Tallon Smith
After enduring a tough run of eight losses to open their inaugural season, the Googong Goannas broke through for their first win in the George Tooke Shield men’s competition with a 32-4 victory over the UC Stars on Saturday.
After being competitive in many games throughout the first half of the year, the Goannas ran in six tries to one, led by a double to Jamie Morgan, to bank their first competition points.
Club co-founder Tracy Graf said that the result came off the back of a complete 80-minute performance from the team, after they faded in the back end of prior matches.
“The men have had quite a few losses already and it seems like in the first half they always start off really strong,” she said.
“They played Bungendore and were only down by one try at halftime, and then they played Boorowa, and I think we might have even been winning at halftime, and then we just fell apart in the second half.
“So it was really nice to see them the other week come together, and I think it was just a few position changes that really made the difference.”
The win came a week after the Goannas’ ladies team won their first game in the GTS League Tag competition, with a 14-8 victory over Snowy River.
Graf said that win was made all the more sweeter considering the fact that the team looked like not even having a women’s side at the start of the year.
“At the start of the season we didn’t even know if we were going to have enough players to put a team in,” she said.
“Canberra Rugby League had said that it was quite important to try and enter a league tag team in the comp as well because every George Tooke club had both, so if we didn’t have it, it would have kind of upset the draw.
“So we were really scrambling there for a while and all of a sudden, just before the season started, we had 20 players.
“Most of the women had never played before, there’s only a couple that had, so it’s really cool to see them improving every week, and they finally got a win as well against the Bears, so that was awesome.”
As for the fledgling club’s future, Graf said that with a happy squad and a building network of sponsors, things are looking bright.
“Everyone is so happy and keen to be there, which you know, something that Jamie and I are really proud of, because that’s what we were trying to build, a club where everybody feels included, that’s really family friendly,” she said.
“The community is starting to see it as well, we’re getting more people at the games, which is great, so I definitely feel like it’s there for the long haul.
“The sponsors that we’ve got on board, we’ve got the Royal in Queanbeyan as our pub sponsor, but they’re actually building the big sports club in Googong, so that’s a really important relationship for us as well for that sustainability.”
The Goannas’ first live-streamed game on BarTV kicks off on Sunday at 2:30pm against Crookwell at the Crookwell Memorial Oval.
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