Monday 13 May 2013 1:30 PM
Goulburn Workers Bulldogs (3) 28 defeated Queanbeyan Kangaroos (6) 14 at Freebody Oval
Goulburn has won their third straight victory after disposing of last year’s Grand Finalists the Queanbeyan Kangaroos 28-14 in a heated clash at Freebody Oval.
The Bulldogs are equal first on competition points however their for-and-against record sees them placed at third on the ladder.
Goulburn Captain Daniel York believes that the side has learnt a valuable lesson in starting the season off strongly after last year’s slow start resulted in his side playing catch-up football to the rest of the competition for the remainder of the year.
“Our early season form is very important for us to keep pace with the top sides in the competition,” said York.
“We were playing catch-up all last year to make the semi-finals because we waited until round five or six for our first win.
“It’s our goal to make the semi-finals this year so it’s good to be in a position like this sitting in third place after four rounds.”
York led from the front with a terrific two-try performance while former Raiders NYC hooker Ben Picker was again outstanding out of dummy half for Goulburn.
“We looked to target the Roos through the middle of the ruck to make their big forwards work hard and Ben Picker was instrumental in that.
“He continuously got us on the front foot with his excellent service and he’s also really dangerous out of dummy half. He kept the Queanbeyan ruck defence honest all game.
“As a side we played with a lot of patience by just completing our sets along with a quality kicking game by our halves.”
Queanbeyan Captain-Coach Aaron Gorrell believed that his side played into the Bulldogs' hands by committing a multitude of careless errors.
Goulburn scored three unanswered tries after Kangaroos fullback Daniel Watt was sent to the sin-bin for a professional foul mid-way through the first half. Watt had pulled off a brilliant try-saving tackle, but was marched for holding up the play.The Bulldogs then made the most of their 18-4 half-time lead to close out the game 28-14.
Goulburn now has the opportunity to defeat both of last year’s Grand Finalists in consecutive weeks when they face the Belconnen United Scholars this weekend.
“We can’t afford to get too carried away with the win,” said York. “We know we’ve got a tough game against the Scholars this weekend but if we can match it with both of last year’s Grand Finalists in consecutive weeks then we can prove to ourselves that we belong at the top of the competition ladder.”
Woden Valley Rams (1) 74 defeated West Belconnen Warriors (9) 18 at Raiders Belconnen
Woden Valley Rams have stormed to the top of the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup ladder after completely destroying the West Belconnen Warriors by 56 points.
The Rams’ were 5th placed coming into the encounter against the lowly Warriors however their 13-tries-to-three victory has propelled them into first place on the back of a significant boost to their for-and-against record.
Woden were flying high on confidence after upsetting one of the competition’s favourites the Queanbeyan Blues last week and Captain Josh Burns was thrilled to have backed the victory up with such a dynamic performance this week.
“We were all really proud with our efforts last week to beat the Blues but we knew it would mean nothing if we didn’t back it up this week against the Warriors,” said Burns.
“There are never any easy games in the Canberra Cup this year so we couldn’t afford to rest on our laurels.
“It’s great to see that we didn’t go into the game with any complacency and even more pleasing to come away with the win.”
Second-rower Nathan Smith starred for Woden scoring four tries in a terrific display terrorising his opponents with his potent combination of size, speed and footwork.
Star centre Tim Crome also had an enjoyable for the Rams scoring a staggering 30 points from two tries and 11 goals. Crome’s points haul again consolidated his standing as one of the competition’s finest players.
A shining light for West Belconnen in the loss was the performance of Kyle Murphy who managed to score a hat-trick of tries in the heavy defeat.
Belconnen United Scholars (5) 30 defeated Tuggeranong Bushrangers (4) 20 at Greenway
Goal kicking proved costly for the Tuggeranong Bushrangers after their failure to convert a single goal from five attempts saw them fall 30-20 to the Belconnen United Scholars at home.
Both sides scored five tries a piece however Belconnen’s Bobby Roberts’ boot proved the difference with the five-eighth converting five goals from five attempts, many of which were from close to the sideline.
Roberts has come into the side following the departure of 2012 Les McIntryre Medal winner Brent Crisp who has left Canberra to work in the mines.
The Scholars’ win was built on the back of a 24-4 half-time lead however the creativity of Tuggeranong’s Carl Johnson and Michael Brophy coupled with the explosive running of the Bushrangers outside backs sent shivers down Belconnen Coach John Hawke’s back in the second stanza, with Tuggeranong scoring five tries in the final 30 minutes.
There were plenty of positives on display for Tuggeranong despite the loss. They were able to push last year’s premiers right to the wire and troubled the Scholars’ big men with their expansive adlib play.
Brophy may be in doubt for next week’s game however after the talented custodian was taken off in the 16th minute with a rib injury. Brophy portrayed tremendous courage to return to the field although the extent of his injury is yet to be determined.
Queanbeyan Blues (2) 40 defeated Gungahlin Bulls (7) 20 at Seiffert Oval
Queanbeyan Blues have returned to the winner’s circle this week by defeating the Gungahlin Bulls 40-20 at home.
The Blues received a passionate spray from Coach and former Raiders Captain Simon Woolford last week after their unimpressive performance against Woden where they were defeated 34-30.
Woolford accused his side of going into the match against the Rams complacent however his troops were most definitely hungry for a victory over the Bulls this week – possibly out of fear of a similar reaction from their coach!
Craig Wilkinson collected a 16 point haul for the Blues whilst Tyler Stevens also starred, scoring a double. Raiders NYC player Jonathon Kent played well for Gungahlin and scored an impressive try in the loss.
Queanbeyan’s triumph now sees the Blues climb to second place on the ladder after four rounds.
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