Oakdale, East Campbelltown and Picton all recorded opening day wins to kick off the 2022 Macarthur Rugby League First Grade premiership season, in an interrupted beginning to the new competition.

Only three matches went ahead on the weekend, due to the inclement weather across the district, with four clubs cooling their heels, and waiting another week to commence their campaigns.

Oakdale hosted The Oaks in the “Battle of Burragorang” on Saturday evening at Sid Sharpe Oval, and came away victors, with a 28-14 win over the Tigers in a tough and spiteful affair.

Casey Timmer scored the opening try for the Tigers after only a few minutes, but it was one of a handful of highlights for The Oaks, as Oakdale took control and dominated large portions of the game.

Oakdale fullback Matthew Brasington scored after 9 minutes, giving the small but vocal home crowd on a miserable Saturday night something to cheer about, which became a common thread throughout the evening.

Both teams were reduced to 12 men after 20 minutes, following a scuffle where it appeared as though punches were thrown. Tiger Daniel Bell and Oakdale’s Michael Bullock were given their marching orders following the incident.

Jermaine Haule extended Oakdale’s lead moments after play resumed, giving the Workers a handy 10-4 lead in tough conditions.

The Tigers were further reduced to 11 men with Cam Graham being sent to the sin bin about 8 minutes before halftime. Mitch Brasington added a penalty goal to give the home side a 12-4 lead at the break.

The second half was all Oakdale, as they extended their comfortable lead, with tries to Mitchell Gough and Kyle Fraser (who bagged a double). Graham was sent off with 13 minutes left, making the Tigers’ task even harder.

To their credit, they scored the final two tries, to TJ Shelley and Michael Fahd. The final scoreline read Oakdale 28-14.

Fraser won the three votes in our MSR Player of the Year award, for his solid work up front, laying an excellent platform for the Workers to build off. Two votes went to Jason Thompson, while Chris Taripo, the Tigers centre, scored one vote from the losing side.

The Sunday feature match was the Wollondilly Derby at Victoria Park, between the home town Picton Magpies and Thirlmere Roosters.

A massive crowd, estimated to be over 2000 and possibly reaching 3000, saw the Magpies fly out of the blocks, and dominate a stunned Thirlmere side, who boasted NRL players Blake Ferguson and Curtis Scott.

First half tries to Ragen Gilbert, Steven Dengate (2) and Matt White saw the Magpies skip away with the match in the opening 40 minutes, as they led 24-0 at the break, delighted the capacity crowd.

Ferguson and Curtis Scott were public enemies No.1 and 2 for the home supporters, who roared every time they touched the ball, and were even louder when they were tackled by the ferocious Magpies.

Both teams were down to 12 men for a large part of the game, following an altercation after the second try of the day on 15 minutes. Thirlmere’s Josh Bryant and Picton’s Duwayne Mariner were given their orders, while another Magpies was given 10 minutes in the sin bin, following the incident.

The second half didn’t see much scoring take place, but Picton’s defence held strong, as they aimed to make Victoria Park a fortress once again under new coach Jake Tonitto.

The one downside for Picton was broken collarbone to winger Ben Payne, but brother Daniel steered the team around nicely from five eighth, bagging an excellent solo try in the second half to seal the victory.

Thirlmere kept fighting however, with tries after the break to Mitchell New, Barry Ruttley and Allan Shipley, with the final scoreline being 30-16 to the Magpies.

Curtis Scott made an impact for the Roosters, moreso in defence, with several solid hits on Picton opponents, who certainly knew he was on the field.

Ferguson was outstanding after the match, posing for many photos with supporters from both sides, and was one of the last to leave the field at fulltime.

The MSR Player of the Year votes went to Anthony Provost, the returning Picton hooker, who was excellent as usual from dummy half, ahead of Daniel Payne, and Tony Williams, Picton’s former NRL player, who made several damaging runs on the Magpies’ left hand side.

The other match on Sunday saw East Campbelltown defeat Mittagong 28-8 at Mittagong Sportsground. Narellan vs Camden and Campbelltown City vs Collegians were deferred, with a new date to be set by the Macarthur Rugby League.