FOR the second time in as many weeks the Dirty Reds discovered a way to win a game they would have last year lost.
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Winger Luke Shaw touched down in the dying minutes on Saturday to give the Reds a 31-25 bonus point win over old sparring-partners Yass.
The outcome left new coach Dave Anable singing his teams praises and admiring his outfit’s position at the top of the Monaro Cup ladder.
“The tenacity of the guys is getting us through,” Anable said yesterday.
“We were on the wrong side of the penalty count, but we still found a way to get the job done”
Anable concedes his team needs plenty of work. Fortunately, there’s ample time to iron out any deficiencies and lay a platform for a tilt at the Monaro Cup, a piece of silverware they claimed for three years straight from 2007 to 2009.
Hooker James Rowlands starred for the hosts, as did Simon Hegarty, new five-eighth Curtis Flood and backrower Ben Green. Spectators feared the worst when the visitors roared to the front with 10 minutes left to tick over.
The home side kept its composure and timed its run to perfection. Shaw crossed the stripe with two minutes left, elevating the Dirty Reds back into the lead. It was a position they didn’t relinquish.
Anable is thrilled with the winning attitude his team is beginning to develop. Last season the Reds butchered leads on a regular basis and lacked the killer instinct to close out tight matches. That doesn’t appear to be a problem this time around.
The Reds’ six point win over Yass complements a gritty 17-10 first up victory over the Hall Bushrangers, a team expected to challenge for the title in September.
“Our plans and structures are working,” Anable said.
“We’ve just got to tighten up our defence and work on our discipline. It’s the second week we’ve been on the wrong side of the penalty count, we can’t allow that to continue.”
Many of Goulburn’s infringements came around the ruck and prompted the coach to demand better of his players.
Nevertheless, the men in maroon remain unbeaten through two weeks and aim to keep that status in check when they tackle ADFA in the national capital this Saturday.
Their discipline needs to be at new high, as the defence force boasts a mean goal kicker.
“We’ve got to be on our game. Yass scored five tries to two against ADFA and still got beaten,” Anable said.
“Our discipline needs to be good or we’ll pay the price.”