The Devils had come from behind to win in their first round clash at Cooma and the team had to come from way behind to get the one point last week. 

The Devils Reserves once again played some exciting football to defeat Cooma 30-12 while the League Tag girls exploded right from the start to win 66-4 over the Cooma Fillies.

First Grade: Narooma 22 Cooma 22

The big Cooma side dominated the first half with some very good football which led to them shooting to a 10 nil lead after twenty minutes. The Devils were struggling but the Wright Brothers, Todd and Lance, hit back with a great try with Lance flying away to score. Cooma paid it back with two good tries to lead 22-4 at the break.

Things looked grim for the Devils, who desperately need to score first in the second half and that’s exactly what happened as Chopper Willis stormed onto a pass from Riley Hextell to dive over for a four-pointer. Kooran Campbell added the conversion and the Devils were showing signs of life though trailing 22-10.

The pulse rate improved further when the amazing Riley Hextell darted over on the left side to make it 22-14 while the oxygen mask was removed altogether when Sterling Wynn parted the defence to make it 22-18 with twelve to go. 

It was time for the spectators to don the oxygen mask as the Devils stormed back only to be turned back by a determined but tiring Cooma defence.

With five to go Riley did it again, scrambling through some huge defenders to score out wide, tying up the scores at 22-all.

Top reserve grade halfback Ryan Norris, on as a substitute, didn’t hesitate when asked to repeat one of his excellent kicks from the previous game, but it was a very difficult kick, just 8 metres in from the sideline.

The kick to win the game was a beauty and looked to be over! The crowd went wild, the bench evacuated, but unfortunately it dropped centimetres under the crossbar. The final result 22-all was probably a good description of the game with Cooma dominating the first half but Narooma keeping them scoreless in the second. 

Best for the Devils were Todd Wright who played strongly all day; Chopper Willis enthusiastic and committed as always; the pocket rocket Riley Hextell and tough forward Neil Graham. Others to show out were Tim Keegan and once again young Gus Wilton.

Reserves Grade: Narooma 30 Cooma 12

Cooma’s big forwards looked like steamrollers as they started with a big bang, scoring after just four minutes. For the rest of the first half however it was all Narooma as a combination of some smart play by halves Ryan Norris and Ninnum Parsons and big runs from forwards Stephen Brown, Milko and Elijah Blair carved up Cooma, the side scoring five great tries to lead 30-6 at the break. Try scorers were Elijah, Ryan (2) Karn Mikolic and Johnny Kelly.

The second half was a real grind with the only score coming from a converted Cooma try. The Devils seemed to put the cue in the rack and failed to get going, dropping lots of ball and making some silly mistakes. Nevertheless it was another top win over a highly rated opponent. Best for the Devils Rezzies were Joey Scrymgeour, Ryan Norris and Stephen Brown while Players Player Ninnum Parsons, Koorin and Trey Parsons drove the Cooma forwards crazy with some big hits that they didn’t really like!

Ladies League Tag: Narooma 66 Cooma 4

From the kick-off the Devil girls launched an amazing ten minutes of football which saw them lead 24-0 without the opposition having touched the ball! By half time it was 40-0 but to the Cooma girls credit they put in a good effort in the second half, scoring a try and slowing the Narooma girls down quite a bit. The final score was 66-4 and this demonstrated the advantage in speed that Narooma had on the day. Sensational fullback Lilly Bennett scored seven tries, taking her year’s tally to 33! Kira Campbell scored two, while Finn Dibden, Tayla Butcher and Jamie-Anne Wright scored one each. Jamie-Anne chipped in with nine goals. Jamie-Anne was the Player’s Player and player of the match while Lilly, Tayla and Soraya Ardler scored B&F points. 

It will be a top day of footy next Sunday at Bega as the Devils play the tough Roosters teams in three grades starting at Noon. The Premier Bega Chicks will test our girls while a win for Narooma’s First Grade will really help with semi-final aspirations. The Bega Reserves are still smarting from their defeat by Narooma in Round One so that will be a beauty too.

Come and support the Devils!