Grant Boyd pictured with daughter, Valley, and son, Ledger.
The Cootamundra Bulldogs have celebrated Grant Boyd’s 300th game in style, scoring a crucial 12-10 win over the Young Cherrypickers at Les Boyd Oval on Sunday.
The two-point victory has also seen the Bulldogs move back into the competition’s top five with two rounds remaining.
After a controlled opening by both sides, Young were first to put points on the board through centre Matt Noakes, before Boro Navori increased the Cherrypickers lead not long after.
As both the surface and the football became a little harder to gain traction of, both sides ended the first half trading errors.
A penalty to the Bulldogs as half-time approached saw Captain-Coach Luke Berkrey opt to take a penalty goal, a decision which would later reap its reward.
Although only down 10-2 after 40 minutes, the biggest concern inside the Cootamundra dressing room would not have been the margin at the break, but the loss of both their halfback Joe Ward and hooker James Patterson.
The loss of the two spine members was quickly forgotten about as Nikola Savotabua charged over from close range for the Dogs, after Young failed to take Cootamundra’s second half kickoff.
Another two penalty goals to Berkrey had the Bulldogs in front with a quarter of the match remaining, with Young throwing wave after wave of attack at Cootamundra’s defence, only to be repelled relentlessly.
Young were given one last chance with a penalty inside the Bulldogs’ half with only minutes left, but the home side continued to show a superb defensive resolve and wound down the final seconds in possession.
Berkrey said the sides resilience stood out, after losing two key members of the side throughout the clash and being down by ten points in the first half.
“I was very impressed with our resilience after being down, losing a couple of guys and just hanging tough and finding a way to win.”
Tai Vaavale was a stand-out for the winners, doing a mountain of work both in attack and defensively but the Bulldogs coach thought a few others also played an important role.
“Tai was awesome. Niko (Savotabua) and Sam Bragg were also really good and I thought Ollie Hall done a great job directing the side once we lost Joe.” Berkrey added.
Cootamundra now travel to Wagga this Saturday to play Kangaroos in a game that could well decide fifth position.
A win for the Bulldogs, and it would all but guarantee them a spot in this seasons finals series, while a loss will leave their fate in the hands of other results.
Aaron Byrne
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