McNicol steps up for Clydesdales
RUGBY LEAGUE: Cowboys back Hayden McNicol reckons all his muscles hurt after playing five games of rugby league in two days at the 47th Battalion Carnival in Bundaberg.
He played wing for Toowoomba Clydesdales in all the carnival except the final 10 minutes when he went to fullback. McNicol scored four tries for the carnival, including one in the final, which Toowoomba won 26-0 against Gladstone.
The winning team included five Warwick players, McNicol, Trent Achilles, Mick O'Keefe, Mitchell Marsh and Ryan Kinlyside.
Garry Ellery withdrew before the carnival with a wrist injury.
O'Keefe won one of the two cash awards for best back for Toowoomba. McNicol said Achilles scored two tries in the final and was consistent throughout.
"He and captain Dane Evans were our main playmakers," McNicol said.
"It gives our confidence for the rest of the club season."
Kinlyside played in four games before missing the final game with a rib injury. He played two games with the injury. The Clydesdales now have the chance to press for the Queensland XXXX Challenge final appearance in a curtain-raiser before the third State of Origin game.
The Cowboys host Goondiwindi from 3pm Saturday in the next round of TRL fixtures at Father Ranger Oval, A-grade will start at 6pm, an hour earlier than most home games.
