IT might not have been the prettiest of starts for CSU in their Westfund Ferguson Cup game against Mudgee on Saturday but once the students got a roll on they were impossible to stop.
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CSU overcame first half troubles to keep the Wombats off the board and run away 45-0 winners.
Winger Jacinta Cooper was once again too hard for the opposition defence to contain as she bagged another hat trick to go with the one she found against Wellington a week earlier.
There was an element of uncertainty in the CSU camp heading into the match given holidays had force several changes to the team lineup.
Those nerves were evident in the way CSU carried themselves in the opening quarter of the game, lacking the ruthless streak which they showed against the Redbacks.
CSU captain Rachel Brown said once the team found their feet there was no looking back.
"It wasn't a great start to the game. The first half challenged us a bit because we were making a lot of errors but it was good to have those errors, see the girls follow through in the second half and play some good footy," she said.
"The girls calmed down a bit after we had a chat and figured out what we needed to do. We needed to play our own game and that's what they did in the second half.
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"In holidays you always have a couple of girls away and you usually have a bit of a mixed team. You don't have your usual starting players. I think that was in the back of everyone's mind during the warm ups.
"Once the girls realised they were more than capable of playing the footy that they'd been playing all year they said 'Let's concentrate and get through our phases' and that's what they did."
A big question for CSU was whether they could match the Wombats through the middle of the park.
The students were up for that battle and it allowed the CSU wingers and centres to go to town.
"Jacinta Cooper was on fire and our backs did really well, but so did our forwards," Brown said.
"Mudgee always has a very good forward pack and their scrum is hard to win.
"They're one of those teams who are always a good side to play against. It was a really good game for the girls to play."
Orange Emus continue to lead the way in the competition on 56 points with CSU maintaining the margin in second with 53.
Temora Tuskers (48), West Wyalong (47) and Bathurst Bulldogs (46) could be in for a big fight for a crucial top four spot, which has become more enticing under the proposed finals changes.
The second leg of CSU's away game stint will be against the Dubbo Rhinos this Saturday.