Recap

Dominant first half secures Dirty Reds win over Owls

By CHRIS GORDON

The Goulburn Dirty Reds continued their challenge for the ACT First Division first grade premiership with a comprehensive 36-5 win over Uni-Norths at Poidevin Oval on Saturday.

The Dirty Reds never looked in any danger in the match, with a lethal Goulburn scrum making yards at will.

Goulburn had already notched up four tries and a bonus competition point by halftime.

Josh Condylios nabbed one out wide, Ben Todkill scooped up an Owls mishandle and scored between the posts against play, skipper Jackson Reardon added his name to the try scorers list (and removed it from another list) and Eric Brown added Goulburn’s fourth try.

In the absence of an injured Mikael Webber, Reardon took on the kicking duties and converted two of those to put Goulburn up 24-0 at the break.

At half time the side set themselves the goal of picking up where they left off and, if anything, increasing their intensity in the second half, and an early try seemed an indication that was on the cards.

Oscar Cunningham crossed four minutes in after a strong break by Adam Lachlan, and an inside pass to Jackson Reardon before making its way to Cunningham.

But the promising start subdued to a degree as some of the direction and dominance dissipated in the second half.

Goulburn next, and last try fell to Jordan Wilcox in the 20^th minute of the second half… a full stretch effort that Inspector Gadget would have struggled to reach, and the Reardon conversion pushed the lead to 36-0.

Throughout the second half, and particularly in the later stages, the Dirty Reds made a point of ensuring all bench players got a run and while they all acquitted themselves well, the mass changes took a few beats to accommodate, slowing the momentum.

With five minutes remaining, Uni-Norths got on the board with their only try, taking the final result to 36-5.

In their previous encounter, Goulburn beat Uni-Norths by 46-7 although the win was paved by Goulburn’s second-half performance.

This was a dominant win showcasing one of the team’s best scrum performances and the ever-present gold star backline, but the side will look to increase their second-half intensity next time out.

Best and fairest points for Goulburn went to Will Mooney (3), Jordan Wilcox (2), Michael Cooke (1) and Josh Condylios (1). Mooney was also named Players’ Player.

Next week Goulburn will play Gungahlin at Perce Douglas Memorial Playing Fields in first and second grades. The women have the weekend off ahead of their grand final showdown at Mick Sherd Oval on 6 August against the winner of ADFA v Jindabyne.

 Goulburn 36 (Josh Condylios, Ben Todkill, Jackson Reardon, Eric Brown, Oscar Conningham, Jordan Wilcox tries, Jackson Reardon 3 conversions) bt Uni-Norths 5 (Harrison Phelps try).

By the clock:

• 3 mins – Josh Condylios try (5-0)
• 16 mins – Ben Todkill try, Jackson Reardon conversion (12-0)
• 24 mins – Jackson Reardon try (17-0)
• 28 mins – Eric Brown try, Jackson Reardon conversion (24-0)
• HALF-TIME
• 39 mins – Oscar Cunningham try (29-0)
• 55 mins – Jordan Wilcox try, Jackson Reardon conversion (36-0)
• 65 mins – Uni-Norths try (36-5)

Photos: PETE OLIVER

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