GROUP NINE
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ALBURY captain-coach Josh Cale was delighted with the way the Thunder opened their Group Nine premiership with a thumping trial win in Dubbo at the weekend.
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Playing without almost half of the team that edged Southcity in the Group Nine grand final in September, Albury overwhelmed Dubbo Macquarie 20-10 in the trial at Apex Oval in Dubbo on Saturday.
The game was played over three 20-minute terms and Dubbo Macquarie swept ahead 10-6 when Etuate Gusuivalu scored a try with 16 minutes left.
Running with the wind, the Thunder rallied to blast on another three tries to eventually leave the home-town team stranded.
Cale, who was born and bred in nearby Narromine, later described the decisive victory as the perfect way to launch Albury's first title defence.
"It was good to blow some of the cobwebs out, but the real purpose of this game was to get the boys away together on a bus trip and have them eat a meal together, have a drink together and basically do some bonding," Cale said.
"We left probably six or seven of our top players at home as I wanted to have a look at some of the guys who are pressing for spots in our top squad.
"I was impressed by what I saw from my boys and also Macquarie."
Cale said the Thunder's first trial of 2013 had been a great starting point.
"There's a few talented boys in the Macquarie side," he said.
For Dubbo Macquarie, the trial marked the start of a new era following the departure of last year's captain-coach Jade Williams and star hooker Jeremy Smith.
Williams left the club to sign on as Junee captain-coach, while Smith is one of Temora's major recruits for the year.
New Macquarie captain-coach John Grey said later the loss to Albury had given him a positive outlook for the upcoming Group 11 season.
"That was good," Grey said.
"Albury are a very good side. Even though they were without a lot of their better players they still had a lot of talent in that squad.
"They put some big boys out there and I thought we handled that well, but we probably just ran out of steam at the end."
Dubbo unleashed its gun recruit Darren Jackson on the Thunder on Saturday.
Jackson is a former NSW Country skipper and has been signed to ease the pressure on the team since the loss of Smith and Williams.
Dubbo lost tough back-rower Perry Meredith with a serious knee injury early in the game, which took away a substantial degree of firepower.