Gone was their slick attack from the first two rounds, but in its place was enough grit for Young to stay unbeaten.
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The Cherrypickers lit up the competition with two massive wins over Albury and Brothers to start the season, but had to overcome a much tougher test against Kangaroos at Alfred Oval on Saturday.
It wasn't the prettiest of performances but coach Nick Hall was pleased with how his side held strong to take a 14-8 victory.
"We made it hard on ourselves but it is another way to win," Hall said.
"It is not the way we wanted to win but it was exactly what we thought Roos would come here and do - they got us in a wrestle, were brave, gutsy and stayed in it while we did exactly what Tumut did last week.
"We played into their hands, gave them footy and let them play footy.
"It definitely wasn't what the plan was at half-time when we spoke about how we were going to fix things and instead it got worse.
"I'm not happy with the offence but the positive side of me says we defended pretty well at the end.
"It was hard work and they showed guts and courage."
Things started well as Jake Veney crossed twice in the first 15 minutes to lead 8-0 but Kangaroos wouldn't go away.
As the error count rose the Wagga side capitalised on Young being penalised in possession, marched down the field before a good offload from Chris Maher found Zac Graham and he forced with his over with five minutes left in the half.
Leading 8-4 at the break, Young extended their lead when Nic Hall swooped on a loose ball to go 80 metres to score.
Kangaroos responded through Timoci Vatubuli but couldn't find another blow.
It looked like they had when Jake Mascini juggled the ball over the line with 15 minutes to go only for referee Scott Muir to rule a knock on.
The Wagga side had most of the opportunities but Young had the answers to ensure they remain on top of the ladder.
Hall knows they need to be better to take on Tumut at Alfred Oval on Sunday.
"That is not the standard," he said.
"It was well below our standard.
"They (Tumut) are coming off a performance like we just had, messy, untidy and not to their standards, and they've had a week to fresh up and will be coming back to play."
One thing he wants to see is more energy after failing to put Kangaroos away after dictating terms in the opening half.
"We are pretty organised defensively but I would still like to see some more defensive energy and some attacking energy helps kill that too," Hall said.
Courtney Rees
Courtney is a sports journalist from The Daily Advertiser focusing on Group Nine, Southern Inland, cricket, harness racing and greyhound racing.
Courtney is a sports journalist from The Daily Advertiser focusing on Group Nine, Southern Inland, cricket, harness racing and greyhound racing.
