The Cootamundra Bulldogs made it two wins on the trot last Saturday when they traveled to Cranfield Oval to take on the ninth-placed Burrangong Bears on their home turf.
It was an emphatic win for the Bulldogs whose fitness proved to be the decider as they ran away with the game in the second half 50-12.
The win pushes the Bulldogs to fourth position on the ladder ahead of their biggest game of the season against 5th placed Boorowa Rovers.
The Rovers come into this week’s game against the Bulldogs fresh off a bye, and holding bragging rights over the Cootamundra men after their 20-10 win against the Bulldogs a little over a month ago.
Coach Mark Ward hopes the side can carry momentum from the Bears win into Boorowa and take home the two points.
“Burrangong were tough early on. It was 12-12 at half-time and we got back into the sheds and we had a word with the boys about how sloppy we were playing and how we knew we could do better, then we put on a much better performance in the second-half and got the job done,” Ward said.
“The boys are obviously aware of how big the game is, not only is it that we wanna keep our momentum up and keep climbing the ladder we also want to go out and redeem ourselves after last time. If we play more disciplined and continue to play good footy I like our chances.
“Boorowa are a top side; last time we played them I said the same thing, they were unlucky to miss the finals last season and with North Canberra in 6th knocking on the door they won’t want to miss them again this year.”
Mark says spirits are high around the Club after back to back wins.
“It’s good when you start stringing a few together like that, it’s obviously a bigger test this week against one of the teams who are close to the top but we know that we’ve got to bring our best and as the coach I expect nothing less,” Ward continued.
“We can’t afford to be lazy like we were last time, we were caught flat footed with markers out of position on a number of occasions and we’ll have to rectify that. Any wins from here on in will be important and we’d love to get our third on the trot in Boorowa.”
Results around the George Tooke Shield.
Cootamundra Bulldogs (52) def Burrangong Bears (12).
Bungendore Tigers (36) def Harden Hawks (10).
Boomanulla Raiders (32) def UC Stars (18).
North Canberra Bears (12) def Crookwell Green Devils (0).
Boorowa Rovers had the bye
Fixtures around the George Tooke Shield.
Boorowa Rovers vs Cootamundra Bulldogs at Boorowa Showground 2:30 pm Saturday.
North Canberra Bears vs Bungendore Tigers.
UC Stars vs Crookwell Green Devils.
Boomanulla Raiders, Harden Hawks and Burrangong Bears have the bye.
George Tooke Shield Ladder:
1st. Bungendore Tigers (17) + 225
2nd. Harden Hawks (15) + 116
3rd. Crookwell Green Devils (10) + 108
4th. Cootamundra Bulldogs (10) + 79
5th. Boorowa Rovers (10) + 38
6th. North Canberra Bears (10) – 35
7th. UC Stars (4) – 111
8th. Boomanulla Raiders (4) – 128
9th. Burrangong Bears (0) – 302.
Bullettes Stamp Their Authority on Bears.
It was a dominant display by the Cootamundra Bullettes on the weekend, defeating the Burrangong Bears 76-0.
The side was lead by try scoring phenom Andie McTavish who notched four more meat pies to her tally on the season. McTavish was joined on the scorers sheet by team-mates Lauren Connell, Piper Scott and Samantha Graham who all scored a pair of tries and Maddison Byrne, Sasha Louttit, Madison Gillies and Clare Black who all scored one.
Kristen Byrne went 9/13 on conversions while Piper Scott nailed her only attempt at adding the extras.
The Bullettes will hope to flex their Premiership muscle this weekend against the Boorowa Roverettes who were last seasons runners-up.
Results around the George Tooke Shield League Tag.
Cootamundra Bullettes (76) def Burrangong Bears (0).
Harden Hawkettes (56) def Bungendore Tigerettes (0).
North Canberra Bears (8) def Crookwell She Devils (0).
Boorowa Roverettes and UC Stars had the bye.
Fixtures for this week in the George Tooke Shield League Tag.
Boorowa Roverettes vs Cootamundra Bullettes at Boorowa Showground 1:15 pm Saturday.
North Canberra Bears vs Bungendore Tigerettes.
UC Stars vs Crookwell She Devils.
Harden Hawkettes and Burrangong Bears have the bye.
Bullpups Show Progression with Important Victory vs Junee
The Cootamundra Bulldogs under 16’s showed how far they’ve come this season with an 18-0 shutout over the Junee Diesels.
The result was a complete turnaround from the Sullivan Cup side, who lost their opening game of the season to Junee 22-16.
The boy’s win improves them to third on the ladder and gives them a great chance at holding on to a finals spot.
Cootamundra Bulldogs (18), try-scorers, Olly Hall, Toby Tanks, Josh Harris and Kristian Miller. Toby Tanks 1/4 on conversions.
The boys will have the bye this week before going to Gundagai to play the 7th placed Tigers.
The Times spoke to Bulldogs President Stephen Howse after the Bulldogs perfect weekend.
“It’s great to see everyone go out and have a go, for the sides to get the win is just the icing on the cake. I think it speaks to how well the junior ranks of the Club are coming along and how good a job Jono Rumble is doing with the under 16’s,” Stephen said.
“We have to commend Burrangong on their sportsmanship, all game long in both the mens and womens grade they were commending the good parts of the game and they didn’t put a foot wrong from a sportsmanship point of view.
“It shows the Club’s in a great place when all three grades are Premiership hopefuls, hopefully we can carry the results from last week into this week and get another sweep across the grades.”
Results around the Sullivan Cup.
Wagga Kangaroos (34) def Gundagai Tigers (6).
Cootamundra Bulldogs (18) def Junee Diesels (0).
Young Cherrypickers, South City Bulls and Albury Thunder had the bye.
Fixtures for this week in the Sullivan Cup.
Albury Thunder vs Gundagai Tigers.
Wagga Kangaroos vs Young Cherrypickers.
South City Bulls, Junee Diesels and Cootamundra Bulldogs have the bye.
Sullivan Cup ladder.
1st. Young Cherrypickers (20) +94
2nd. Wagga Kangaroos (15) +162
3rd. Cootamundra Bulldogs (14) +22
4th. South City Bulls (14) +2
5th. Junee Diesels (13) -78
6th. Albury Thunder (12) -48
7th. Gundagai Tigers (6) -154.
Tully Potts
