By Tallon Smith

The Yass Magpies have recovered from a horror start to share the points with Belconnen United Sharks on the weekend in a 30-all stalemate at Walker Park.

The Sharks burst out of the blocks, building a 20-6 lead before the Magpies finally clicked into gear, dominating the remainder of the match, but ultimately the deficit was too large to fully overcome.

Yass Magpies President Tim Clayton said that despite the slow start, the Yass side played quite well to force a draw with a genuine contender.

“They’re pushing the top four the Belconnen side, they’re a quality side [and] they’re a big, mobile side,” he said.

“We sort of weren’t where we needed to be for the first 20 minutes [and] they sort of skipped away on us, but we sort of ground our way back into the game, sort of to get a bit more control around the ruck.“

Clayton said slowing the tackles downs was the key to nullifying the red hot Belconnen attack later in the game, when Yass began their comeback.

“That certainly helped us slow their ruck down a bit, which certainly helped the roll of their play, and then the guys just dug in for the battle, and it was a battle,“ he said.

“There [were] a lot of good players from both sides, and it was certainly a battle of attrition, and we just hung in there, and eventually we got our rewards.”

With the side getting one point from the result, it puts them half a game clear of Gungahlin in the race to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon, which Clayton said the team is desperate to avoid.

Moving to other games around the grounds, the Gungahlin Bulls closed the gap on the Magpies with a 30-14 win over Goulburn City at the Workers Arena.

A four try haul to winger Jesse Croker was the highlight of the clash, with the Bulldogs themselves now only one game clear of the last-placed Bulls.

The Queanbeyan Roos joined the Bulls in the winners’ circle with a 34-12 win over the Tuggeranong Bushrangers at Seears Workwear Oval on Saturday.

Finally, the Queanbeyan Blues scored a 54-0 win over the West Belconnen Warriors at Seiffert Oval.

The win keeps the Blues a game clear at the top of the ladder with two rounds left to play in the competition, a Lazarus-like bounce back from last year when they finished in equal last position with just three wins.

Next weekend sees four massive games, with the Gungahlin Bulls hosting the Woden Valley Rams, Belconnen playing Tuggeranong, Yass facing Queanbeyan Roos, and Goulburn City travelling to West Belconnen, with the Queanbeyan Blues having the bye.

Cover Photo: Yass Magpies Facebook