The Gunnedah Bulldogs assured themselves of a top-four finish in the Group 4 rugby league first grade competition, as they recorded a come-from-behind 36-24 win against the North Tamworth Bears at Kitchener Park last Sunday.
Gunnedah remained second on the competition ladder with one round remaining before the finals, while a finals berth became out of reach for the fifth-placed Bears.
Moree, Gunnedah, Werris Creek and Boggabri are now certain to contest the finals series, although the order of the teams and the week one finals schedule are yet to be finalised.
Gunnedah’s top-four chances would have been shaky had the Bulldogs lost last Sunday, and it wasn’t until the final two minutes that they were safe.
After the Bulldogs led 12-0 and ultimately lost 20-16 to the Bears on Tamworth soil back on June 15, it was the Bears’ turn to squander a 12-0 lead in an error-prone game last Sunday.
The opening kick-off from Gunnedah went out on the full, before both teams turned the ball over in the first couple of sets.
Norths forced a repeat set and then struck on the last tackle, as prop Ethan Pallot went through a yawning gap to score while the defending team probably expected a kick.
The Bulldogs received a penalty but then committed two indiscretions, and Norths profited as Liam Ball made a sniping run close to the tryline and then touched down.
The Bears led 12-0 in the 14th minute but erred from the restart, and Gunnedah began its fightback. In the attacking zone, Callum Hayne veered right and fed Ezra Gibson who took on the defence and scored in a last-ditch tackle under the crossbar.
Gunnedah’s Sam Taylor sent a clearing kick out on the full before Norths applied pressure, but the Bulldogs survived. Following back-to-back penalties, Gunnedah’s Wil Patterson was held up over the tryline.
After a handling error from the Bears, the Bulldogs levelled the scores with a converted try from the scrum. Taylor and Gibson combined with Dylan Lake who made a break and linked with Mckye Tucknott who scored the try.
Norths replacement Voniani Nauli was banished to the sin bin for a high shot, before a forward pass from Gunnedah was pulled up.
From a scrum, the Bulldogs produced another set play but a certain try was bombed as Jared Heinrich flew over in the right corner and failed to ground the ball. This mistake was exacerbated moments later as Gunnedah’s Ryley Mackay was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, leaving both teams down a player for several minutes.
After Gunnedah had butchered the chance to lead 16-12 or 18-12, Norths wasted the opportunity to lead 14-12 at half-time as a 30-metre penalty goal attempt drifted wide.
It took less than a minute of play in the second stanza for the hosts to break the deadlock, as Callum Hayne made a good run before Sunia Naruma sent Tucknott dashing away to score in a last-gasp tackle.
Moments later the Bulldogs suddenly led 24-12, after Gibson found open space and scored a brilliant individual try as he bamboozled his opposite number.
The pendulum quickly changed as Lake fumbled in a play-the-ball, and soon Norths lock Mitch Sheridan scored from acting-half just one metre out.
With Mackay back on the field, the Bears quickly made an error and paid the price as Bulldogs veteran Trent Hilton surged for the tryline in a tackle to score a converted try.
Gunnedah blundered again, and then Ball broke through for another converted try.
With the hosts leading 30-24 in the 57th minute, a winner was impossible to pick while it appeared that both teams could tally 40 points.
The Bears threatened to equalise but they were denied, before Naruma took a vital intercept when the Bulldogs again found themselves under pressure.
The Bears received a piggyback penalty but then gave away a foolish penalty in possession, and then another forward pass from the Bulldogs was detected.
Norths forced a repeat set, but Gunnedah regained possession from a short goal-line drop-out before receiving a couple of niggling penalties.
Tucknott registered a hat-trick of tries as he made a sneaky run from acting-half, and the margin was back out to 12 points with just under eight minutes left.
Norths nearly scored from a grubber-kick with five minutes left, but a fumble in-goal all but ensured the Bears would not catch up.
In reserve grade, Gunnedah scored eight tries to three in a 42-12 victory while a finals berth was out of reach for both sides.
In the U18s, the third-placed Norths won 34-10 after scoring six tries to two against the fourth-placed Gunnedah. The result was overshadowed by a serious injury to Gunnedah’s Tyler Rogers late in the game, with an ambulance required.
Rogers was in the thoughts of his teammates as they prepare for their upcoming finals campaign, following a bye this weekend.
