A last gasp try has robbed the Goulburn Dirty Reds second grade side of a first ever win over the Queanbeyan Whites.

In a tense finish, the Reds hit the lead in the shadows of full time through the boot of Taniela Halafihi and looked set to pull off a victory. But a scrum penalty deep in their half resulted in a quick tap, and the bullocking Whites 8 barged his way over to seal the game with a 17-13 win.

It was an arm wrestle of a match from the get go, with much of the first half played between the 22m lines. The Dirty Twos were giving away a lot of size across the board, but got stuck in regardless.

After 15 minutes of tussling, the Reds got on the board. A break from Matt Spratley opened the game open, before he offloaded to fullback Jarrod Thompson who scored. The conversion was wide, but the 5-0 lead was an important blow.

The Reds continued to absorb pressure, and their at times misfiring set piece didn’t help, compounded by an inability to reach touch when they received penalties.

The Whites camped on Goulburn’s line, and despite some very brave defence from the Reds, the weight of possession proved too much. A converted try saw Queanbeyan take the lead into the break, which the visitors extended shortly on resumption and the arm wrestle resumed.

Number 8 Jack Burke was rewarded for his tireless work with a try to put the Reds back in the game, before being on the receiving end of a high tackle that saw the Whites reduced to 14 men. However, the visitors overcame the deficient on the scoreboard and on the field to win the match.

Lock Cooper Camden Smith was awarded the three Best and Fairest points, with Halafihi collecting two points. Liam Levoshko and Spratley shared one point each, while Halafihi received the Grit Cafe award. The Players’ Player award was shared by Taniela Halafihi and Matt Sprattley.

This is a squad which gives coach Dave Anable plenty to work with, and with youth on their side led by a couple of old heads, there are some promising signs for the season ahead.

Queanbeyan Whites 17 (Reid, Heslop, Withheld tries, Kilmister con) bt Goulburn Dirty Reds 13 (Thompson, Burke tries, Halafihi penalty goal).