By Tallon Smith

The Cootamundra Bulldogs are sitting a game clear on top of the George Tooke Shield ladder after a heartstopping 24-22 win over the Crookwell Green Devils at Memorial Park on Saturday.

After dominating the first half, the Bulldogs saw off a late challenge from the Green Devils in the second half to record an impressive away win that puts them in the box seat heading into the second half of the year.

Bulldogs Assistant Coach Mark Ward said that while the team’s second half performance was patchy, their strong start did enough to ensure they could get home in the finish.

“We had a really good start, we scored two tries in the first 10 minutes,” he said.

“Then [in] the second half, we just kept making mistakes, so we really put a lot of pressure on ourselves and obviously the weight of possession gave Crookwell the opportunities to score a couple of tries.

“It was pretty close, but we got the two points, so we’re happy to get out of there with that and erase that one from the memory and move on to next week.”

As for what the win means, Ward said that any win at Crookwell is earned, and that the match was also crucial for the squad’s fitness after not playing footy for three weeks. 

“Crookwell, they’re always a tough side, [it] doesn’t matter where they are on the ladder, you always know they’re going to have a crack,” he said.

In other games, Binalong continued their good form defeating North Canberra 30-18, while Bungdendore scored a 32-10 win over Boorowa and Harden put in their best performance of the season so far to thrash UC Stars 64-8.

An extended interview looking at the Cootamundra Bulldogs with Assistant Coach Mark Ward is available in this week’s Coota Times