from Blayney but once that faded away, it was smooth sailing.
“Blayney started well. They broke our line in the very first set and looked dangerous in our half for the first 20 minutes. Once we hung in, weathered the storm, we got some quick tries and we just went on from there,” he said. “I’m stoked with our younger guys. The bench also gave us a lot. That’s where our strength will be this year.”
In such a large win to start their season, Hancock struggled to single out those who made the biggest contributions.
“John Hanscombe, every time he touched the ball, he scored. He’s just super quick. Benjamin John was outstanding out of dummy half even after he received a gash on his head ... three or four centimetres wide. They had to strap him up but he got back out there and did well,” he said.
Blayney started with fire with early points, but they started letting Pat’s through their line repeatedly beyond the first 15 minutes, and the half-time score of 26-4 showed how much damage could be done in a short time.
The news didn’t get better for Blayney after the break when an error in the opening minute once more handed Pat’s a chance to open the floodgates.
At the one-hour mark, the Bathurst side had blown their lead out to 48-10 and in the final 20 minutes, Pat’s didn’t lift the foot off the gas pedal.
A late try did little to soften the blow for a Blayney side who are now sitting with two losses to their name and have had 106 points past them.
BATURST ST PAT’S 64 (Luke Newcombe 3, John Hanscombe 3, Pat Boatswain, Cam Neville, Jamie Crawford, Benjamin John, Derryn Clayton tries; Gary Reilly 9 goals; Gary Reilly penalty goal) def BLAYNEY BEARS 16
