TTM Canberra Raiders Cup: Round 11 Wrap Up

Woden Valley Rams (6) 56 defeated Goulburn Workers Bulldogs (2) 14 at Phillip District Oval

Woden has delivered their best performance of the year against the second placed Goulburn to record one of the season’s biggest upsets in front of an adoring home crowd.

The Rams were heavy outsiders coming into the match however a superb first half effort, in which the sixth placed side piled on 40 unanswered points, completely blew the Bulldogs out of the park.

“It was our best performance, particularly the first half,” Rams Coach Ash Barnes said. “We played a brand of footy that we know we are capable of which is very pleasing. 

Prior to this eye-catching victory, Woden’s best performance of the year came in Round 9 in the last minute loss to the top of the table Blues, however the Rams were well below par in last week’s loss to Gungahlin, with Barnes describing it as the “most disappointing loss of the year.”

“The boys turned up with much better energy then we did last week and started really well. Our middles laid a really good platform for our halves and edges to work off. We had a large share of the ball in the first half, but what was most pleasing is that when Goulburn had multiple sets on our line, the boys worked hard defensively and were able to turn them away. 

“I expected a much improved performance on last week, but didn't expect to see that score line at half time, which was a credit to the boys and how well they played in the first half.

“All of the boys did their jobs well. In particular our starting middle of Junior Moala, Steve Ferry and Jeff Morgan, who has been our most consistent player all year, were great yesterday.” 

Woden’s crowd was highly influential in the win and Barnes hopes that the local support continues to play a part in the Rams’ charge to the finals, now that they are just two points outside the top four and their for-and-against record has been rectified.

“Our crowd is great. The players get a lot out of the support they give them and really appreciate them turning up every week. Our next home game on the 1st of August should be great, as it is a combined Ladies and Old Boys Day, which we are all looking forward to.”

Woden Valley Rams 56   (K Harawira 2, G Crapp, J Burns, J Martin, A Lucas, E Jenkins, D Roberts, J White, J Moala tries T Crome 6 K Harawira 2 goals) defeated Goulburn Workers 14 (M Dodson, J Vatikani, M Worboys tries C Hart goal)

Queanbeyan Kangaroos (3) 32 defeated Gungahlin Bulls (5) 30 at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval

Queanbeyan has confirmed their standing as the form side in the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup after recording their sixth win in a row following their two point win over Gungahlin.

After an inconsistent start to the year due to the nine new faces in the team, the combinations with the Roos’ structure have now clicked into gear at the right time of the year.

“We’re going along much better now than what we were at the start of the year there’s no doubt about that,” said Roos back-rower Jed Pearce.” We had a bit of a shaky start to the year but we’re starting to find some form now and hopefully we can hold onto it leading into the semi-finals.”

Gungahlin defeated Queanbeyan 34-10 back in Round 10 which conveys just how far the Roos have come as a team.

“They touched us up the first time we played them, we're a totally different team to the start of the year,” Roos Coach Aaron Gorrell said. “We're on a roll but we've got big tests against the Blues and Goulburn the next two weeks. 

“That will give us a good indication of how we're going. We know we can compete with anyone in the competition but you can't dish up a second half like that and keep winning.”

Queanbeyan played a simple, yet effective, style style of rugby league in the first half and shot out to 18-6 first half. The Bulls fought back admirably in the second half and two late tries to fullback Dwayne Connors sent shivers down the spine of the Bulls, however they held on to record a two point victory.

“We stuck to what we wanted to do in the first half and if we did that in the second half we would have kicked away,” Aaron Gorrell said. 

Gungahlin Coach Troy Thompson was disappointed with the performance from his side, particularly with their ill-discipline and lacklustre defence. 

“It was a poor game from us, just some soft defence," Thompson said. “They didn't throw much shape at us but to their credit they just ran hard, completed their sets and just played tough. That's something we probably haven't been doing for three weeks.”

The loss now unfortunately sees the Bulls forced out of the top four for the first time this season.

Queanbeyan Kangaroos 32 (K Parsons 2, M Herold, J Macey, J Miller, B Cronan tries J Miller 4 goals) defeated Gungahlin Bulls 30 (D Connors 2, R O'Sullivan 2, J Ayers tries A Greenwood 5 goals)

Belconnen United Scholars (8) 34 defeated Tuggeranong Bushrangers (7) 20 at Nicholls

In what has been a severely tough season for Belconnen United, the Scholars were finally given reason to smile over the weekend when they notched their first win of the year, defeating Tuggeranong by 14 points.

Both sides have endured deplorable seasons with Belconnen United unfortunately the poorer of the two.

The Scholars were yet to win a game leading into the fixture and just last week suffered the heaviest defeat of any side this year, a 62-point loss to the Warriors.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Belconnen United’s biggest issue in 2015 has been defence with the Scholars leaking an average of 44 points per game.

Admirably, the Scholars responded to last week’s humiliation in the best possible fashion, however they didn’t do it easy by any means with the side having just 13 regular first graders available and the interchange bench comprising of players from the reserve grade team who had already played a full game.

A tenacious Belconnen United led 12-6 at half-time before running away with the result in the second half.

“It’s been a disappointing year for the club but we showed a lot of heart to bounce back from last week,” said second-rower Jordan Mago, who scored a try in the win.

“The club is in a rebuilding phase and it’s been a tough season so to finally get a win was a big relief. Hopefully we can build on this and finish the season on a high note.”

Belconnen United Scholars 34 (J Brown 2, J Lafaele, A Pelasio, J Mago, S Tupuala tries A Pelasio 5 goals) defeated Tuggeranong Bushrangers 20 (J Pollard 2, B Brophy, W Bullock tries L Heyman 2 goals)

West Belconnen Warriors (4) 46 defeated Queanbeyan Blues (1) 18 at Seiffert Oval

A week after their undefeated start to the year was shattered by Goulburn, the Queanbeyan Blues have suffered back-to-back losses at the hands of West Belconnen in another one of the upsets of the year.

West Belconnen headed into the clash full of confidence after recording the biggest victory of the year the week prior, a 74-12 demolition of local rivals Belconnen United.

With their eyes set on a finish in the top four, the Warriors delivered undoubtedly their finest performance of 2015 to defeat the defending premiers on their home turf.

The comprehensive victory has seen the Warriors leapfrog the Bulls into fourth place on the ladder due to their superior for-and-against record.

Standouts for West Belconnen were outside back Ryan McQueen who registered a hat-trick of tries and playmaker Howie Brown who registered 18 points through two tries and five conversions.

West Belconnen Warriors 46 (R McQueen 3, H Brown 2, J Baker, D Ewings, R Thomas, J Faketagoai tries H Brown 5 goals) defeated Queanbeyan Blues 18 (J Wheeler, R Griffen, K Sione tries C Wilkinson 3 goals)