Tuggeranong Bushrangers (5) 32 defeated Belconnen United Scholars (8) 18 at Greenway
Tuggeranong has climbed up to fifth place on the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup following a five star performance from halfback Carl Johnson.
Johnson's heroics paved the way for the Bushrangers to register a 32-18 victory over the bottom of the ladder Belconnen United Scholars at home.
In the absence of Bushrangers Captain-Coach and star fullback Michael Brophy, who was off in Hawaii on Country representative duty, Johnson, despite being one of the youngest members in the team, stepped up to deliver a much needed win for the home side.
Johnson scored a hat-trick of tries but it was his four goals in windy conditions that proved just as vital given that the Scholars could only manage to convert one of their four tries.
Johnson’s 20 point haul proved why he was selected as halfback in the Canberra Region Rugby League side for the second successive year.
Belconnen United were best served by dynamic centre Chris Faaee who registered a hat-trick of tries against his former side.
Tuggeranong Bushrangers 32 (Carl Johnson 3, Alex Tuolo, Brent Wallace, Mitch McAppion tries; Carl Johnson 4 goals) defeated Belconnen United Scholars 18 (Chris Faaee 3, Aisea Taholo tries; Chris Thorley 1 goal)
Woden Valley Rams (7) 22 defeated Gungahin Bulls (6) 18 at Phillip
Woden has continued their good form of late with a four point win over Gungahlin in front of a parochial home crowd.
Aside from one occasion, the Rams have been thoroughly in the contest during each game this year however they have been unable to capitalise this effort into points for the most part.
“We’ve got a young squad but we’re very happy with the effort that has been put in this year and aside from one game, all our losses have been by 10 points or less,” Woden five-eighth Adam Kyle said.
“It was frustrating not seeing this effort translate into competition points but it’s good to finally see some results over the last three weeks.”
His team mates are sick of hearing his name in the match reports but Tim Crome had another outstanding game for the Rams, bagging a double and slotting three conversions from four attempts for a personal points haul of 14.
Gungahlin battled bravely but found it hard to overcome the loss of two strike backline players in former Raiders centre David Howell and Dwayne Connors to Country representative duty.
James Ulrick stepped up in the absence of Howell and Connors and matched Crome with two tries of his own.
Woden Valley Rams 22 (Tim Crome 2, Jordan Martin, George Pohahau tries; Crome 3 goals) defeated Gungahlin Bulls 18 (James Ulrick 2, Rourke O'Sullivan tries; Aiden Greenwood 3 goals);
Queanbeyan Blues (1) 30 defeated West Belconnen Warriors (3) 28 at Raiders Belconnen
Queanbeyan Blues have defeated West Belconnen in what was a top of the table clash at Raiders Belconnen.
The Warriors were pumped up for the contest given that the match was billed as their ‘Old Boys Day’ as well as having the opportunity to snare top place on the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup ladder.
West Belconnen looked well placed to do so, up 22-6, until a blunder by Dwayne Ewings just before half-time swung the momentum of the match.
Ewings tried to offload a ball close to his own try line however instead of falling into the arms of a team mate, the ball was swooped upon by Blues prop Scott Rutland.
Rutland then scored again early in the second half before Warriors halfback Bobby Roberts restored his side’s 10 point lead with a chip and chase effort that lead to a Ricky Fulivai try.
Unfortunately for the fans at Raiders Belconnen, two late tries to rugby union converts Aaron McInness and Tom Reudiger stole victory from the grasps of the Warriors.
After a recent victory, Roberts had trumped the culture of West Belconnen whilst saying that clubs such as the Blues “buy premierships.”
Queanbeyan Coach Simon Woolford reminded his players of Roberts’ comments during the week and the players used them as motivation.
“We just proved the culture we have and how we're willing to work for each other,” Woolford said. “It's not about having the best players or buying a player, it's having a good culture and finding a way to win. That's what we've built over the last couple of years.”
West Belconnen Captain Naseri Naseri admitted that his side had let a golden chance slip.
“We were good for almost 40 minutes of the first half but in the last 30 seconds it turned around quickly,” he said. “It's little mistakes like that which can cost you the game. We are matching teams like the Roos and Blues, we just have to play another level to get them.”
Queanbeyan Blues 30 (Scott Rutland 2, Tom Ruediger, Aaron McInnes, Craig Wilkinson tries; Wilkinson 5 goals) defeated West Belconnen Warriors 28 (Tim Sloman 2, Ricky Fulivai, Tevita Aroha-Tuinauvui, Isaac Hamad tries; Scott Jones 4 goals).
Queanbeyan Kangaroos (2) 18 defeated Goulburn Workers Bulldogs (4) 10 at Goulburn Workers Arena
The Queanbeyan Kangaroos have stormed back into second place on the ladder following a gripping 18-10 defeat of the Goulburn Workers Bulldogs.
On the back of a double to powerful outside back Ratu Tagive, pin-point goal kicking from star five-eighth Jordan Macey and the big match experience of their forward pack, the Kangaroos proved that they have overcome a mid-season form slump and will once again they will be in the running for the title in 2014.
Despite having fiery prop Matt Lewis injured on the sidelines with a broken jaw, Queanbeyan’s defence held firm on all but two occasions against Goulburn, who are statistically the best attacking team in the competition.
Goulburn has the ability to blow teams off the park but Captain-Coach Mick Picker believes that they still need to improve their ability to win close matches against the best teams in the competition.
Queanbeyan Kangaroos 18 (Ratu Tagive 2, Bryan Cronan tries; Jordan Macey 3 goals) defeated Goulburn Workers Bulldogs 10 (Codie Medway, Matt Worboys tries; Ben Picker goal);
