Platypi step up to end Eagles' five-match winning streak

Second-half lapses have cost Forbes matches in the early rounds, but there was no evidence of those at Forbes Rugby Club's South Circle Oval on Saturday.

Where opposing sides have wasted opportunities against the Eagles this season before fading as Cowra have taken a stranglehold on their matches, Forbes took their chances on Saturday and then held fast.

Coach Tony Wallace believes the first-grade side has levelled up after a slow start to the season.

"We've been building week to week, it's been coming," he said.

"We finished the game on Saturday and that should turn our season around."

On Saturday Cowra dominated the opening 10 minutes but a lack of respect for the ball in hand and penalties saw play break down on numerous occasions until a blindside play saw Jeremy Montgomery cross in the corner.

Noah Ryan was on target with the boot from out wide to give Cowra a 7-0 lead.

Five minutes later Forbes levelled, making the most of their first good territory in the match for Miniti Tonga to cross and Dan Sweeney to add the extras.

Cowra came close to re-taking the lead in the 21^st when fly-half Troy Jeffs was held up over the line but it was Forbes who eventually took control when Jeffs' opposite, Mahe Fangupo, broke the Cowra line to score.

Sweeney again added the extras to give Forbes the lead 14-7.

To compound things Cowra kicked out on the full from the re-start.

From the ensuing scrum win Forbes kicked ahead and Cowra fullback Noah Ryan slipped and knocked on as he attempted to pick up the ball.

From the scrum Mahe Fangupo was again in the action, taking on the Cowra blindside defence.

From the next ruck Forbes' Loch Ireson picked up and scored.

Sweeney again was on target from out wide and Forbes were well in control leading 21-7 after 36 minutes.

Two minutes later Cowra hit back with an unconverted try to Naviitalai Bola before Forbes extended their lead to 23-7 at the break courtesy of a Sweeney penalty goal.

The second half was a stop start affair which saw a converted try to each side, Forbes' coming via Peni Guanimeke and Cowra's via Makisi Paea.

Forbes' dominance in set pieces and scrums put them in front, Wallace said,.

Mahe Fangupo was once again oustanding for the host side, and newcomer Sam Parrish, who's made the move to Forbes from Dubbo Roos as he works with Kevin Miller, Whitty, Lennon and Co, was also excellent.

Even more pleasing for the long-time Platypi player and club member was the 29-12 win in second grade.

"It's very pleasing to see second grade starting to fire, it keeps the club in good stead," Wallace said.

"They're making selections for first grade difficult."

Cowra coach Colin Kilby could only describe the visitors' performance as "a bit disappointing".

"We were definitely down, the couple of times we did create opportunities we were able to open them up easily but that was only in small patches," Kilby said.

"Where we've been looking to extend our small patches we took a bit of a step back."

The Eagles had a less than perfect preparation with a number of players suffering from illness but Kilby wasn't willing to use this as an excuse, blaming Cowra giving Forbes too many opportunities as reason for the defeat.

"We had talked about, after some of the games, the opportunities and possession we were giving other teams (and that it) was going to come back and hurt us at some point," he said.

"Obviously Forbes were right up for the game and we were a bit flat. We did have a few guys a bit under the weather which didn't give us an ideal prep, but still, no excuses, we gave away a lot of field (position) again.

"We didn't secure our ball at the breakdown and didn't give a lot of support."

The Eagles return home on Saturday to take on Orange City with Kilby not hitting the panic button despite Saturday's lacklustre performance.

"This week will be about how we bounce back and react," he said.

"We'll look for a smoother week. We've got a bit of work to do on ball retention and our support play.

"Hopefully, we'll fix up a couple of areas as we look for a solid 80 minutes at home."

Coming up, Forbes travels to Orange to take on the Emus.