The Goulburn Bulldogs were on the back foot before the CRRL First Grade grand final even began.
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Star recruit and halfback Mitch Cornish was ruled out of their 34-14 loss to the Queanbeyan Blues on Sunday, September 8 at Seiffert Oval after undergoing throat surgery earlier in the week due a knock copped in the Bulldogs' preliminary final.
More heartbreak: League Tag side bows out too
Bulldogs coach Adam Kyle said it was a good performance given the circumstances.
"When you take your best player out of your side, it's always going to be a fight, but I thought we fought really well and it was a really brave performance," Kyle said.
"However, with the amount of ball we had, we needed to put a few more tries away."
The Blues were up 14-10 at half time, but after conceding the lead early in the second half, they went on to win with four unanswered tries.
Although the loss did hurt, Kyle still had many highlights throughout the season.
"It's never good losing a grand final and it's been a while since the club's won one, but it's time to celebrate a really strong season for us as well," he said.
"The Club Championship for us was a really good result.
"We won the West Wyalong Knockout and won multiple awards across multiple players as well."
The away crowd did everything they could to lift their side, but even though it was to no avail, Kyle was still appreciative of the support.
"We had the best support here today," he said.
"Our boys were absolutely buzzing and it would be great to get the same amount [of people] coming out each week for our home games.
"We'll be back at it again next year."
Earlier in the day, the Bulldogs League Tag u19s side both went down in their grand finals as well, but club president Joe Stephens said it was still a great effort.
"It wasn't Goulburn's day in all grades, but it's been a fantastic effort from the club to come from where we were last year," Stephens said.
"I hope everyone gains self belief today and know they can compete at a high level."
The Goulburn Bulldogs have a presentation night on Saturday, September 14 to wrap up the season.
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