Recap

Strong finish comes too late for Dirty Twos against Wests

By CHRIS GORDON

In another woulda, coulda, shoulda result, despite a strong flourish at the end, the Dirty Twos fell three points short of the Wests Lions in their 31-28 loss at Jamison Oval.

Goulburn went into the break with a slight 14-12 lead but Wests added 19 second-half points before Goulburn could get back on the board.

A number of Wests players, particularly some of their big boppers, looked out of puff and tiring quickly going into the break. And with the wind at Goulburn’s back, it looked like the Reds might seize control in the second half.

But that’s not how it panned out.

There were some great Goulburn efforts including some promising line breaks in the second half, and the Dirty Twos strung more phases together, but some unsympathetic passes and problems with ball retention at the breakdown made the task that much tougher.

West’s structure, particularly in the backs, only improved as the game went on. It felt like Goulburn was poised to flick a switch and kick it up a gear, and they did, but too late.

With ten minutes remaining, Goulburn ran in and converted two tries, the last of those on full time. But Wests, scoring five tries to four and retaining the majority of position and possession throughout the match were deserving winners.

While it was another match that got away, the Dirty Twos can see this as another side within their reach.

Best and fairest points went to Michael Cooke (3), Izzy Tittor (2), Connor Minehan (1) and Justin Benn. Cooke, with a two-try haul, was also named Players Player. Jourdan Mita was another to have a very strong game.

Wests 31 bt Goulburn 28 (Michael Cooke 2, Matt Spratley, Izzy Tittor tries; Hamish McCormack 4 conversions).

Photos: PETE OLIVER

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