Dragons gain 'really special' revenge, injuries pile up for 'terrible' CYMS

The game against Dubbo CYMS had been decided a long time ago, but the reaction showed just how much the stunning 68-6 demolition of the Fishies meant to them.

This was the game Dragons players and fans wanted to win most, having had their hopes crushed by CYMS in the Peter McDonald Premiership grand final last year and the preliminary final in 2022.

It was particularly sweet for player-coach Clay Priest, who had missed both of those painful defeats due to separate suspensions.

Priest - a first-half sin-binning aside - was immense for the Dragons on Sunday and the platform he and Zac Saddler set played a huge role in a result which was a talking point across bush footy.

"It's probably a bit of a personal thing for myself," a smiling Priest said at full-time.

"Having missed out on the grand final last year against them, I really wanted that.

"Then to do it the way we did, that was really exceptional."

Even the most confident Mudgee fan didn't expect the final margin to be 62 points. The mercy rule was floated when Lawson ran in the final try, but by the time Harrison Hopkins took his conversion attempt the clock had hit 80 minutes so CYMS' blushes were spared.

The loss was arguably the worst the Fishies have had this century. The side missed Jyie Chapman and Alex Bonham, in particular, due to work commitments but it was no excuse for the latest in a series of underwhelming performances this season.

A sickening head knock for Jarryn Powyer compounded things, as did injuries for Jeremy Thurston, Clinton Edwards and James Stanley while outside back John Grey was noticeably limping for much of the second half.

The Powyer incident was a scary one and he was left unconscious on the field for some time after getting caught awkwardly in an attempted tackle on a barnstorming Priest midway through the second half.

The CYMS captain was taken from the field in an ambulance and was thankfully released from hospital later that evening.

"Our thoughts are with Jarryn, that's all I care about," Fishies coach Shawn Townsend said after the game.

"I don't give a rat's arse about the scoreline. I'm glad his kids aren't old enough to actually see him the way he was. They're young enough that they don't fully understand it.

"It was an unfortunate accident and it happens but it wasn't a good look."

When he did speak about the game, Townsend said his side was "terrible" and was "beaten everywhere" by a better side.

As bad as CYMS were - highlighted by the sin-binning of Corey Drew for comments towards officials - there was little that went their way.

Mudgee winger Ethan Pegus scored a hat-trick but there were calls of off-side when he ran in for his first while CYMS' day was best summed up when a Hopkins conversion attempt when under the crossbar but was still given the all-clear.

It mattered little though, as the Dragons were simply a class above.

As well as Pegus' treble, Camden Sutton, Cody Godden and Jack Littlejohn scored doubles, while Nicholas Bligh, Pacey Stockton, Priest and Lawson also crossed.

If the result wasn't impressive enough, the Dragons were without the likes of former NRL player Anthony Cherrington and back-rowers Billy Carberry and Jake Durrant.

"Dubbo CYMS are a quality outfit and they've got a lot of power in this competition so to put a scoreline like that on them is something really, really special for us," Priest said.

"We don't want to go wide all the time. We want to be a real power and force through the middle and if you can lay that platform week in, week out you're really hard to stop with that momentum.

It's a really nice feeling at the moment and I've got a few boys still out who are waiting to go and to add them in is only going to give us a little bit more structure."