VETERAN Mick Dodson stormed home to seal victory for the Workers Bulldogs against Junee in an emphatic man of the match performance on his old stomping ground.
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The Bulldogs forward crashed his way to the try line with two and a half minutes left to seal the win for Goulburn 12-6 over mallee team Junee in the final of the West Wyalong knockout tournament held over the weekend.
It was an ideal result for the man known locally as the ‘Mayor of Euabalong’ with his parents watching on in the stands.
“I had actually woken up crook on the Saturday with a bit of a virus. So in the early games I just did what I had to do,” he said.
“Luckily I felt a little bit fresher in the grand-final. Everyone knows me around there anyway so they might have been a little bit biased in giving me the man of the match!”
The Bulldogs won all their games in the tournament that saw teams from across the region and the ACT.
They had beaten Wagga Brothers in their first game 16-0 on Friday night, before defeating Wagga South City 10-0 the following night.
They then beat home team West Wyalong 10-6, and finally Junee 12-6 in the grand-final. “It couldn’t have gone any better,” Dodson said.
“They were good tough games, but we were just a lot quicker. It was fast footy, up tempo footy. Those young guys couldn’t buy that experience.”
“Our defence was unbelievable. I think we only let in two tries all tournament and they were off the back of kicks.” But it wasn’t all footy.
The aim of the weekend had been team bonding, and the team had camped at Dodson’s home town of Euabalong on the Friday night.
The team even managed to get some farm work done on the Dodson property, rustling up a few pigs.
Coach Mick Picker said he was pleased with the result, in particular their quick play and solid defence.
He said he was heartened by his young players.
“Players like Dom Stevenson, Chris Hart and Tyson Greenwood I knew would put on a good show,’ Picker said.
“Tyson is really making a name for himself. I’ll be looking at him to make a few games in first grade this year. I thought last year he was a bit too young, but he’s old enough now and I want to blood him.
“It’s healthy (to have the younger guys step up). It goes to show that no one is really protected.
This is the year for the young blokes to come up and push for a few spots.”
The Bulldogs have their next pre-season trial just over a week’s time on Friday March 14 against the West Belconnen Warriors in Canberra.
