Rampling demands more from the unbeaten Roos ahead of Magic Round

Boggabri Kangaroos may be sitting on top of the Group 4 Rugby League first grade ladder after two wins from as many matches so far but coach Shane Rampling has declared that they need to get much better if they are going to be one of the top teams this year.

The Kangaroos travelled away for their round two contest against the Dungowan Cowboys and defeated the hosts by 20 points at Dungowan Recreation Ground.

The visitors outscored the Cowboys eight tries to four and six conversions to four to secure a 44-24 victory, but it was certainly not all one-way traffic as the hosts twice went in for back-to-back tries to get themselves within striking distance.

Boggabri were simply too strong in the end though as they became the first team to surpass 100 points this year, however, they have conceded the most points out of all of the teams in the top four.

“We looked good in patches but switched off in other patches, which was a bit disappointing, but we got the win,” Rampling told The Courier.

“We got out to a 16-0 lead and on the back of that we thought it would come easy. We started pushing passes and we gave away silly penalties and allowed them field position and time with the ball, and they started making inroads.

“We addressed that at half-time and shot out to go up 38-12 (on the hour-mark), but then they scored two more tries again.

“The first of those, we’d defended eight sets on our line. I was really pleased with the defence we showed there because we kept turning them away, but they just kept coming with penalties and extra sets, and in the end it took its toll. After that, we just ball-watched their five-eighth Trent Taylor and he slid through and scored.

“All in all, it was disappointing. We’re trying to set standards and really focus on grinding teams down and putting them away, but we’re not doing that at the moment.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have won, but if we want to be a really top team, we should have been able to put Dungowan away in that game.

“Until we learn to grab a team by the throat and not let go, and if we’re going to keep inviting teams back into the contest, we’re just going to keep putting ourselves under pressure.”

Four Boggabri players finished the match with doubles after skipper Matt Gillham, centre duo Rob Doolan and Tevita Peceli, and try-scoring machine Josefa Goneduadua each registered two four-pointers each.

Fullback Ash White kicked six of the eight conversions and is so far striking at 85 per cent this season.

Gillham opened the scoring in his 100th game for the Kangaroos as he celebrated his milestone match with a try in the 17th minute, which started a flurry of points as Peceli and Doolan both scored inside the following five minutes.

White converted two of those to make the score 16-0, but the hosts responded his two converted tries of their own to make it 16-12 with four minutes to play until half-time.

Boggabri then managed to create some more separation going into the break when Goneduadua crossed in the 39th minute, with the winger’s try putting the visitors ahead 20-12 on the scoreboard.

Rampling’s half-time talk worked wonders early in the second stanza as Peceli (45’), Goneduadua (50’) and Gillham (59’) all scored within the first 20 minutes before White’s third conversion of the half on the hour-mark made the score 38-12.

Two more converted tries put the home side within 14 points of the Kangaroos with seven minutes left to play, but a late Doolan try that was converted by White put the game out of reach as Boggabri prevailed 44-24.

Next up for Boggabri is a Magic Round clash against one of the fellow undefeated sides, North Tamworth Bears, this Sunday night.

The 2025 NSWRL Regional Magic Round is the first of its kind and will run from Friday through to Sunday at Tamworth’s Scully Park. It will see all of the Group 4 first grade sides play their round three fixtures, with the Group 4 women’s tackle finals and five NSW Cup games to also be contested across the three days.

The Boggabri and North Tamworth showdown from 5pm on Sunday night will wrap up the event as both sides look to keep their unbeaten starts to the 2025 campaign alive.