Queanbeyan Kangaroos 56 defeated Gungahlin Bulls 8 at Freebody Oval
The Queanbeyan Kangaroos were at their ruthless best in Round 13 of the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup, thrashing the Gungahlin Bulls by 48 points at home.
Now Coach Aaron Gorrell wants his side to continue this ruthless approach into the finals series after they have been found guilty of taking their foot of the throat off their rivals at times throughout the year.
“We haven't done it all year, that's the first time we've stuck it out for 80 minutes,” Gorrell said after playing 10 minutes off the bench in the second half.
"To the boys credit we did it tough there for a few weeks. At one stage we had seven players out, but we stuck to it, and we only dropped two games."
In terms of the competition ladder, the lopsided win has allowed the Kangaroos to retain their position at second on the ladder which secures them a double chance in the finals with a win over West Belconnen in the last round next week.
The annihilation also allows the Kangaroos a chance to challenge the Blues for the Minor Premiership if their cross-town rivals are to succumb to Tuggeranong next week.
Speedy outside back Ryan Cronan starred for the home side in the win with a hat-trick of tries whilst star five-eighth Jordan Macey registered a personal points haul of 14 through two tries and five goals.
In addition to hitting their straps at the right time of the year, the Roos have also been boosted by the news that tough-as-nails forward Matt Lewis is set to return for the finals after breaking his jaw earlier this year.
Queanbeyan Kangaroos 56 (Ryan Cronan 3, Jordan Macey 2, Ratu Tagive, Daniel Watt, Thomas Cronan, Luke Sutton, Adam Pearce, Troy Whiley tries; Macey 5, Whiley goals) defeated Gungahlin 8
Woden Valley Rams 32 defeated West Belconnen 16 at Phillip District
Woden have delivered one of their best performances of the year to upset West Belconnen and gain retribution against the Warriors for ruining club stalwart Josh Burns’ 150th game celebrations earlier this year.
The Rams looked certain to celebrate Burns’ milestone in fitting fashion in Round 6 until Warriors five-eighth Bobby Roberts engineered a late try to level scores and then kicked the pivotal field goal to snare victory 21-20.
“It was very tough to swallow,” said Woden Coach Cameron Hardy of the loss. “We've been our own worst enemy at times this year but that match was up for grabs the whole time and if we had have cut out the mistakes we would have been sweet.”
Woden cut out their errors in Round 13 and as a result delivered some top class football.
Inspired by a double by young back-rower Ben Maguire, the Rams were thoroughly impressive over their more fancied opponent which gave great joy to their parochial home crowd.
The loss spells worrying signs for West Belconnen with semi-finals just around the corner. Coach Justin Giteau will be hoping that it is the wakeup call his side needs after a good couple of months of form earlier in the year has been somewhat dismantled following three consecutive defeats.
Woden 32 (Ben Maguire 2, Jeff Morgan, Tim Crome, Junior Moala, Josh Burns, tries; Crome 2, George Pohahau 2 goals) defeated West Belconnen 16 (Dayne Ewings, John Papalii, Tim Sloman tries; Scott Jones 2 goals)
Queanbeyan Blues 60 defeated Belconnen United Scholars 8 at Seiffert Oval
In a clash between the top and the bottom team on the ladder of 2014, the Queanbeyan Blues expectedly blew Belconnen United off the park at Seiffert Oval.
In what was a complete annihilation of the Scholars, strike centre Tyler Stevens and Country representative Levi Freeman both score hat-tricks in the 12-tries-to-one victory.
Freeman’s three tries along with his four conversions gave the star back-rower a personal haul of 20 points for the day.
The win confirmed the Blues standing at the top of the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup ladder and if they are to defeat the Bushrangers next week, they will have secured the Minor Premiership for the second successive year.
The minimal eight points conceded by Queanbeyan sees them ranked as the best defensive team in the competition statistically after 13 rounds.
Blues 60 (Tyler Stevens 3, Levi Freeman 3, Jake Knight 2, Tom Reudiger, Leu Saipani, Marc Herbert, Scott Rutland tries; Freeman 4, Herbert, Andy McLean goals) defeated Scholars 8 (Lachlan Sund, Mitchell Shaw tries)
Goulburn Workers Bulldogs 36 defeated Tuggeranong Bushrangers 26 at Goulburn Workers Arena
A second half fight back has allowed Goulburn to escape defeat in front of their home fans against a spirited Tuggeranong outfit on Sunday afternoon.
Despite being unable to qualify for the semi-finals, the Bushrangers came out all guns blazing in the first half and raced out to a 22-8 lead when the half-time siren sounded.
The third placed Bulldogs came out to play in the second stanza though and managed to snare a come-from-behind victory thanks to a double to seasoned forward Michael Dodson and a crafty display around the ruck area by hooker and former Raiders NYC star Ben Picker.
Goulburn Captain-Coach Mick Picker wasn’t thrilled with his sides performance and believes his troops are just counting down the days until the semi-finals begin.
"It's a bit of a shame the way it did pan out, having the finals decided nearly a month out," he said.
"It's pretty tough keeping the boys up, but if we're going to be a chance we have to be pretty hot going into finals."
Currently situated two points below the Kangaroos on the ladder, Picker believes that his side, the best attacking team in the competition statistically, is more than capable of winning the premiership from outside the top two.
The first team straight into the grand final has struggled to deal with the subsequent week off recently, including last year's runner-up Queanbeyan Blues.
"Blake Hewitt was with the Blues last year and he said it's a long two weeks to wait around,'' Picker said.
"Whether we end up in the top two or not doesn't really bother us, as long as we're playing well it's up for grabs."
Goulburn Workers Bulldogs 36 (Michael Dodson 2, Tim Turner, Michael Campton-Smith, Ben Picker, Luke Turner, Matt Worboys tries; Picker 4 goals) defeated Tuggeranong Bushrangers 26 (Brendan Brophy 2, Reinhold Kamilo, Steve Howard, Daniel Hickson tries; Carl Johnson 3 goals)
