Thunder given a bolt by the Pickers

The Young Cherrypickers gave Albury Thunder a walloping in first grade league on Saturday. They came away with a 40 to 8 win at Albert Oval.

Coach Nick Hall said his team should’ve run up a higher score, as the border city side are building.

“I am a happy coach. It was a good win in good style,” Hall said. “We’re top of the group 9 area and we use that to our advantage when it comes to home matches.”

Hall hopes the team leverages high spirits from the win for this weekend’s away match.

“We’re a similar strength against Wagga Brothers on the weekend. It was a loss last time. We should be going in with confidence and hopefully take the win this week,” he said.

“If we give them a tough first 10 minutes, then that should have a negative impact on the rest of their match... This week we should be able to get the job done.”

The Cherrypickers are sitting pretty at third on the ladder halfway through the season, Hall said this year’s side could be the ones to break the 30-year premiership drought for the Young Cherrypickers.

He said this year’s squad is the best in 10 to 15 years, and has a very good chance of performing well in the finals. They’re just one win away from first place.

“The teams close to us are definitely aware we can be a threat,” he said. “We’re positioned where we deserve to be.”

The next four matches are away with Wagga Kangaroos, South City Bulls and competition leaders Tumut Blues following this weekend.

He said the Reserves loss of 14 to 10 was a shock to the system, with the Ladies loss 12 to 6 in League Tag something to learn from.

New COVIDsafe rules mean anyone attending community sport matches must wear masks, register their attendance and socially distance. Crowds must leave as soon as games are over.

• Topics:

• Covid-19
• Rugby League