Short term test, long term benefits for Rose's Kangaroos against Gundagai

Taking on Gundagai at Equex Centre on Sunday, the Wagga side put the brakes on a Tigers second-half comeback to finish the evening 28-10 winners.

High intensity from the start, the game opened with the ball ping-ponging from end to end before Charles Barton found space on the outside to begin the day's scoring.

It wasn't long before in a moment of deja vu for spectators Jacob Mascini crossed the line in nearly the same manner, to further the home side's lead.

Time was stopped briefly for trainers to do some patching after an innocuous head clash left Gundagai's Tyron Gorman sporting a tape headband for the remainder for the game.

Keeping their opponents scoreless to half-time, two quick tries from the Tigers at the midpoint of the second half breathed new life into the game, with just six points separating the sides.

Frustrations and fatigue increased the error count on both sides, but eager to stop the Tigers from any further momentum, Hayden Jolliffe bounced into action.

Before long the hosts had the game wrapped up.

With a full 80-minutes on field, Jolliffe was a standout for captain-coach Nathan Rose in what he called a "real team effort".

"Hayden Jolliffe had a real good game for us in the middle, he was solid and played the 80-minutes, so hats off to him," Rose said.

"In saying that, I think collectively I thought we played well as a team throughout the game, it was just when we were turning over cheap balls that we need to work on."

Though a convincing win in the end, Rose was pleased to see his side did not shy away from a challenge.

"It was good to come away with the win, the game was pretty physical out there at times and I was pleased that the boys stuck at it," Rose said.

"They didn't shy away from the challenge.

"I think we needed a game like that after the games that we've had in the last few weeks, I think we'll be better off because of it at the end of the season."

Starting their seasons with big wins over Tumut and Brothers, Rose acknowledged the clubs are in rebuilding periods.

Gundagai provided a test for his side and he said he has a better understanding of where they are at.

"I think in the first half we were pretty good for the majority of it, there were a couple of patches here and there, but the second half is probably the disappointing part," he said.

"I think we know what we're doing wrong, it's just a matter of us actually fixing our own problems.

"There were a few back-to-back penalties, errors, and that's inviting them back down into our goal line, but in saying that there was lots of positives as well."

Calm even when making errors, Rose said he was pleased with how the team handled themselves overall.

There is plenty of history among the players on the field and their clubs, and some push and shove ensued.

With players moving between the two sides in seasons gone by, Rose said it's always interesting to line up a mate on field.

"There's blokes out there playing that are still mates, they're obviously coming up against one another but it's a competitive sport that we play," he said.

"That's just a nature of the beast when you've played at other clubs, if you've been at the one club you probably don't get it as much, but if you've played at a couple, you'll come up against your mates."

They were down by six points at the break, but Junee turned the game around to give Southcity another disappointing end to their weekend.

Hosting the Bulls at Laurie Daley Oval, the Diesels handed a 28-20 loss to the Bulls after scoring four times in the second half to take the lead.

Cooper Wright continued a strong start to the season, continuing his pattern of a try a game, while Ratu Saurara also scored in his return to the side, after missing last week.

It was a kicker's delight of a game, with both Peter Adam and Kyle McCarthy on target for their sides.

Southcity are yet to win a game this season after a decent loss to Albury at home last week and a draw with Young in round one.