Queanbeyan Kangaroos captain-coach Sam Williams said losing two club legends Rodger Tate and Brian Fitzgerald over the last fortnight inspired their dominant victory over the West Belconnen Warriors to stay undefeated in the Canberra Raiders Cup.
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The hosts were dominant from the outset on their way to a 44-6 triumph at Freebody Oval on Saturday, but this meant more than your normal triumph.
"There's no doubt that whenever someone like those guys pass away you want to try to do them proud, and our defence in the first half especially reflected that," Williams said.
"You'll find there is much more to a football club than results. It's the people within the club and that's the biggest thing.
"It was pretty pleasing, to be honest. There's nothing unbelievably flashy about us and it's a very even competition, so whenever you get a win it's always good and we are just having a dig."
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Warriors coach Tim Sloman said his side has been riddled with injuries, and despite the loss he was still proud of the courage his side displayed.
"The prep for this week was trying to get 17 blokes to put on the field. We are pretty decimated at the moment. We were short and had boys playing injured," Sloman said.
"I thought we were outstanding in the first half. Our effort areas were really high, we were down troops and they rolled their sleeves up and battled hard for each other."
The Kangaroos set the tone early, scoring in the third minute through second-rower Jesse Dent and soon took a 14-0 lead into the break.
The hosts once again controlled the game in the second half, with two early unanswered tries through Williams and Lachlan Ingram as the Warriors struggled to repel attacking waves.
It wasn't until the 65th minute that the Warriors got their first points on the board, winger Andrew McDonald crossing before the Kangaroos ran amok late with three tries to close out a significant week.
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