RUGBY UNION
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IT didn't start so well and it wasn't the finest finish, but everything that happened in between for the Bathurst Bulldogs on Saturday was well executed as they recorded a 47-10 win over the Dubbo Rhinos at Ashwood Park.
It was Bulldogs' fourth win this Central West Rugby Union season and though the winless Rhinos remained rooted to the bottom of the ladder, they did manage to score the first and last tries of the match.
Rhinos' right side defence was put under the pump for the entire match and they struggled to keep out the Bulldogs, fullback Jack Roberson scoring a hat-trick.
"I'm very pleased with that effort. We've worked very hard this week on some basic structural play which the boys have put into play today," Bulldogs co-coach Brian Roberson said.
"We had a few errors with knock-ons and missed tackles, so if we tighten up those we'll be in good stead for next week.
"I think we can still be a little bit stronger. We've still got Adam Dwyer there on the sidelines this week and he'll come back in to give us some forward momentum."
There were danger signs early on for Bulldogs as poor discipline at the breakdown allowed the Rhinos work inside their 15 metre zone.
While Dubbo knocked on just inches from the line, a Bulldogs forward pass gave the visitors another crack and they didn't let go to waste.
Rhinos sent the ball out to the right to fullback Ricky Weatherall, who muscled through several defenders to score a try in the 14th minute.
However, that spurred the Bulldogs into action and they responded almost immediately with a converted Bart Bogart try to lead 7-5.
From there Bulldogs dominated possession and importantly, they converted it into more points as Roberson crossed in the 22nd and 26th minute to make it 21-5 at the break.
The second half started in a much more positive fashion for the Bulldogs than the first did as Peter Fitzsimmons scored off a scrum just four minutes after play resumed.
Inside centre Sam Roberson added his name to the scoresheet before brother Jack made it hat-trick off the back of a scintillating Bogart break down the left side.
The hosts continued to find space on the edges, quick hands putting right winger Tyson Smith over to make it 47-5 with 20 minutes still to play.
But Bulldogs' discipline fell away as the match approached its closing stages and substitute Aaron Booby was yellow carded for repeated infringements.
Just after he returned to the field with two minutes remaining, Rhinos scored a hard-earned consolation try through prop Ben Paterson.
His fellow prop Brett Austin said Rhinos' impatience and desire to bring the ball wide too often was their undoing.
"When we kept it in the forwards we were looking pretty good. Our backs got a bit greedy and kept calling for it and that's when we started losing it. I think if we just kept the ball with our forwards more often, we probably would have got a few more tries," he said.
"Even at the end there we were really hammering them when we did that. It's something for us to work on as we're starting to learn what our strengths are in the competition.
"Once again the first-up tackles were terrible, and that's what's killing us every week. That's something for us to work on and try to fix."
BATHURST BULLDOGS 47 (Jack Roberson 3, Bart Bogart, Peter Fitzsimmons, Sam Roberson, Tyson Smith tries; Kurt Weekes 6 conversions) defeated DUBBO RHINOS 10 (Ricky Weatherall, Ben Paterson)