Albury Thunder stormed back into Group Nine finals contention with a 42-16 victory over Kangaroos at Greenfield Park on Sunday.
With coach Ben Jeffery having a full strength line-up for the first time this season, the reigning premier dominated from the outset.
Jeffery said he was confident the win was a turning point for the rest of the year.
“It’s probably the best we have played since round one,” Jeffery said.
“I was really pleased with the effort in particular.
“I thought we were good for 60 minutes and lapsed for about 20.
“It was a good sign that they only scored one try after half-time.”
Albury made a spectacular start with tries to Mitch Seaton, Jeffery and Daniel Hill inside the first 22 minutes before Kangaroos cut the deficit to 18-10 at half-time.
The sin-binning of Trenten King was another blow for the home team but Albury used the break to regroup and ratted home with four tries to one to clinch the win.
David Cowhan and Levi Freeman were outstanding for Thunder while Jeffery and Seaton both put in strong performances.
Former coach Josh Cale made a surprise appearance in reserve grade and is likely to step up next weekend.
Full-time
ALBURY 42 (B Jeffery 2, D Hill, M Seaton, C Breust, T King, Levi Freeman; C Breust 7 goals) d KANGAROOS 16 (Z Foster, L Cuell, A Hall tries; A Hall 2 goals)
