Cover Photo: Cootamundra Bulldogs Facebook

By Tallon Smith

The Cootamundra Bulldogs have held onto a top three position in the George Tooke Shield for another week after a 38-12 victory over the Boorowa Rovers at the Boorowa Showground on Saturday.

The Bulldogs’ victory, coupled with Harden losing to Binalong, sees the Cootamundra club remain in third position with one round left to play, with the Minor Premiership or a home final in week one still up for grabs should they beat Binalong, with the former reward also depending on Bundgendore losing to North Canberra.

Bulldogs Seniors Coach David Buttriss said that belief is strong within the club that they can end their 19-year title drought stretching back to 2005’s Group 9 triumph over Tumut.

“The match ended up panning out well for us,” he said.

“We got off to a slow start, Boorowa got the first points and then we just flicked the switch after that, the boys got some good rhythm and we ended up coming away with a good win in the end.”

“There’s a lot of belief between the group that we have, everyone sort of really wants to do it for each other, and I don’t doubt that once we get our full strength team back on the field, we’re gonna give it a red hot crack.”

Looking at other results from the weekend, the Binalong Brahmans scraped past the Harden Hawks in the local derby via a David Brown field goal to secure an 11-10 win in a local derby at McLean Oval in Harden.

The win puts the Brahmans into equal first with Bungendore, while Harden remain in fourth with one round left to play.

Speaking of Bungendore, the Tigers recorded a dominant 40-0 win over the UC Stars at Raiders Belconnen.

The Tigers will face North Canberra in their final game at Mick Sherd Oval, a match they are expected to win to claim the Minor Premiership.

Finally, the Crookwell Green Devils have usurped the Boorowa Rovers to steal fifth position after a 50-24 win over North Canberra at Kaleen Enclosed Oval.

The Devils now face a must-win game against Harden this weekend, while the Rovers will play the UC Stars as they attempt to recover their position.

A full interview with David Buttriss is available in today’s edition of the Cootamundra Times