Recap

Goulburn women book grand final berth after win against Jindabyne

By PETE OLIVER

It was Goulburn’s chance to reach the grand final, but also secure a bit of revenge against the only team to ever beat them in the Women’s 10s competition.

The Reds, who last week claimed the Minor Premiership, grabbed both opportunities on Saturday, knocking over the Jindabyne Miss Piggies 29-5 at Poidevin Oval.

If ever there was a game that lived up to the old cliché that the score doesn’t reflect the game, it was Saturday’s. It was absorbing, physical, brutal, and tough.

It was also vastly different to the last time the two teams met in Goulburn, which saw the Miss Piggies inflict Goulburn’s first ever loss in the Women’s 10s comp.

This time, the Reds rope-a-doped the Miss Piggies, absorbing a massive amount of pressure before turning the ball over and scoring. All five tries were scored by Goulburn’s backs – a Rolls Royce backline that would count among the finest to grace the 10s competition.

However, Goulburn’s forwards were brilliant, hard-working, and relentless. They stepped up at the set piece, and didn’t stop working all match.

Things didn’t start well for Jindy. Their kick off didn’t go ten metres. Or five metres. Or much further than two. It was a sign of things to come.

From the restart, Goulburn secured possession, and a matter of phases later, put the ball through the hands for Maddy Tooth to do Maddy Tooth things – powering through the defence and streaking away to score.

Captain Ash Mewburn slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead after only a minute or so.

Things soon turned for the Reds, when prop Cui Latavao went down with a recurrence of her knee injury, pushing Mewburn into the front row and causing a reshuffle of the backline.

Jindabyne were happy to build pressure and phases through tight forward play, using their size to try and tumble forward. But Goulburn’s defence and attitude in the tight was superb, shutting down the pick and drives quickly. It wasn’t long before the Reds turned over the ball, and player of the match Chloe Waddell streaked 80 metres to score the first of her two tries for the day.

Not long after, Cassi Law was on the end of a backline move, with the young winger finishing superbly under pressure to score out wide and take the Reds to an imposing 19-0 lead into the break.

However, the team warnings for repeat infringements were mounting for the home side. Waddell soon earned a rest on the naughty chair for being lazy out wide and finding herself offside. But it was soon nine on nine, when a Jindabyne player also found herself on the wrong end of a yellow card.

Goulburn extended their lead not long after, when a poor clearance kick from the Miss Piggies landed in the arms of Krystal Blackwell.

Blackwell is probably the most elusive runner in the competition, and she scythed her way through the jagged Jindabyne defence to add yet another try to her season’s tally.

Waddell came back on and scored her second try, and the Reds now had an insurmountable 29-0 lead.

The Miss Piggies never gave up though, and hooker Georgia Loucataris crossed for the visitors on the stroke of full time.

The week off will be welcome for the Reds, giving players a chance to recover and smooth out some niggles after the highly physical game. They will face the winner of next week’s final between ADFA or Jindabyne, after Royals forfeited their game against the Cadets.

Waddell capped off her two tries and yellow card by collecting the three Best and Fairest points, the Players’ Player gong, and the Grit Cafe award.

Two points went to winger-turned-front-rower Melissa Smith, who has taken to rugby so quickly in her first year, and one point to the ever-reliable Ashleigh Deaton, who also transferred into the forwards this season when needed.

Goulburn Dirty Reds Women 29 (Waddell 2, Tooth, Blackwell, Law tries, Mewburn 2 con) bt Jindabyne Miss Piggies 5 (Loucataris try).

By the Clock:

• 1 mins – Maddy Tooth try, Ash Mewburn conversion (7-0)
• 10 mins – Chloe Waddell try, Ash Mewburn conversion (14-0)
• 20 mins – Cassi Law try (19-0)
• HALF-TIME
• 28 mins – Krystal Blackwell try (24-0)
• 36 mins – Chloe Waddell try (29-0)
• 40 mins – Jindabyne try (29-5)

Photos: PETE OLIVER

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