TWO trial matches in two weeks has turned out to be just what coach Warwick Jones needed to get his Nambucca Roosters outfit primed for the 2023 season, coming up with a convincing win against the much fancied Port Macquarie Sharks on Saturday.

The Sharks arrived at Coronation Park Nambucca Heads with a strong squad and, based on experience and playing history, expectation was that the visitors would emerge victorious.

However, the Roosters came up with a game of quality football, getting over Port 24 points to 12.

Of the six tries scored by the Roosters, none were converted, giving Jones something to ponder ahead of the round one fixture against Woolgoolga on 7 May.

Unlike the appalling weather conditions that affected last week’s trial match against Inverell, this game was played in dry sunny conditions, although the heat of the afternoon tested the fitness of both sides.

The first half opened with the Roosters demonstrating an intensity and speed that seemed to put their opposition temporarily off balance.

The home side were strong in both the defensive and attack aspects of their game and although Port were able to find holes and make some breaks, there was enough speed in the Roosters back-line to chase them down or be cut off by fullback Robbie Smith, who’s game stepped up another notch from the first trial match.

“We wanted to improve from the good performance of last week, we ironed out a few things at training this week and our attitude in defence in the first 30 minutes set up the win which allowed us to play a bit of footy for the rest of the game,” Roosters coach Warwick Jones told News Of The Area.

“It was only a trial, but we can come away with a lot of positives in all aspects of our game as we scored six tries and hopefully we’ve learnt that’s the standard that we need to consistently bring when the competition starts.”

Those who came to watch the action on Saturday were treated to a great U/14s game where two very evenly matched sides gave it everything they had to come up with a 10-10 draw at full-time.

Second on the card was the U/18s and although the skills seemed to be there, much like last week, inconsistency and an apparent lack of cohesion cost the Roosters dearly and Port walked away with a 34-0 victory.

Disappointingly, the Women’s game was cancelled, leaving a hole in the program and causing the main match to be brought forward by 30 minutes.

By Mick BIRTLES