Bushies defeat the undefeated Roos in the game of the year

The Bushrangers showed some real grit in the second half to close out the game 18-17 and hand the Kangaroos their first loss of the season.

It was the Kangaroos who fired out of the blocks from the kickoff, asserting themselves over the Bushrangers making 70 metres off the first set.

The Kangaroos were relentless with the territory early on, with four sets on the Bushrangers line in the early minutes.

It took the Bushrangers some time to kick into gear after only entering the Roos’ half in the ninth minute of the game.

A try-saving tackle from Darby Medlyn on Roo Jesse Dent kept the scores at nil-all ten in a hotly fierce contest.

With the last tackle begging for the Bushrangers, a scrap to keep the ball alive left Jack Davison open on the wing, finding his centre Deakin Bright to then receive the ball back and open the scoring for the day.

An unsuccessful conversion from Liam Oakley kept the scores at 4-0 to the Bushrangers.

A whirl winding from Darby Medlyn left fullback Steve Numambo scrambling knocking the ball on for Bushies to pile on the pressure.

The Bushrangers were able to score their second of the afternoon, as a darting run from Jack Heyman overwhelmed Sia Soliola.

A successful conversion Oakley increased their lead to 10-0.

It was the Roos who were on the attack after an error from the Bushies forced a handover of possession.

Centre Josh Davis was able to find the overlap feeding the ball to his winger Jake Keily and eventually getting their first points on the board.

It didn’t take long for the Roos to score another as forward Jayden Thomas went over next to the posts for his sixth of the season.

As the first half was coming to a close, the Roos couldn’t capitalise on some key possession in the Bushies end keeping the scores all square at the halftime hooter.

The Bushies were able to go down the other end with a golden chance for Moekiola but the pass to the winger was called forward in a hectic final five minutes of the half.

Some early pressure from the Bushies in the second half kept the Kangaroos on their toes but a knock on handed the ball over momentarily.

An error coming out of their end for the Roos allowed the Bushies to have another crack at the try line.

And that they did with Heyman scoring his second for the day and his eighth for the season.

A successful conversion took the lead for the second time of the day, 16-10.

A shift of momentum enabled the Roos to fight back into the game in a never-ending battle.

Roos Centre Harry Quinlan got his hands on the ball early in the set barnstorming his way down the left edge stripping the Bushies for numbers.

Quinlan was brought down ten metres short, but the scramble defence later in the set proved too difficult as the Roos spread from side to side to tie the game up once again.

With just short of 20 minutes left in the game, Williams kept them in the game with a successful conversion making it 16 apiece.

A field goal from Williams gave the Roos a one-point lead, however, they weren’t able to hold on for long as the Bushrangers successfully kicked a penalty goal conversion from Oakley to retake the lead.

The Kangaroos received one last chance to have a crack at an equaliser, earning a seven tackle set in the dying minutes.

Tuggeranong then gave away a silly penalty for Sam Williams not to find touch on his penalty kick, which hurt their final roll of the dice.

As the full-time siren sounded, the Bushrangers held on in a nail-biting match to win by one point.