Sport
31 May, 2025
Ladies Day delight for Flamin’ Galahs
A full squad of 20 Flamin’ Galahs flew out of the sheds at Gulargambone’s number one oval on Saturday afternoon (May 24) to take on the high-flying Coonamble ladies’ team in a top-of-the-table Ahrens Tri Tag clash.
By The Pink Parrot
A large crowd was already on hand to watch the Flamin’ Galahs and to honour the late Sara Roche on the traditional Ladies Day clash with the Coonamble teams.
Coonamble’s ladies had an air of confidence about them, having got the better of the Flamin’ Galahs in a trial game only a month earlier, and also coming off two good victories.
The game was only warming up when, in the fifth minute of the game, the ever-reliable fullback Paige made her way through a gap in the Coonamble defence and went 50 metres to score a try under the post that was duly converted by herself and gave the Flamin’ Galahs an early 7-0 lead.
The game ebbed and flowed with both teams playing tough in defence and attack.
It was not till the 20th minute that the Wollongong Wiz Kayla, through good hands in the backline, found a break and also ran 50 metres to score a try. The conversion was unsuccessful, and the score went to 12-0 to the Flamin’ Galahs.
As the first half was closing in, the Flamin’ Galahs again spread the ball wide to the right, and this allowed centre Rachel enough room to run down the right-side touch line some 40 metres untouched and score a try in the corner. The conversion was waved away, and as the game went to half-time, the Flamin’ Galahs held a handy 17-0 lead.
Coach King got the ladies in and advised that the lead, although good, was nothing that could not be reduced if the ladies were to get complacent and try to defend that lead for the second half.
The most pleasing aspect of the first half was how the Flamin’ Galahs drew their player in attack and right in before offloading, which led to a couple of the breakaway tries in the first half.
The second half got under way and it was only in about the first few minutes when the Coonamble ladies hit back with a try down the right side due to some tardy tagging attempts by the Flamin’ Galahs. The try was not converted, and the score was now 17-5.
The game again got into the grind and became a bit clunky due to some interesting interpretations of the tri-tag rules by the officials that led both teams and coaching staffs to scratch their heads.
Both teams started getting frustrated, and the game began to break down with many stoppages in play as players attempted to clarify some of the interpretations. To both teams’ credit, they continued on, and the Coonamble ladies seemed to start to dominate and were causing all sorts of issues in attack on the left side.
The Flamin’ Galahs’ sliding defence became very slow and cumbersome, and looked at times that they had their feet stuck in quicksand.
The Coonamble ladies could see this and were exploiting the holes and creating overlaps time after time. Great defence from the centres and wings prevented many breaks from Coonamble ladies. Our always reliable and unfailing fullback Paige saved about three certain tries as the last line of defence when the Coonamble ladies looked certain to score.
Crafty scrum half Sarah saw a gap in the Coonamble defence in about the twentieth minute of the second half and ran 50 metres to score under the post to relieve some pressure for the Flamin’ Galahs. The try was converted by Paige, and the scoreline now read 24-5. The Coonamble ladies would not go away. With about 12 minutes remaining, the Flamin’ Galahs shifted play back to the left side and scored. The try was not converted, and the Flamin’ Galahs now led 24-10.
In a tense last 10 minutes, both teams gave their all in attack, but the Flamin’ Galahs got their defence mojo back into gear, and great tags by all the ladies meant they were able to hold out a persistent wave of attack from the Coonamble ladies. The final score was 24-10.
It does not get any easier for the Flamin’ Galahs this Saturday (May 31) as they take on their other arch foes, Walgett.
The Walgett ladies, after three rounds, sit on top of the ladder with the Flamin’ Galahs. Walgett ladies to date have not let in a single try in their three games.
This week’s game is going to be a cracker. Get yourself out to Gulargambone and cheer on the Flamin’ Galahs.
Points for this weekend were as follows: Rachel, three points. Sarah two points. Clam and Alanna one point each. Players’ player was Rachel.
