Goulburn Bulldogs Surge Past Bulls with Second-Half Blitz
A well-rested Goulburn City Bulldogs outfit coming off the bye came out fresh, powering to a 30-18 victory over the Gungahlin Bulls at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.
In a game that saw momentum swing multiple times, the Bulldogs built on their narrow 10-6 halftime lead with a dominant 20-minute burst after the break, piling on four unanswered tries to blow the game open before shutting down a late Bulls comeback.
The opening half was a tight contest, with both sides exchanging attacking sets early.
After 20 minutes of pressure, a Bulldogs offside gave Gungahlin prime field position, and Ryan Grocott’s grubber was pounced on by Travis Vawdon under the posts for the first points of the game. The conversion handed the home side a 6-0 lead.
An error from Goulburn shortly after gave the Bulls another chance, but a knock-on denied a likely try out wide. In the 25th minute, controversy struck when a potential Bulldogs knock-on was waved away, allowing Nicholas Cornish to weave through and score. The missed conversion kept Gungahlin ahead 6-4.
The Bulls nearly extended their lead before halftime when Brodie Schumacher was held up from close range.
Instead, Goulburn struck a crucial blow on the stroke of halftime, as Mitch Cornish sliced through the middle with a show-and-go to score beside the posts. The conversion gave the Bulldogs a 10-6 lead at the break.
The second half began with promise for Gungahlin, but a knock-on over the line denied Apenisa Driti an early equaliser.
From there, Goulburn took control. Mitch Cornish put Max Flack through a hole with a classy unders line to score untouched under the posts. Minutes later, Brad Arnall crashed over from close range to stretch the lead to 20-6.
The Bulldogs were in full flight by the hour mark, adding two quick tries - first through Tom Harmer, who capitalised on a bomb left to bounce, and then via Dominic Stephans, who finished off a slick right-edge shift to make it 30-6.
Gungahlin finally responded in the 63rd minute, with Vawdon delivering a lovely cut-out ball to send Earldric Pehara over in the corner. Vawdon converted from the sideline to reduce the margin to 30-12.
The Bulls had their tails up and created multiple chances, but it wasn’t until the 73rd minute that Ryan Chambers grubbered for himself and grounded the ball just inside the dead-ball line. Another conversion brought the score to 30-18 with time left to mount a comeback.
However, Goulburn’s defence stood firm in the closing stages, repelling a determined Bulls side to secure a valuable win away from home.
