The Goulburn Bulldogs' pursuit of the top spot on the ladder hit a stumbling block on Saturday when they fell to an 18-14 defeat against the Queanbeyan Kangaroos.
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Playing at the Roos' home ground, the Bulldogs were clearly rusty after three weeks without a game, and struggled to string together periods of possession.
Meanwhile, the Roos' determination was clear from the outset, and their bloody-minded pursuit of a victory over a member of the top four gave them the edge.
The performance from Goulburn, according to Bulldogs coach Adam Kyle, featured "plenty of rust".
"We knew coming in it would be a dogfight, and that's exactly what it was. We were probably a bit underdone, slow to start."
The biggest issue facing Goulburn at the moment is their inability to close out tight games.
The Bulldogs led for significant periods of the match against the Roos, but couldn't stop their opponents from scoring a late try to snatch the lead.
It was a similar story in their first two losses of the season, against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers in round four (24-18) and the West Belconnen Warriors in round six (38-22). Goulburn had chances to win both games, but could not withstand the late pressure.
"We've got a few question marks about when it gets tight, when we can shut the games out," Kyle said.
"We've got plenty to learn."
The answer to Goulburn's woes is simple in Kyle's mind: "Everyone doing their job and sticking to their role."
While it was not a strong performance from the Bulldogs, there were other contributing factors to their loss.
Some inconsistent and acrimonious refereeing saw decisions made by the umpires which left spectators from both camps shaking their heads.
On top of that, the Bulldogs also lost James Aubusson and Dillon Rota benched at half time with concussion and a hamstring complaint respectively.
In a rare spot of good news for Goulburn, Kyle said that neither injury was too serious, and that sitting them out of the second half of the game was precautionary.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs also expect to welcome back Liam Oakley, Ari Robens, and "possibly" Haydon Hodge, Kyle said, for their fixture against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers on Sunday June 30 at 2.15pm.
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