Junee’s Lock Mika Goudemand Crashes over for the Diesels second try.
The familiar roar of the faithful echoed around Laurie Daley Oval, a symphony of blue and gold as the Junee Diesels ran onto their hallowed turf. The mild winter air carried the scent of freshly cut grass and the palpable anticipation of a hard-fought Group 9 contest against the Southcity Bulls. This was their home, their fortress, and the Diesels were ready to defend it.
From the first whistle, Junee played with a fierce, undeniable passion. Every tackle was driven home, every carry met with an extra metre of effort. The Diesels’ forward pack, a bruising unit, laid a formidable platform, driving deep into the Bulls’ territory. The energy was infectious, and it wasn’t long before Junee found their rhythm, building pressure and converting it into points. The crowd erupted, a collective belief surging through the stands – today was their day. They fought tooth and nail, matching the Bulls’ every move, often appearing to have the upper hand in the early exchanges.
But rugby league, cruel mistress that she is, often turns on the smallest of margins. Southcity, opportunistic and resilient, found its moments. A quick shift, a fortunate bounce, or a penalty at a crucial juncture seemed to tip the scales just enough. A contentious call here, and a moment of individual brilliance there from the Bulls saw them gain a foothold, slowly chipping away at Junee’s hard-earned advantage. That crucial field goal in the dying stages felt like a dagger, twisting the knife in what had been such a tightly contested affair. Despite Junee’s relentless defence and spirited attacking raids, the scoreboard stubbornly reflected a 19-12 lead to the visitors as the clock wound down.
As the final whistle pierced the air, a collective sigh swept through Laurie Daley Oval. The Southcity Bulls had stolen a narrow 19-12 victory. For the Junee Diesels, it was a bitter pill to swallow. They had given their all, pouring every ounce of effort into the contest, and the scoreboard simply didn’t reflect the intensity and determination they showed. The narrow margin, particularly with that late field goal, was a stark reminder of how fine the line between victory and defeat truly is. While the loss stings, especially at home, the Diesels can take solace in the fight they displayed. It was a performance that, despite the result, proved they could match it with tough opposition. It’s a tough lesson, but one the Diesels will undoubtedly learn from, fuelling their resolve to turn these narrow defeats into crucial victories as they continue their climb up the Group 9 ladder. Laurie Daley Oval might have been quieted, but the spirit of the Diesels remains unbroken.
Coach Ben Shea was disappointed with the result, “A bit similar to last week. Same story, played well in patches but didn’t take our opportunities. They played well and probably deserved the two points.
“I re-watched the game the same night and jotted down some notes. In the first half we completed at 80% and I’m pretty sure they didn’t make their first legitimate unforced error until the 39th minute, they were playing mistake-free footy in the first half and completed well.
“The biggest disappointment yesterday was the hit it took to our finals chances, where, if you had that loss in round five or six you’d probably be happy with it and would have a lot of positives to take out of it, it’s just that we are at the pointy end of the season now so it makes it a bit harder when we don’t have too many games up our sleeve.
“In general, the boys have been working so hard and have been improving each game, training has been so good, it would have been kind of good to get the win on the weekend and then we’ve got Brothers next weekend then to a bye so hopefully we would have got two wins going into a bye, but not to be. I think the main thing is six games to go, anything can happen, and we have to play every game from here on as if it is our last.
“There’s always obviously one or two missing, we were pretty close to full strength. That’s why it was a bit of a disappointing result, where we’d had like Mika (Goudemand) and Chase (Bernard) for one full week of training and we had some other boys doing great work with the football. I thought it was a pretty high-quality game, especially that first half. To South City’s credit, they matched us and bested us.
“Across the board the efforts were good. I thought Mika again in his second game he played 80 minutes again in the middle. I think he would have made over 40 tackles, distributed the ball well and taken a lot of carries, and I thought our two centres were good, Ratu (Saurara) and Dredin (Sorensen) and several middles, Jaydyn Hoeta came off and bench, he was good. Chase, Dan Foley. I said, there was a lot of good effort because it was a high-quality game, it’s just probably a couple of things that go our way and we didn’t ice them.”
Southcity Bulls (19) tries Maleke Morris, Kyle McCarthy, Joe Graham def Junee Diesels (12), Ratu Saurara and Mickaël Goudemand. Conversions South City Josh Siegwalt 3/3. Junee Dredin Sorensen 1/2, 1/1 penalty goals.
Tully Potts SWST Sports Editor
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