The Yass Soldiers Club Magpies returned to the winners list with a dramatic and very hard fought 20-14 victory over the Belconnen Sharks on Saturday at a boggy Walker Park.
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The game was not one for the purists with plenty of dropped ball in the greasy conditions but what it lacked in class, it certainly made up for in commitment from both teams.
With most of the 2006 premiership side watching on from the clubhouse, the Magpies were determined to put on a good show and that they did.
The win, however, was based on their defence which was nothing short of outstanding in the second half.
After a lack lustre opening to the game, the introduction of Chris Rawlinson out of dummy half saw the Magpies step up a gear and dominate the last 20 minutes of the first half to lead 16-4 at the break.
The Sharks scored first but tries to Josh Hall and Scott Naughton from kicks followed with James Rousell crashing over close to the posts to put the locals in command.
The second half was a real stop-start affair as both sides struggled to control the ball and a number of niggling incidents took place. The referee lost his patience at one stage sending a Sharks player to the sin bin only to be quickly followed by Magpies centre Jai Smith.
With the downhill run, the Sharks were camped on the Magpies’ line as Yass struggled to get out of their danger zone. I estimate that 75 per cent of the play was down the Yass end and this is where the team’s committed defence won them the game.
Belconnen finally cracked the defence at the 20 minute mark to reduce the margin to 14-8 and at this stage, looked to be coming home the stronger of the two sides.
But Yass was not about to roll over, and, ironically, it was the last player still playing from that 2006 side in Rawlinson that set Walker Park alight in the afternoon gloom. With the Sharks again looking dangerous, Rawlinson took the odds and snatched a well timed intercept to run 65 metres untouched for a try in the corner to extend the Magpies lead to 20-8.
With ten minutes remaining, the Sharks returned fire with a converted try to really bring the game to life at 20-14. Belconnen seemed to have all the ball and territory and it just seemed a matter of time before they crossed again.
The last ten minutes, however, was the best I have seen a Yass side defend for many, many years. Three times the Sharks seemed certain to score in the left hand corner and three times the Yass defence came to the rescue with some desperate defence to put the ball carrier over the sideline only centimetres short.
The diminutive Trent Gavenlock’s tackle on a much bigger opponent was nothing short of a miracle but epitomised the Magpies commitment.
In the end, it was a very happy Magpies side that greeted the fulltime siren and in a nice touch, went over to the clubhouse to sing their victory song with the 2006 players.
The forwards deserve a big wrap for their efforts with Hall, Kruse Robinson, Josh Newling and Ben Potts right in the thick of things while Jono Butt diffused many scoring opportunities out wide.
Rawlinson was also outstanding and would have been a very tired boy after backing up from a full game in reserve grade.
The Magpies have a bye this weekend before travelling across to Woden on July 2.
Yass Magpies 20 [Hall, Naughton, Rousell, Rawlinson Tries, Davis 2 Goals] def Belconnen Sharks 14.
SWOOP