A week after being run down late in a tight one against East Wagga-Kooringal at Peter Hastie Oval, the Bushpigs returned to the venue and opened up for a 24.15 (159) to 2.2 (14) victory. 

Will Thorp and Rob Herzfeld led the way in the midfield while Louis Miller spent most of the game up forward, proving a constant threat alongside Vas Seker, with the pair kicking 10 goals between them. 

“It was awesome to play our free-flowing style of footy,” coach Pat Noonan said. “Most of the boys finished exams on Thursday and after that I was worried about blokes not being fully prepared but they showed me different.”

CSU kicked 10 straight goals in the second quarter to get right on top but Noonan was fully aware it was against a club doing it tough with the Blues down on numbers and with players backing up. 

But the Bushpigs’ fourth win of the year ensures they hit the halfway point of the season with as many wins as losses. Sitting fifth, it also restored an eight point advantage on the Northern Jets and The Rock-Yerong Creek ahead of a trip to Marrar next week. 

Jess Spencer, Tom Groves and Brendan Hardy did all they could for the Blues, who were without three suspended players after last week’s game against the Northern Jets. They face another tough trip next week, to Temora.