The Monaro Colts have kicked off their 2023 representative campaign, picking up a win and a loss in the opening round of the Andrew Johns & Laurie Daley Cups.
Andrew Johns Cup
Monaro Colts 32 d CC Roosters 14
The Colts have cruised to an 18-point victory over the Central Coast Roosters at NSWRL HQ, Bruce on Sunday morning to open their campaign with an important win.
Monaro's dominant first-half performance set them up for their maiden win, heading into the break with a comfortable 20-nil lead.
Colts' winger Jet Millard crossed for two brilliant individual tries, showing his speed and footwork on the left edge.
The Roosters completed well below 30% in the opening half, but managed to pile on three tries in the final 20 minutes through the hands of star fullback Jai Callaghan.
Laurie Daley Cup
CC Roosters 30 d Monaro Colts 18
The Colts have gone down in their opening fixture of the LD Cup, suffering a 12-point defeat to a strong Roosters outfit at Bruce on Sunday afternoon.
The left-edge attack of the Roosters picked the Colts to pieces in the opening stages, heading into the break with a healthy 26-12 lead.
Roosters hooker Zac Gillett was a standout for the Central Coast side, leading his forward pack around the park and providing great service from dummy-half.
The Colts showed some great resilience in the second half to crawl back, with Xavier Cacciotti and Mathias Tomuli Ah-Koi crossing for four-pointers.
But it wasn't enough as the Roosters hung on to take the two-points in round one of the competition.
Both Monaro sides will now turn their attention to the III SC Dragons this Saturday at Ron Costello Oval, Shellharbour.
Image by Trish Sullivan
