After falling to their first loss of the season last weekend, Waratah Tigers have bounced back with a strong second-half performance to take a 42-12 victory on Saturday night.
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The Waratahs were able to make a strong start with Waratahs making the most of a repeat set before Ben Vearing was able to get on the end of a stretch pass to run into a hole to get over in the seventh minute.
The Leeton side was able to hit back with Jordan Demarzo pouncing on a dropped bomb as smoke descended on Exies Oval while Harrison Rudd was able to give the Greens the lead after following Todd Prest through the line to score a try on debut.
It was a tough first half for the Leeton side as they lost Daniel Fisher (shoulder) and Clinton Green (ankle) to injuries while Rhys Wilesmith was sent from the field after a melee broke out with Waratahs' Sosaia Langi also sent off for his involvement.
The home side came strong in the second half with Viliami Ngu, Malie Ngu and Pili Maiava getting across in the opening 10 minutes to give them a 22-12 lead.
Vearing scored his second of the night after the Leeton defence was unable to deal with a bomb from Lelei while Nui George predicted a Rudd pass to perfection and was able to run the length of the field to get across the line.
The Waratahs were able to take advantage of the tiring Leeton defence as Tom Sellars got across in the corner while Waratahs coach Kose Lelei took a tap close to the line to crash over the line and wrapped up the 42-12 win.
Leeton finished the game with no replacements with Aukusitino Simeti taken from the field with a concussion.
Waratahs coach Kose Lelei admitted he was left a little frustrated by his side's first-half performance.
"The first half was frustrating - just little errors in our game. We started well in the first 15 minutes then after that it was like we were trying to score off every set," he said.
"The second half was a lot better. We knew that we could play some footy we just had to be patient. In the first half, we were flicking it out of our arse (sic) too many times."
Lelei praised the work of his big men during the second half.
"I think our whole middle for defending that second half and that put us in a good position," he said.
"We knew we just had to muscle up and be patient and get to our kicks and complete our sets."
The Waratahs have the bye next weekend before making the trip out to Coleambally to take on the Roosters in what could be a top of the table clash. Leeton's injury list continues to grow and will look to bounce back but face a tough task when they take on the Roosters