Match report by Alyce Giorgioni
The Queanbeyan Blues defeated the Woden Valley Rams 18 – 14 in a wet and physical clash at Phillip Oval today.
The game went down to the wire as the Rams looked like scoring in the final minutes, but the defence of the 2019 premiers was too good for the home team.
The Blues opened the scoring off the back of a penalty for a dangerous tackle with a try to Matthew Parsons in the corner. Parsons failed to convert his own try, leaving the score at 4 – 0 after 13 minutes of play.
The Rams threatened the line a number of times in the first half, with Steven Ferry held up in goal and a couple of kicks that proved too big for the chasers.
A knock on against the Blues awarded the Rams another chance within the opposition half, and a subsequent penalty helped them get over the line with a try to Daniel Desmet. Brayden Robertson successfully added the two for a 6 – 4 lead after 16 minutes.
The Rams opened the scoring in the second quarter with Nick Baldwin crashing over 23 minutes in. The scoreboard stayed at 10 – 4 after an unsuccessful conversion.
Kurt Michl crashed over the line under the posts for the Blues off the back of a Terry Campese kick that the Rams couldn’t hold on to. The scores were locked at 10 all after a successful conversion to Parsons.
Queanbeyan took the lead with five minutes to go before the break with a penalty goal after a high tackle.
An early penalty against the Blues in the second half helped the Rams down the field in the wet but were denied a try as they slid into the in-goal.
The Rams were first on the board in the second half with a try to Brayden Robertson five minutes in. An unsuccessful conversion left the scoreboard at 14 – 12 to the Rams.
A grubber kick from Camepese went dead as the Rams worked their way down the field with a line break from Daniel Desmet.
Linitoni Fifita looked certain to score for the Blues but the strong defence by the Rams carried him over the sideline just before the in-goal.
The physical game in the wet saw a number of knock-ons from each side as they battled it out for second place on the ladder.
Queanbeyan scored first in the fourth quarter with a try to Joshua Hitchins under the posts, and a successful conversion to Parsons gave them a four point lead at 18 – 14.
Baldwin crashed over the line again for the Rams but was denied a try before a kick out on the full by Campese gave the home team another shot in good field position, but the Blues goal line defence proved too strong for the home side.
Both sides looked like scoring late in the game and the Rams were held up in goal with two minutes to go. Tensions were high down to the dying seconds of the physical match that saw the Blues go home with their second win of the season.
