Twelve Men Bulldogs End Sharks Season
The Goulburn City Bulldogs have claimed their first win since Round Five after defeating the Belconnen United Sharks 28-12 at NSWRL HQ.
Despite being reduced to twelve men in the final stages of the first half, a hat-trick from winger James Croker has ensured the Bulldogs secured an important victory in their quest to avoid the wooden spoon.
The home side started the better of the two sides, with repeat sets from Zac Patch and Tommy Watego providing the Sharks with multiple sets attacking the Bulldogs try line.
The weight of early possession proved too much for the Bulldogs with a simple short pass from Sharks hooker Kadin Tenona putting Owen Hromow over the line for the first try of the afternoon.
An error out of their own end from centre Rusty Bristow placed Goulburn under pressure for a second time, however on this occasion the defensive line stood firm and repelled the Sharks away.
After having majority of the territory against them, the Bulldogs would be the next to score after slowly working their way up the field and capitalising on their first opportunity through Mitch Cornish combining with Jay Lualua in the left corner.
The momentum of the game shifted after this, with Dillon Rota punching through the Sharks defensive line before combining with Nick Cornish, who assisted James Croker for his fifth try of the season, this time in the right corner making the score 8-6.
A forward pass out of their own end pilled on the pressure for the Sharks with the error being punished by the dangerous Mitch Cornish who took a chance on the last by running it before linking with Sj Bristow who stormed past three Sharks defenders to extend their lead to eight.
After a scuffle in the final minutes of the first half the Bulldogs were reduced to 12 men for the remainder of the contest after Sj Bristow was sent from the field, Zac Patch and Rusty Bristow both received ten minutes in the bin for their involvement.
Similar to the first half it was the Sharks who started the better of the two sides with majority of the early running in their attacking zone, however first points came through James Croker who took matters into his own hands, taking an intercept and running the length of the field for his second.
Despite having a player less than the Sharks it was the Bulldogs with all the running after this with a one-on-one steal from fullback Max Flack on his opposite number giving his team another chance attacking the line.
Goulburn only needed one tackle to punish the error from the home side with a shift to the right edge finished off by Crocker, for his hat trick.
Trailing by three scores the Sharks needed something to happen quickly if they wished to keep their season alive, a penalty from the Bulldogs gave Belconnen United an opportunity.
Needing a try, it was Harry Hudson who created something out of nothing scooting out of dummy half, burrowing low and reducing the margin to ten with a quarter of the game remaining.
Any chance of a Sharks comeback was quickly extinguished by Max Flack's dangerous footwork, skipping past multiple defenders and crossing for the sealer.
A sin bin for Tom Lunney in the final ten minutes would give the home side a glimmer of hope but the clock ran out on them and the Bulldogs claimed a much-needed win and their third of the season.
