A SCINTILLATING 15-minute period in the first half from Oberon allowed the Tigers to maintain their unbeaten start to the Group 10 premier league season with a scrappy 42-10 victory over Orange Hawks at Wade Park on Saturday.

After conceding first points, Zac Rowlandson’s side turned it on with five tries in 15 minutes to blow the two blues off the park.

Three of Oberon’s five tries came from beyond the halfway line, with the best of them a cracking interchange of passes down the Tigers’ left edge between Blake Miller and Trent Rose and finished off in style by Jackson Brien. He enjoyed a stunning first 40 minutes with three line breaks and try assist of his own as the visitors raced to a 30-4 advantage.

The second half from both sides was poor, with handling errors and ill-discipline turning what was a reasonable spectacle into, at times a debacle, but Oberon proved too good in eventually winning 42-10. It was their sixth straight triumph to start the season.

Oberon won no games in 2015 and just four the year before that, so Rowlandson made a point of visiting Hawks’ change room after full-time to reiterate a message injured two blues captain-coach Jason Gangaram has been preaching since round one.

“He said stick together,” Gangaram said of the advice.

“He came in and said ‘Look fellahs, we were in this position a few years ago, so stick together’. That’s exactly what we need to do.”

Minus former NRL players George Rose (hamstring) and Jason Ferris (ankle) – Rose is expected back next week while Ferris will return after the June long weekend – Oberon’s rise from wooden-spooners to competition leaders is one of the stories of the 2016 Country Rugby League season.

Tries to Abel Faifua-Lefaoseu, Matt Rose, Matt Ballinger, Blake Miller and Brien – all of which were converted by the left foot of Trent Rose – rocketed the Tigers to a match-winning lead after Jake Blimka gave Hawks the early advantage with a cheeky short-side raid.

Rowlandson said once his side clicks they are hard to stop.

“If we’re patient and set it up it works,” he said.

“But if we go too early and don’t get in the grind, we make mistakes. It hurts us.”

OBERON TIGERS 42 (Abel Faifua-Lefaoseu, Matt Rose, Matt Ballinger, Blake Miller, Jackson Brien, Zac Rowlandson, Josh Rivett tries; Trent Rose 6, Blake Fitzpatrick goals) defeated ORANGE HAWKS 10 (Jake Blimka 2 tries; Brodie Chritopherson goal)