Blues Hold off Rams In Top Four Clash

The Queanbeyan Blues have defeated the Woden Rams 26-18 in a top-four showdown at Seffiert Oval.

With only two competition points and a nine-point differential separating the two sides, this clash was going to be a close battle from the get-go.

After a chip and chase from Dylan McLachlan, Troy Codey scooped up the ball and scored in the corner for the Blues’ first points of the match. 

A scintillating run from Connor Williams in the 12th minute resulted in the Blues second of the afternoon, as he threw the dummy and backed himself down the sideline; an unsuccessful conversion saw the score 8-0.

You couldn’t even blink as history repeated itself with Connor Williams creating another opportunity, this time putting Jack Wilson into space who chiped for himself and scored to make it a 14-point lead.

The Rams clutched their first points of the match not long after through Sean Maloney going over with no defenders in sight.

A successful conversion saw the score 14-6.

In the dying seconds before the halftime siren, it was a sea of two-tone blues as Zaen Edmonds barged through the Rams’ defence just under the posts.

Backed by a successful conversion, the score read 20-6.

With the Rams running out 14 points behind, they were desperate to close the gap. But with the Blues putting on an attacking masterclass, the next 40 minutes were going to be a battle.

But the Blues didn't back down, with a chip and chase from Dylan McLachlan seeing Tomas Aoake with the ball in hand and scored in the corner to extend the lead 24-6.

After a period of back-and-forth sets, it was a changeover where Jack Wilson missed the catch, and Braeden Spencer ran in and grounded the ball to close the gap 24-12.

The Blues went down to 12 men late in the second half with Jackson Owen being sent to the sin bin due to striking.

The Rams put another six on the board through fullback Sam Gash making a line break after some short ball work.

Just when we thought it was locked away, Dylan McLachlan made a breakthrough the Rams defence but was held up.

It worked in their favour with the tackle being penalised for high contact; Jamie Mazzarol-Kotz took the penalty goal and was successful.

Through strong defence from the Rams and strong attack from the Blues, the Blues held on to take the eight-point victory at home to lock away their top four spot.