Avondale steamroll Bowral in WIN Stadium victory

The much-hyped curtain raiser for the Waratahs-Crusaders clash at WIN Stadium was a one-sided affair, the Wombats prevailing 45-5.

The win marked a return to form for Avondale, the side losing their two previous matches.

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Bowral were full of confidence upon arriving in Wollongong after a comprehensive victory over Campbelltown last weekend.

The Blacks controlled the opening five minutes of the contest, however the match quickly swung in Avondale's favour and they did not give their opponents a sniff from that point on.

As is so often the case in a Wombats win, the forwards set the tone for the victory. Bowral had no answer at scrum or lineout, the side unable to generate any clean attacking ball.

That saw Avondale roll through the middle of the field, taking advantage of some poor defence.

With their opponents reeling, the Wombats backs also found plenty of attacking space as they ran in four tries to nil before half-time.

Bowral returned from the break with more enthusiasm, a yellow card to Avondale's Emmanuel Maliko helping their cause.

They were not, however, able to make the most of the extra man despite a handful of attacking chances.

While the second half was a more even affair, the Wombats were able to pull further away with three tries, with the Blacks crossing in the final play of the game.

In other games this weekend, Kiama defeated Uni 22-12, while Shoalhaven edged Vikings 20-19 and Shamrocks beat Camden 42-10.