It was a great day with favourable weather to bring out the loyal supporters of both sides as well as many former players and their families.

As Goulburn coach Ben Pearson predicted, the anniversary weekend brought players out of the woodwork, willing to strap on their boots for a game. This was the first time this season that players didn’t have to double up in the second’s game.

“I am hoping the enthusiasm shown by the players will translate to more taking the field on a regular basis,” Pearson said. “We had been struggling with numbers, particularly for away games this season, which has affected our ability to post wins.”

Amongst the spectators on Saturday was Simon Poidevin, who has always taken a keen interest in the club and done much to help with fundraising for club facilities. At the anniversary dinner on Saturday night, he was made a life member of the Goulburn Dirty Reds.

The two games against Young were particularly enjoyable, not just because of the double win, but also by the way in which both teams approached the play. It was good, hard rugby, and the second grade game finished with a fairly close 27 to 21 win by Goulburn.

The first grade score was much different perhaps because Young had several players doubling up. Goulburn dominated play throughout almost the entire game resulting in a 59 to 5 win.

At one stage, Goulburn’s scoring average was around a point a minute. The Yabbies managed to cross the line about mid way through the first half. Their try, which was scored out wide, went unconverted and at half time the score favoured Goulburn 35 to 5.

It took Goulburn a little while to add more points after the break as the Yabbies showed a fair amount of resolve to limit the Dirty Reds’ scoring.

A notable feature of the games was was the lack of bad blood play and off-the-ball incidents. This was similar to last year’s reunion day games against Young where good sportsmanship featured. 

The Yabbies won this year’s after-match boat race.