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| Dirty Reds captain and co-coach Mikael Webber holds aloft the ACT 1st division 1st grade trophy. |
It was a story sixty years in the making when the Goulburn Dirty Reds won their first ever premiership in a full ACT competition, defeating favourites Gungahlin in a nail-biting 18-17 victory.
Trailing by six points with around five minutes on the clock, scrum half and man of the match Jackson Reardon broke through the Gungahlin line for the match sealing try which, when converted by Mikael Webber, gave the Reds the slender one-point lead.
With just minutes remaining, Gungahlin threw the kitchen sink at the Reds, camped just metres out from the Goulburn try-line, but Goulburn’s resolute defence held the determined Eagles out for the final whistle and the historic win.
Webber, who has played in six premiership-winning Goulburn sides, rated this among the best of them.
“That was by far the toughest game we’ve had all year and one of the toughest ever,” Webber said.
“To come from where we were, just scrape into third and finish like that, it’s really good to be a part of.”
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| Boyd Newby darted across for a try that put the Reds up 11-5 midway through the second half. |
While the premiership marked a “threepeat” for the club (three back to back premierships), it seemed anything but likely throughout the season.
In the previous two seasons the Dirty Reds had rolled through the old Monaro competition like a behemoth, knocking over oppositions and with record scores consistently.
But from the very beginning of season 2016 it was clear this year they’d be underdogs.
In the first round, as luck would have it on the very same Vikings Park, the club could only scrape together 19 players to play two full games of rugby against Tuggeranong with most players backing up.
Player departures and retirements had depleted player numbers significantly in the off season and then a horror mid-season injury toll to that ruled out key players like Webber, Boyd Newby and Wayde Elford among others again required many players to back up week in, week out.
Then, having made the semis, the Reds faced three weeks of sudden death knockouts, the last of those against minor premiers Gungahlin.
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| Life Member Terry Tilden, flanked by Boyd Newby (left) and Mikael WSebber (right) had waited sixty seasons, from playing in the very first game for Goulburn’s inaugural team in an ACT competition in 1957, to see a Goulburn ACT premiership. |
But digging deep, the Reds pulled out all stops for a gutsy, disciplined effort and the club’s first ever premiership in a full ACT competition.
The Reds started the match with a serious concussion to rangy front rower Sam Tabner that pulled up play for five minutes.
Although rattled by the injury, the Reds set to the job at hand and put together a six-nil lead from two Webber penalty goals, before Gungahlin narrowed the lead to one point with a try just before half time.
A try to Boyd Newby pushed Goulburn ahead 11-5 but Gungahlin responded in kind to be 11-10 down midway through the second half.
Attacking the Eagles line, Webber threw a rare misjudged pass that was intercepted by Gungahlin for a length of the field try against the run of play.
When converted, Gungahlin went in front (17-11) for the first time in the match with just 10 minutes remaining in play, before Reardon’s try and Webber’s conversion sealed the result.
