Boggabri Kangaroos climb into third place following a big win in Wee Waa

Boggabri Kangaroos dominated from start to finish at Cook Oval on Sunday afternoon where they demolished the Wee Waa Panthers 68-6 in round four of the Group 4 Rugby League season.

The Kangaroos opened the scoring in the first minute of the contest and went on to pile on 13 in total before the match came to an end midway through the second stanza due to the 60-point mercy rule.

Fijian duo Iliasa Kalokalodrau and Josefa Tiko ran riot against Wee Waa, combining for an astonishing nine tries between them. Kalokalodrau scored five of those and Tiko went in for four, and they also earned three and two Group 4 best and fairest points, respectively.

Former Wee Waa Panther Robert Doolan bagged a double in that game and the away side’s other two tries were scored by Andrew Wallace and Pita Rogasa. Ash White kicked four conversions, Doolan slotted two and front-rowers Nick Millar and Selestino Penisoni also kicked one each.

Wee Waa scored their lone try late in the first half through Logan Chown, and the conversion was successfully kicked by Dylan Harradine-Hall. Their teammate Cody Smith earned one Group 4 best and fairest point in what was a tough return to Cook Oval for the Panthers in their first match on home soil since 2018.

The result saw the Panthers remain winless, having lost three games on the trot following their round one bye.

For Boggabri, the win was their third so far this year in four matches and they finished the weekend sitting in third place on the ladder.

Their coach Shane Rampling was far more pleased with their performance against Wee Waa than with what they had produced across the opening three rounds.

“I thought we played a lot better this week, in the sense that we controlled the ball a lot better and didn’t hand possession over as much as we have been,” Rampling said.

“Defensively, I think we were pretty physical and that allowed us to get on the attack. Our forwards got us on the front foot and that allowed the backs to do a pretty good job out wide.

“It was a pretty good game from our point of view.”

Rampling said that Kalokalodrau and Tiko were simply unstoppable.

“I think they are both just hungry for the ball, and they’re powerful, strong runners,” the Boggabri coach said.

“They are hard to contain and they are really enjoying their footy.

“The boys that are still there from last year have drilled it into the new guys about how we play. So the new boys have brought a bit of flair to go with the composure that was already there.

“It’s a really good mix there at the moment.”

Rampling is now looking forward to what will be a tough contest against the second-placed Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters on home soil at Jubilee Oval this Saturday in round five.

The Roosters are unbeaten in their first three games this year and they are averaging 53 points per game, but Rampling said Boggabri would focus on themselves going into the round five clash.

A victory against Kootingal-Moonbi would see Boggabri join them on eight competition points, which they are currently locked on alongside the top-ranked Moree Boars.