Once again the weather gods weren’t kind to the Butchers, with Saturdays trial played in wet slippery conditions at Gibson Park which affected ball security from all sides and slowed the games down.
Wagga Kangaroos travelled 4 1/2 hours to take on the Butchers and put in a great performance. It was great to see nearly all the players back at the pub for a beer after and i think many were keen to kick on for a big night out in town.
Wagga proved very worthy opponents for the Butchers, having a few tries disallowed and putting in a very solid performance, The Butchers came out on top 4 tries to 2.
Butchers who performed in the Wagga game were Matty Syron, Joel Ruskin and Jake Dooley
The Butchers second trial for the day was against 2013 premiers Collegians, who showed they will again be a force in 2014, running out a very big mobile squad. The Butchers came out on top though, scoring 6 tries to 2.
Nathan Fien showed what a vital signing he is for the club, with a very accurate long and short kicking game, crunching defence and great positional play
Damian Blanch was my pick for player of the day. His size and speed troubled Collies out wide, after recovering from a huge hit, Blanch made several long runs before being injured, hopefully only a short recovery for Damian before the competition starts.
Others who stood out throughout the day were James Spencer, Sam Clune, and Ty Blanchett
Other try scorers for the day were Joel Ruskin, Rhys James, Ty McCarthy, Mitch Cox, Sam Clune, Damian Blanch and Nathan Fien.
