The Queanbeyan Blues continued their winning streak while the Tuggeranong Buffaloes recorded their first win of the season in round three of the Katrina Fanning Shield.
Queanbeyan Blues 24 (Tries: K Dragisic 3, P Condon; Goals: S Wood 4) d Bushpies 20 (E Winbank 2, N Ngan-Woo, K Huey; Goals: E Blowes 2)
The Queanbeyan Blues staged a big comeback to steal a 24-20 win over the Bushpies at Phillip Oval on Saturday.
Down 20-6 in the second half, the Blues fought back, with halfback Kasey Dragisic scoring a hat-trick to bring her team home.
The Bushpies opened the scoring in the tenth minute with Nirvana Ngan-Woo crashing over. Elissa Blowes converted to give the Bushpies an early 6-0 lead.
The home side knocked the ball on at their own end and the Blues capitalised with a try courtesy of hooker Payge-Louise Condon. Samantha Wood kicked the conversion to tie the game at 6-6.
The Bushpies hit back soon after with a great run by Samara Afele, who offloaded to Eilish Winbank to cross the tryline. The conversion was unsuccessful, with the score remaining at 10-6.
A repeat set and a penalty gifted the Bushpies some great field position, with Kristy Huey scoring her second try of the season. Blowes couldn’t add the two points, with the Bushpies leading 14-6 at half-time.
The Bushpies were first on the scoreboard in the second half, with Ngan-Woo bursting through some tackles up the middle, and halfback Winbank getting the try a couple of plays later. Blowes converted to give the Bushpies a 14 point lead, but it wasn’t enough.
Despite some strong defence by the Bushpies, Blues halfback Dragisic scored twice in five minutes, with Wood converting both to give the Blues a 20-18 lead.
It was Dragisic who scored the match-winning try, and her third of the afternoon, off the back of a great run down the sideline by centre Alanna Brooks. Wood converted the try to put the Blues ahead 24-20.
A frantic final few minutes ensured, with the Bushpies throwing everything at the Blues. But Queanbeyan held on to claim their third straight win.
The win sees the Blues finish round three in first place with a two point lead.
Tuggeranong Buffaloes 46 (Tries: S Bloor 2, R Halls 2, J Stanley 2, B Windsor, K Lyons, A Kyburz; Goals: A Kyburz 5) d West Belconnen 0
The Tuggeranong Buffaloes claimed their first win of the season after defeating West Belconnen 46-0 at Nicholls International on Saturday.
Sienna-Rose Bloor, Rebecca Halls, and Jessica Stanley all scored doubles, with the visiting team running in nine tries overall.
West Belconnen take on the Queanbeyan Blues next weekend, while the Bushpies play the Tuggeranong Buffaloes.
