Three consecutive tries in the second half of the match gave the Wauchope Blues a comfortable win over the Wingham Tigers in the Group Three Rugby League competition.

After beating Wauchope 50-8 six weeks earlier, the Tigers were favoured to beat the Blues at Wauchope on Sunday afternoon.

But injuries to key players have made each game a struggle and Wauchope were keen for a good performance in front of their home crowd.

Within the first five minutes, Wingham had a try disallowed to Richie Donovan because of double movement and in the process he dislocated his shoulder again and took no further part in the game.

Back to back penalties gave the Blues good field position that resulted in a converted try and a 6-0 lead.

Another try after a quarter of an hour gave the home team a 12-0 advantage.

A penalty goal midway through the half increased the lead to 14 points.

Then tries to Ben Northam, converted from the sideline by Luke Steel, and a try to Luke Steel, brought the Tigers back into the game trailing by 14-10.

But a try to Wauchope in the corner from a kick in the final seconds of the first stanza made the score 18-10 at the break.

When Andrew Gilbert scored from dummy half on the last tackle early in the second half, and with Luke Steel’s conversion, Wingham trailed 18-16.

With just one reserve left on the bench, the Tigers tired.

Tries to the Blues in the 18th, 22nd and 28th minutes gave the home team a 32-16 victory.

Reserve grade

The reserve grade game was between the second-placed Tigers against the third placed Blues.

An early try to Craig Ryan, followed by a try to Brenden Butler, converted by Scott Murray, gave Wingham a 10-0 lead.

Wauchope responded with a converted try.

Right on halftime, Adam Kerr ran through a gap to score a try converted by Scott Murray.