Recap

Goulburn grand final bound after victory over Vikings

By Chris Gordon

The Hibernian Hotel Goulburn Dirty Reds have won through to the ACT First Division First Grade grand final after a confident 33-23 win against Tuggeranong.

On the same ground and against the same team to whom they lost last year’s grand final by 18-10 the Reds submitted part one of their road to vengeance with a five tries to two victory.

With key players Henry Cooper and Oscar Cunningham back on deck at just the right time, the Reds clicked back into the form that had them leading the competition for the opening part of 2023 and the team set about maintaining their intensity for the entire 70 minutes.

Goulburn hit the ground running and dominated possession and position for the opening ten minutes, camped in Tuggeranong’s half, but the Vikings defence proved up to the challenge and none of that potential translated to points.

After withstanding that opening barrage, Tuggeranong finally got the chance to attack and, appreciating the importance to take any points whenever on offer, successfully took shots at penalty goal in the 11th and 16th minutes.

The Tuggeranong side seemed a better one than Goulburn met last weekend, slightly more disciplined and less chatty, but Goulburn had lifted as well. After repelling sustained pressure on their line in the middle section of the first half, committed and swift Goulburn defence cut short a number of good attacking opportunities by Tuggeranong and forced errors that shifted play upfield and put Goulburn back on the attack.

From a scrum on Tuggeranong’s 22m line, the Reds swung the ball through the hands to the left, before switching back to the right and after six quick phases, into the hands of Brandon Courts for a try.

Goulburn still trailed 5-16 and five minutes later that deficit grew when a Tuggeranong player evaded a series of uncharacteristic and ineffective high arm grabs to put the Vikings up 13-5 at the break.

Despite the lead, though, the teams had scored one try a piece and Goulburn had held the lion’s share of territory. Coach John Maxwell pointed out the score disguised how well Goulburn was doing and re-emphasised the importance of a consistently strong platform. And the forwards obliged.

Like seagulls to a chip, every member of the pack lined up for extra work, either hitting the ball up or protect possession, while the backs routinely cut down their opponents and seized all scoring opportunities.

While Tuggeranong added a third penalty goal two minutes into the second session, they lost a player to a yellow card two minutes after that.

Seven minutes into the second half fly half Ben Todkill scooped up a loose pass from a tap 15 metres from the Tuggeranong line, stepped the defence and crossed, with Mikael Webber’s conversion closing the gap to 12-16. 

Eight minutes later, after a series of raids on Tuggeranong’s line that was met with a series of penalties, Goulburn opted for a scrum and Dallas Brown took the ball from the back of the pushover for a try that, when converted, finally put Goulburn in the lead by 19-16.

As so often happens in rugby, one side’s momentum is met with increasingly desperate and over-zealous defence by the other team, and 9 minutes before full time a second Tuggeranong player was shown the cheese.

From the ensuing scrum after the yellow, Eric Brown perfectly timed his run for a sneaky inside pass from Todkill and stepped through the defence for Goulburn’s fourth try that when converted increased Goulburn’s lead to a seemingly safe 26-16.

But the minor premiers weren’t about to throw in the towel and had another try up their sleeves. With four minutes remaining and with Goulburn’s lead reduced to just three points, the game was wide open for whomever wanted it.

And that team was Goulburn. While Tuggeranong had fought back into the match, Goulburn had not gone into defensive mode and showed they still had plenty of petrol in the tank despite barely using their bench.

In the final minute from a scrum 10 metres into Tuggeranong’s half, Goulburn switched the points of attack across the field and back again, probing for a gap before Mikael Webber wound back the clock with a scything shake and bake for the final try and the 33-23 win.

Like any game, this one came down to moments. Goulburn made better use of their moments this time than they had last week and should the two teams meet again in the grand final in two weeks, it’s a clean slate and an even bet. 

While Goulburn’s skipper Alec Palmer is out injured until potentially may next year, and other key players Taniela Halafihi and Jacob Kara weren’t on deck for this match, the return of front rowers Cooper and Cunnigham went a long way towards establishing forward dominance. The ingredients are there for a Goulburn premiership, but just as a few key moments lost them the premiership against this same team last year, it will come down to moments and decisions once again in two weeks.

Goulburn Dirty Reds 33 (Brandon Courts, Ben Todkill, Dallas Brown, Eric Brown, Mikael Webber tries, Webber 4 conversions) bt Tuggeranong 23.

By the Clock:

11 mins – Tuggeranong penalty goal (0-3)
16 mins – Tuggeranong penalty goal (0-6)
28 mins – Brandon Courts try (5-6)
33 mins – Tuggeranong converted try (5-13)

37 mins – Tuggeranong penalty goal (5-16)
42 mins – Ben Todkill try, Mikael Webber conv (12-16)
50 mins – Dallas Brown try, Webber conv (19-16)
62 mins – Eric Brown try, Webber conv (26-16)
66 mins – Tuggeranong converted try (26-23)
70 mins – Webber try and conv (33-23)

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