Touch Ups, Emus among winners as Hedland touch rugby ladder leaders show force

The Emus have leapfrogged the Bin Chickens while the undefeated Nads consolidated their spot on top of the Hedland Touch Association’s a-grade ladder on Wednesday night. Playing against a Bin Chickens outfit with a sole substitute, the Emus gained dominance as the game wore on to win 13-4. Nathan Foote and Abel Tomkins proved particularly slippery, with both taking home a bag of tries for the night. Earlier in the night the Nads won a close 5-3 encounter against third-placed Rusty Pipes, while second-placed Conquerors held out the Crazy Horses 6-5. In the b-grade competition the Touch Ups kept themselves in reach of the ladder leaders with an 11-7 win against the Pengwins. The Touch Ups tested the Pengwins’ left wing several times in the first half with success — led by two tries to Jesse Oxenham in the early stages of the game. But the Pengwins kept stretching the Touch Ups down the other end and a four-try haul to Ashley Marion had the underdogs ahead at half time. They couldn’t keep up that momentum, however, as the Touch Ups piled on seven tries to two in the second half to hold on to third place on the ladder. Touch Ups now sit just two points behind Phoenix, who were comprehensively outplayed 15-3 by b-grade leaders Chafing Dreams. Wu-Tang Clan are on equal points with Touch Ups having scored a 7-3 win over Touchy Touchy.