Tumut belts Albury Thunder 46-6 on the back of dominant second half

The second-bottom home side kept the margin to only 12 points at half-time, before the Blues exploded with some spectacular long range tries in posting a 46-6 win.

However, the Thunder had produced a physical first half.

"The first 20 minutes was very tough, one of the toughest starts we've had," Tumut co-coach Lachlan Bristow offered.

"It was such a grind as both teams were completing well, we probably were just winning the field position battle a bit over time."

Bristow's praise for the youthful Thunder would be like music to the ears of its coach Adrian Purtell.

"We spoke about it before the game about everyone having a go for each other," he suggested.

"I've got no doubt everyone put in a lot of effort and obviously the final scoreline was disappointing.

"It was really tough on the boys, they hadn't played a game for four weeks and they're (Tumut) top of the table, so the effort was outstanding and I really felt for the boys after the scoreline ended up that way."

The Thunder hadn't played for a month due to a bye and then COVID restrictions, so the ability to match the powerhouse Blues early was a tremendous achievement.

The visitors were admittedly missing top players Jed Pearce and NSW Country representative Ron Leapai, but they still had another NSW Country forward in Zac Masters, along with a host of other top-liners.

The Blues will take some stopping to claim the premiership, but the Thunder showed they can be slowed, at least, with a physical display.

In recent years, the teams have produced some brutally tough games and it's a credit to the inexperienced Thunder it can match it for extended periods.

But there's no replacing class and Bristow was particularly delighted with the impact of fullback Mitch Ivill.

He crossed late in the first half to make it 12-0 at the break before going over again to start the second half

"He's a real game breaker and really opened it up for us," Bristow said.

For the Thunder, hooker Jeremy Wiscombe continued his breakout season.

At just 73kgs, the 20-year-old is one of the league's lightest forwards, but he spoke before the match about playing with no fear against much bigger opponents and he delivered on that promise with a gutsy display.

Fellow forward Joe Lumb is another with a tremendous heart and he showed typical courage in trying to slow the Blues' pack, while Mason Fuller also impressed.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The match could be the club's last as NSW is in COVID lockdown.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: