The Valley Dragons have defeated the Boomanulla Buffaloes 16-10 in the Specsavers Katrina Fanning Shield at GIO Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Two forced dropouts from the Buffaloes put the Dragons on the back foot early, the pressure led to the first try of the match from Kryee Parsons.
The Dragons hit back with a try of their own, as the sister of Raiders’ forward Josh Papalli, Crystal Papalii powered her way to the line to score.
A change of momentum saw a dropped ball in the in-goal area from Boomanulla, allowing Dragons’ Emily Ernst to pounce on the ball and score the second for the Valley Dragons.
A last effort from the Buffaloes was stopped short by the Dragons, as the teams went into the sheds with the Dragons leading 10-6.
After a slow start from both teams coming out of halftime, a set play from the Dragons saw Chloe Smith go untouched on her way to the try line.
Both teams stepped up the energy in the final ten minutes, producing line breaks on either side of the field along with hard-hitting tackles.
Buffaloes’ Natasha Brunhuber scored a try in the final two minutes to close the gap, but in the end, was not enough to get the win.
Valley Dragons: 16 (Tries: Papalii 1, Ernst 1, Smith 1 Goals: Ernst 2/3) def. Boomanulla Buffaloes: 10 (Tries: Parsons 1, Brunhuber 1 Goals: Kyburz 1/2 )
Article by Nathan James
