RESILIENCE and determination - they were two key elements of CSU's Mid West League Cup premiership last season and could very well be what leads them to glory again in 2020.
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On Saturday night under lights at Carrington Park as a determined Mungoes outfit posted a 20-4 win over the Orange United Warriors, it was their willingness in both attack and defence which proved the difference.
The Warriors threw all their resources at CSU in the initial stages of a match which was played at a high-intensity across the 70 minutes.
But the Mungoes' defence absorbed that early pressure and held fast. They were resilient and determined.
The Warriors had more possession, but the swarming CSU defence made it difficult for them to offload the ball. When passes were made, the Mungoes' scrambled to keep their line intact.
When the football was in CSU hands, they used intelligent kicking and individual skill to help create. It saw centre Blake Schaeffer score the first points in the last minutes of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a repeat of the first, but finally second-rower Warriors' Michael Newman breached CSU's defence to lock it up at 4-all.
However, CSU hit back with a converted try to Finlay Grabham to give them a 12-4 lead at half-time.
Warriors centre Chris Jones was sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes in the third quarter and it meant the visitors were under pressure.
A successful 40-20 CSU kick handed them a set on the Warriors' line and captain Jacob Watkin crossed close to the posts. The conversion gave them a 12-point lead.
Into the final quarter the speed of the game had not diminished and the Warriors' attack still looked dangerous. They went with centimetres of scoring on a number of occasions.
However, the Mungoes' dedication to attack and defence kept the Warriors at bay and led to another try via Daniel Balcombe. It put the final score at 20-6.
The result means that CSU shares the competition lead alongside newcomers Cargo and Oberon, all three being undefeated.
CSU has now scored 106 points across three games and conceded just eight.
In other games the Oberon Tigers had a solid 44-6 win over Kandos while Cargo was too good for the Lithgow Bears, winning 34-0.
Following the weekend's games CSU, Cargo and Oberon all share the competition lead.
Cargo and CSU are set to clash this Saturday at Diggings Oval in what should be another quality contest.
CSU's league tag side is also impressing so far as it aims for a title defence, beating the Warriors 54-0 on Saturday. That backed up the Mungals' 38-0 win over the Orange Barbarians in the opening round.
The other league tag games saw Kandos and Oberon play out a 10-all draw and the hot Cargo side defeat the Lithgow Bears 80-0.
