The Broulee-Batemans Bay derby returned to Hanging Rock Oval on Saturday, April 13, as the Boars and Dolphins clashed in round three of the South Coast Monaro competition.
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The Boars proved too strong on the day, using a big first half to run away with a 68-10 victory. Batemans Bay piled on eight tries to nothing in the first half to set up the win.
Boars coach Matt Ryan said it was a "pleasing" victory, particularly after last week's loss to Jindabyne.
"We played well for most of the game, and a few things we've been trying to nail down started to take shape this week," he said. "We spoke about owning the first 20 minutes of the game. With Broulee being new to the comp, they're not used to playing rugby every weekend.
"We thought if we could take it to them physically early, we could get some inroads on the scoreboard.
"The first 40 ended up being our best period, which was the big emphasis for us."
The second half was a much closer affair, as both Broulee and Batemans Bay scored two tries. Ryan said he wasn't worried by his side's second-half performance.
"Most teams, in any sport, are a bit prone to that scenario," he said. "You start going away from the game-plan a bit, because you're looking to do the easy things for a win.
"The mindset also changes a bit. The game is already sealed at half time, so you tend to switch off.
"Players go into a game expecting 80 minutes of a really tight scoreline, so when it's not that anymore, you're probably not as ruthless as you would be otherwise."
Ryan said the Dolphins will experience some growing pains this season, but expected them to win games in 2019.
"Broulee has a lot of young fellas who are getting used to the grind of a long season," he said. "It's going to be tough for them, but there's some good people there, and some really talented young guys.
"We've been bashing our bodies against these teams for many a year now, so we've got ourselves to a point where we expect everything that comes at us.
"It's certainly not a write-off year for them. They've got a heap of talent, so I'm expecting them to win a game or two this year."
Ryan said there was a different feel about the Boars this year.
"They've showed more drive this year than they have in the past," he said. "When we beat Crookwell on the road, usually the chat on the bus is all about how good we are, but this time there wasn't a word about who we were, or what we were going to achieve.
"It was refreshing to have the players realise that one win on the road doesn't make a season. I think there's something different about the boys this year, and I don't think they'll have as many ebbs and flows as they've had in the past.
"To get that buy in from the players is huge, and we have to work on not getting complacent."