The Bega Roosters secured two out of three results over the weekend with a first grade win providing a highlight after a gritty showdown with the Moruya Sharks for the opening round.
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Zippy recruit Reece Moulden got the Roosters off to the right start in Saturday's first grade game in front of a strong and vocal Bega crowd.
Moulden flew over deep in the left corner for the opening try after the Roosters had shaped right for a fifth tackle kick option, but a quick reversal by Scott Fuller at dummy half sent the ball squirreling to the left where a few cut-out passes saw Moulden blasting past Moruya's outside man to find the line.
However, the Sharks would repay the favour in much the same fashion just a few minutes later when Corey Arnold crossed after the visitors played the blind side off a scrum from about 20 metres off the Bega line.
Both teams traded some good sets through the middle and Bega looked threatening a couple of times, but efforts to muscle their way over the line were easily pulled up by a stoic Moruya defence.
Moruya's Dean Scott broke the deadline with 10 minutes left in the first half after repeat sets allowed the Sharks to pepper runs at the Bega line.
It had come from a lucky twist of fate for Moruya, when a wobbly low pass turned into a clever chip kick into touch forcing a line dropout from the Bega team that set up the repeat attacking sets.
Despite taking a 10-4 deficit into the second half, some good talk during the break kept morale up in the Bega camp and the Roosters worked diligently throughout the second half to build to a 24-18 win under lights at the Bega Recreation Ground.
It was a stark contrast to the earlier reserve grade clash where the Sharks made a meal of the Bega club with a 42-6 result.
The Roosters had battled back into the contest after trailing 16-0 at the break when Luke Creary stormed over for a powerful try to trail 16-6 after the successful conversion.
However, it was not to be with the Sharks running in a number of second half tries, largely coming off the back of a strong display from the club's attacking forwards.
A rare intercept by the lock to charge down the middle of the field also added salt to the wounds as the difference extended beyond Bega's reach later in play.
The Roosters under 18s played separate to the other grades over the weekend with their clash going ahead at Eden's George Brown Memorial Oval on Sunday.
Some of the reserve grade outfit backed up from the Saturday game and held out the Snowy River Bears for a solid 20-16 result in front of a sizable Eden Tigers crowd.
In other matches, the 2019 premiers the Tathra Sea Eagles went down to Narooma 24-20 in a close match up.
The Pambula-Merimbula Bulldogs carded a 32-20 opening round win over the Bay Tigers, while the Eden Tigers secured a 30-18 over the Snowy River Bears.