When the final whistle went at Narromine's Cale Oval on Saturday afternoon there was one person Dubbo Rhinos coach Doug Sandry was most pleased to see smiling.
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The Rhinos finally got back to winning ways on Saturday, ending a drought of close to three years with a 33-10 victory over the Narromine Gorillas.
It's been an incredibly tough period for the Rhinos, as at times during the past three years they've battled for numbers and struggled to get close to any other side in the New Holland Agriculture Cup.
But club president Ian Burns kept doing what he could to drive the club forward, and Sandry was delighted and proud to have scored the win for him on Saturday.
"I'm incredibly happy for our president, Ian Burns," he said.
"He's seen this club go through the depths of despair for a long, long time. To see him sitting on the bench at the end of the game with a smile on his face after three years of not winning a match was fantastic."
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It wasn't just Burns who was overjoyed to have finally scored the win, with a number of the Rhinos players having been involved with the side when the winless run began back in May of 2018.
"Honestly, there was a few tears from some of the boys," Sandry said, the Rhinos' only win in recent times coming via a forfeit..
"It was just so emotional to finally get the old monkey off our back, so to speak. It was fantastic."
For everyone involved in the Rhinos, the breakthrough win had felt close.
After struggling in a big way the past two years there was a positive feel around the club during pre-season with Sandry bringing real energy and some new ideas while a number of new faces arrived to fill key positions in the lineup.
Two of those players, halves Nash Forgione and Teahu Baker, had shown plenty of promise during the first two games of the season and they were both key to the side's success at Narromine.
The same went for fullback Dale Smith, who scored one try, set up another, and kicked two conversions and three penalties.
"The way our nine, 10, and 15 ran the backline was exactly what we've been after," Sandry said.
"They were outstanding and drove them around the park. Dale and Nash, in particular, were incredible. Dale had a fantastic day out."
The Gorillas, who have now entered a rebuilding phase of their own after a period of sustained success in the old Graincorp Cup and New Holland Agriculture Cup, did start the better on Saturday and led through an early penalty goal.
But the Rhinos soon built into the match and once they built some momentum the points followed and the visitors led 16-3 at half-time.
"We pretty much dominated most of the second half," Sandry said.
"But there was a little ill-discipline and we lost a player to a yellow card and Narromine scored but once again we scored the last try.
"We've done that every game we've played this season and that tells me we're finishing games well ands that's how we want to be. We want to be an 80-minute team."
Forgione, dangerous ball-runner Kelevi Ralulu, and Matt Williams also scored in Saturday's win.
And while it meant a huge amount and was rightly celebrated, the Rhinos are determined to make their season about much more than just one victory.
"It's about getting to training and working hard Tuesday and Thursday and getting prepared for Parkes on Friday night," Sandry said.
As Sandry stated, the Rhinos are hosting a Friday night match against Parkes in round five.
Kick-off in that one will be at 7.30pm at No. 1 Oval.
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