The Gungahlin Bulls hold a six-game winning streak after defeating the Queanbeyan Blues 40-20 in Saturday afternoons Allan Family Shield clash.
It was the Queanbeyan Blues who looked to be dominating at first on Saturday afternoon, containing the Gungahlin Bulls well inside their half as they attacked.
But the momentum shifted quickly, which saw the Bulls find space out on their left edge with a 40-metre run by winger Dean Aylott in the ninth minute.
It was the support by the Bulls middles that saw hooker Matthew Richards dive over in the next play for the opening try of the afternoon. The Bulls opened the scoring 6-0.
The Bulls held their momentum in attack and were able to get a scrum 10 metres out from their line.
With their dangerous ability to attack on show, the ball shifted out to the right edge and it was winger Rourke O’Sullivan who secured the Bulls second try of the afternoon, extending the lead 10-0.
A mistake by the Bulls in the 20th minute of play saw the Blues take their first opportunity to get on the score board but the ball was lost over the line.
In their next set Blues second rower Atunaisa Tupou made a dominant run down the middle applying plenty of pressure on the Bulls line defence.
The Blues hooker Joshua Mitchell teamed up with fullback Mathew Parsons on the line, which saw Parsons get the Blues first try to make it 10-6 with 15 minutes to go in the first half.
The Bulls hit back in their first set and it was fullback Tristan Eldridge who threw a dummy pass down the right edge. Showing his speed, he darted for the line, making the scoreboard 14-6 to the Bulls.
With just seven minutes to go in the first half, the Blues charged down the field in a strong attacking set which saw them set up for their next try.
The ball shifted from the right out to the left where winger George Morseu dived out to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, hitting the upright which kept the score at 14-10 to the Bulls.
The Blues started to show how dominant they can be with a high kick from halfback Blake Murray into the in goal, which forced a knock on by the Bulls backs, and it was Murray who dove on the ball to send the Blues in front 16-14 as they reached half time.
A 40/20 by Zachary Patch opened the second half for the Bulls, but they lost their chance to attack losing the ball in the next set.
Both sides were fired up in the second half, and the Bulls were unable to contain their discipline conceding two consecutive penalties in the Blues next attacking set.
But, they hit back with a cut out ball from Tre Holten-Williams to his left winger Dean Aylott. A 60-metre run down field by the winger found his centre Deakin Bright on the inside who scored to get the Bulls in front once again 20-16.
The Bulls once again found space just minutes later, this time it was the speed of fullback Tristan Eldrige, with Jack Williams backing up to score under the black dot.
The afternoon wasn’t over for the Blues as they used a scrum just 10 metres out to find Michael Asomua, keeping them in the game 20-26.
In a game of try-for-try, halfback Jordan Holten-Williams put through a grubber into the in-goal which saw Bulls fullback Tristan Eldridge score his second try of the afternoon. With just 10 minutes to go the Bulls extended their lead 30-20.
The Bulls right-edge winger George Morseu used his footwork to beat four Blues just 10 metres out, he dived over to secure the lead 36-20 with just 5 minutes remaining.
But the afternoon still wasn’t over for the Bulls, centre Lucas Thomson dived on the ball which had been lost in goal by the Blues fullback, to seal the win making it 40-20.
The Gungahlin Bulls finished the game remaining undefeated as they take first position on the ladder.
