Tallon Smith

The Cootamundra Bulldogs sit alone atop the Group 9 table after two rounds as the competition’s only unbeaten side following a 28-22 victory over the Junee Diesels at Laurie Daley Oval on Saturday afternoon. 

Tries to coach Luke Berkrey, Joe Ward, James Paterson, Jai Willoughby and James Paterson opened up a 26-6 advantage for the Bulldogs, with the side holding on despite a late fightback from the Diesels to secure the two competition points.

Ward began the scoring for the Bulldogs after three minutes of play, before Paterson scooted over from dummy half six minutes later to open up a 10-0 lead.

That margin was extended again soon after, when Berkrey crashed over, before Eli Crozier hit back for Junee to cut the margin to eight at 14-6 going into the break.

Cootamundra restored its 14-point advantage on the other side of the break after an error from winger Nick Hogarth in taking an Ollie Hall bomb was scooped up by Ward who found Willoughby on the inside, before Paterson completed his double to extend the gap to 20.

A late fightback from Junee saw Tevita Toloi, Jaydyn Hoeta and Cooper Wright cross to give the Bulldogs a scare, but ultimately it was too little too late as the away side ran out 28-22 victors in a hard-fought local derby.

Cootamundra coach Luke Berkrey said the victory was a pleasing one given the adversity his side had to overcome after the send off of Tai Vaavale and a sin bin saw the Bulldogs reduced to 11 players at one stage.

“It was certainly another good victory for us, we had a fair bit thrown at us there on Saturday,” he said.

“Obviously being down to 11 men there at one stage and playing the majority with 12 was a tough challenge but we came away with a good win.

“With 10 [minutes] to go we led 26-6, so it was a little bit disappointing we let them right back into the game, but [we] certainly left there taking another [step] in the right direction.”

With four different tryscorers crossing for the side and a number of strong efforts across the park to compensate for the loss of Vaavale, one feature of the Bulldogs’ two wins so far this season has been the strong team performance.

Following the addition of a number of the side’s under 18 players from last year moving up to first grade full-time, Berkrey said the efforts from all players in the side have been of such quality that choosing best and fairest votes has been a challenging task.

“Giving out our three, two, ones has been really difficult because we haven’t really had a dead set standout,” he said.

“Everyone just managed to do their job, I feel like the boys know their role, and they’re doing it well.

“It’s only early, but we’d certainly rather be in this position than on the other end.”

In addition to the competition points on offer across the day in the local derby, there was plenty more to play for with the sides contesting the Riverina Bluebell Cup and Terry Douglas Memorial Shield.

Junee took home both trophies, after securing the former with superior points differential across the grades after the games were split 1-1 with two draws, and the latter with a 26-0 win in reserve grade.

Berkrey said that the matchday, which both honoured a much-loved former player from both clubs, in addition to raising awareness of mental health support in the Riverina, was of great importance to the Diesels and Bulldogs.

“The Terry Douglas trophy is obviously very close to both clubs’ hearts, so it means a lot for everyone to be playing for that in the reserve grade game,” he said.

“The [Riverina] Bluebell Cup is a great cause that we should all get behind and if it helps only one person there on the day, I’m sure it has done its job.”

Cootamundra’s next task is a home clash against Tumut on Saturday, while Junee will travel to Young the same day.