A last-minute try was enough to see the Temora Dragons hold on to their top place on the Group 9 premiership ladder with a 24-20 win over the Wagga Kangaroos at Wagga’s GEOHEX Stadium on Sunday. The Dragons retain the lead on percentage from the Gundagai Tigers, who had to struggle in their 16-7 win over the last-placed Wagga Brothers at Anzac Park. Both teams scored four tries each, with the home team dominating the first half before Temora got their game together, running in three unanswered tries and, with halfback Jake McGovern converting all four tries in what was a “man of the match” performance, topped off by a magnificent 40-20 kick in the final minutes that led to the Dragons’ match-winning try. As has been the case in recent weeks, the Dragons had to make a number of changes prior to kick-off, with a number of players still on the injured list or unavailable, namely Brodie Foster, Jimmy Stewart, Grant Hughes and David White, along with Lachie Cole being rested and Jared McKinnon a late withdrawal. The changes saw Drew Robinson come in on the wing, Will McDermott in the centres and Josh McCrone filling in for Cole at No. 6, while Weissel Cup player Josh Haisell made his first-grade debut off the interchange bench. After their 70-4 “whitewash” result against the Kangaroos at Nixon Park in Round 4, an upset was on the cards when the Wagga team led 16-0 midway through the first half, but Temora were able to claw their way back into the game for the Kangaroos to have their lead cut to 12 by half-time. The Kangaroos got away to an ideal start, scoring two tries in the opening 10 minutes, with former Dragons winger Joel Kelly being on the end of a big overlap outside that saw him touch down in the corner after only six minutes. But James Smart's unsuccessful conversion left the Kangaroos leading 4-0. Only minutes later the Kangaroos went further ahead after hooker Angus Clarke charged through the forwards for a soft try. Smart converted and, with the Dragons back on their heels, they trailed 10-0. Midway through the half things were only getting worse for the Dragons, with some ordinary defence on their own tryline allowing the opposition to spread the ball wide with some quick passing for five-eighth Brayden O'Reilly to score. With Smart's second conversion the scoreboard read Kangaroos 16, Temora 0. Temora finally got on the scoreboard at the 23-minute mark when front-rower Tyler Madden was on the end of a great pass to crash over under the posts and, with Jake McGovern's successful conversion, it was Kangaroos 16, Temora 6. Temora got back to within a try with five minutes until the break after replacement hooker Yoan Veve put in a chip kick to the opposition's tryline where second-rower Billy Reardon gathered and crashed over, giving McGovern another easy conversion and reducing the deficit to 16-12 in favour of the home club. The second half was a tough encounter, with both teams looking to take control, and that continued until the 26th minute when the Roos' No. 7 was on the end of some quick ball movement that saw him touch down in a handy position, but he failed to convert, hitting the upright for an eight-point lead at 20-12. Minutes later, on the back of a Roos knock-on deep in their own half, Sam Burley was on hand to score after some quick play-the-ball and, with an easy conversion, Jake McGovern brought Temora back within two points with eight minutes to play. With only two minutes of play remaining came the play of the day, with Jake McGovern kicking a 60-metre 40-20 from deep in his own half. From the quick restart, and with the ball just metres out from the tryline, Will McDermott finished off some slick ball movement and McGovern added the extras as Temora pulled off a remarkable finish to a game that was always in doubt between two teams desperate for the competition points. While Jake McGovern was undoubtedly the Man of the Match, he had some great backing from Hamish Starr, Brandon Nima, Will McDermott, Billy Reardon, Sam Burley and Tyler Madden. Points in the game came from: Temora 24 Tries: T. Madden, S. Burley, B. Reardon, W. McDermott Goals: J. McGovern 4/4 Defeated Kangaroos 20 Tries: J. Kelly, B. O'Reilly, A. Clarke, J. Smart Goals: J. Smart 2/4 Penalties: Kangaroos 4, Temora 3 In the other Group Nine matches, Gundagai struggled to a 16-7 win over Wagga Brothers, Young defeated Tumut 36-14, Albury knocked Cootamundra out of the top five with a 20-8 victory, while the Junee Diesels stayed in contention by defeating South City 28-18 to move into fifth place. In the other games at GEOHEX Stadium on Sunday, the Dragons Reserve Grade side had to struggle to hold onto their place in the top five, hanging on to win 20-18 over the Kangaroos, while for the League Tag team it was a training run, recording a big 64-0 win over the struggling Kangaroos. The only disappointment for the Dragons was the Weissel Cup team being forced to forfeit against the fourth-placed Wagga club after a number of players made themselves unavailable. Next weekend there will be a general bye, with the annual Junee Schoolboys Carnival being held at Junee on Saturday and girls on Sunday, while at Wagga’s GEOHEX Stadium the NRL will be conducting their annual Magic Round for the NRL Women’s teams, with six games to be played over the three days. The following week the Dragons will host the Wagga Brothers on Saturday, 8 August, at Nixon Park, while Round 15 of Group Nine will see Temora play their last home game at Nixon Park, with the finals to start on the 29 and 30 August. Minor Grade Results Reserve Grade Temora 20 Tries: Y. Veve, N. Bett, R. Cain Goals: J. McKinnon 4 Defeated Kangaroos 18 Tries: T. Jones, K. Stanmore, M. Oliver Goals: T. Jones 3 Weissel Cup Kangaroos defeated on forfeit. League Tag Temora 64 Tries: Maisy McCrone (2), Molly McCrone (2), Matilda McCrone, Matilda Reardon (2), E. Perrot, M. Block, L. Block, A. Murphy, A. Haisell, S. Bowley Goals: Lilli Block (4), E. Perrot (2) Group 9 Rugby League – Round 13 Ladders First Grade Temora – 20 Gundagai – 20 Young – 17 Junee – 16 Cootamundra – 12 Kangaroos – 12 South City – 12 Albury – 10 Tumut – 6 Brothers – 5 Reserve Grade Albury – 26 Temora – 20 South City – 19 Kangaroos – 17 Gundagai – 12 Young – 8 Junee – 8 Brothers – 8 Cootamundra – 6 Tumut – 6 Weissel Cup South City – 24 Brothers – 22 Young – 19 Kangaroos – 19 Gundagai – 14 Tumut – 12 Albury – 8 Cootamundra – 5 Temora – 4 Junee – 3 Women's Tackle Brothers – 24 Junee – 22 South City – 22 Young – 16 Tumut – 13 Temora – 11 League Tag Brothers – 24 Temora – 22 Tumut – 20 Cootamundra – 19 Junee – 15 Albury – 14 Young – 8 Kangaroos – 6 Gundagai – 2 South City – 0
