Riverina put in their best performance yet to come away with a convincing win over GSR Tigers in the Andrew Johns Cup.
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The under 16s side dominated from the start at Laurie Daley on Sunday, with stand-in captain Joe Roddy crossing in the opening minutes.
They never looked like getting headed with the 30-12 victory their first of season.
Coach Ben Mott was impressed with how the team responded after two tough losses.
"It was good," Mott said.
"They did the thing we weren't able to do in week one and two - hold the football.
"With our fair share of possession we were pretty right once we got some confidence."
Riverina scored the first five tries of the clash.
The Tumut second rower crossed for a double in the win while Yenda's Solomoni Nabete added plenty of spark from fullback.
Mott thought their impact made a real difference.
"Joe (Roddy) has been a real star for us the whole way through and just keeps working while Solomoni Nabete at fullback has given them a bit of confidence with how he has been bringing the ball back," he said.
"We are settling into a good groove now."
Mott is also hoping captain Will McDermott will be available for the clash with Illawarra South Coast at Equex Centre on Saturday after missing due to an ankle complaint.
Riverina made it back-to-back wins in the Laurie Daley Cup but it was a game of real contrasts.
The under 18s side dominated the first half, taking a 32-4 lead into the break but struggled to close it out.
Conceding three tries in the last 10 minutes, they held on for a 36-28 win.
Coach James Smart is looking for a more consistent performance.
"We were really good in the first half, we completed really well and made the most of some opportunities in the middle of the field and then turned around in the second half and I think we tried to sit back in cruise control," Smart said.
"We learned a pretty big lesson out of that."
Wilson Hamblin again put in a strong performance at hooker while Mitchell Prest made the most of his call up to the starting side.
Smart is hopeful Jacob Crossley will return to take on the Dragons after missing the last two weeks under the new head injury assessment rules.
All four of Riverina's representative teams will be in action of Saturday with the first round of the under 23s and women's competitions also at Equex.
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