Recap

Reserves open season with a record-breaking performance

By Chris Gordon

After the longest pre-season in living memory, the Goulburn Dirty Reds reserve grade side kicked off a trio of senior wins in Canberra on Saturday with a record-breaking 81-10 over Easts.

Notching up reserve grade’s highest ever score, and the club’s best-ever win over Easts, the Reggies relished the chance to be running with ball in hand, savouring an expansive game and scoring at better than a point a minute in the first half.

If there was a question about how the rugby league players that have swelled the club’s ranks this season would go at the 15 a side game, they were answered in the first minute when Tyler Cornish ran in the first of his four tries. Brother Nicholas also ran in a double and the league-contingent slotted in seamlessly alongside the experienced rugby players like Tynan Rae who bagged a trifecta.

Goulburn were up 57-0 at the break but the momentum flagged in the second half.

Easts did their best work at the breakdown and slowed up the Reds midway through the second half. The home side ran in two tries in the second half and never turned up their toes but it they were never in a position to challenge a red-hot Reds outfit.

In a real family affair, in addition to brothers Tyler and Nicholas Cornish playing alongside each other, club stalwart and long time first grade captain Boyd Newby played alongside his son Harry for the first time.

Best and fairest points went to Mitchell Cooke (3), Jacob Kara (2), Tyler Cornish (1) and Nicholas Cornish (1). Tyler Cornish was also named Player’s Player.

Goulburn 86 (Tyler Cornish 4, Tynan Rae 3, Nicholas Cornish 2,  Jacob Kara, Harry Newby, Mitchell White, Guy Nesbitt-Titheradge, Eric Brown tries; Tyler Cornish 6 conversions, Nicholas Cornish, Jacob Kara conversions) bt Easts 10.