Comment by Bert Powell
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The Mollymook Golf Club Under 18s played their first away game against Shellharbour Stingrays on Saturday and had a morale boosting win.
Coach Paul Love was full of compliments for his young charges and is confident the lads will do well.
On Sunday, at the Noel Mulligan Oval, the Hanson Cement Group Reserve Grade Bulldogs had a decisive win, and the Milton-Ulladulla ExServos First Grade went down to the Port Kembla Blacks.
Conditions were very soggy and the ground slippery.
All players are to be congratulated on their efforts and both coaches came away with confidence for the games ahead.
Special mention is made to the strapper, the trainers and all of the other helpers who never fail to turn up and provide assistance to the teams.
Thanks also to the supporters who braved the conditions to support their teams.
Spare a thought as well for those who have the task of washing the jumpers.
Next Saturday will see the clash with the Gerringong Lions at Michael Cronin Oval, when the Firsts, Reserves and Under 18s will do battle, the first game will begin at 11.45am.
Come along and support the teams.
Sunday will be the season opener for the WLT who play Warilla-Lake South at Cec Glenhomes Oval.
Don’t forget our Past Players day on Easter Saturday at Bill Andriske Mollymook Oval.
We play Jamberoo Superoos in all grades, as well as WLT, with the first game commencing at 10.35am. It should be a super day and there will be a function at the oval after the game.
There have been 1,092 players who have pulled on a Bulldogs jumper since 1969 so, if you are one of them and can make it, please come along and enjoy the day, which will be full of memories of days gone by and will also be a chance to catch up.
The ExServos Club First Grade side travelled to Port Kembla expecting to see an improved Port side, and that’s exactly what the Bulldogs met.
Played in atrocious conditions of mud and rain, it was a hard slog for the Dogs first hit out of the year and, with most of the players, it was their first serious run together.
Jamie Wills, the young local prop, made his First Grade debut and it also saw the return of Nic Goodman, Blake Sommerville and Mitch Simmington, who all showed glimpses of brilliance but sadly it was not enough for the side to come away with a victory.
The first half of the game was a ‘dropathon’, as the conditions had an effect on the handling from both sides. The Bulldogs couldn’t lift their feet on a field rated a heavy 10 and, the mud runners from Port, found the conditions to their liking and took a 12-6 lead into half time.
The Dogs lost Brian Travers early with a head knock, which took a toll on the smaller Dogs’ pack, as it left them short of troops in such a taxing affair.
Thomas Cook, in the custodial fullback position, scored the only try for the Dogs in the first half and showed pure speed and step to slide over. Luke Young converted, to bring the Bulldogs six points for the first half.
Whatever coach Ross Warburton had said at half time to the team, it had some effect, as the Dogs played with a lot more purpose. However, it couldn’t stop a try against the run of play, for Port Kembla to skip away to an 18-6 lead.
If a fight back was to happen it needed to start straight away.
The game turned into an arm wrestle and the vocal home crowd willed their side to an unlikely victory.
Hayden Naylor, Adam Bliss and Luke Young were starting to make inroads into a tiring Port defence and the momentum was starting to swing the Bulldogs way.
A smart bit of thinking from the hard working Gary Warburton saw him score next to the post.
Moments later Blake Sommerville, who was proving a handful when he got his hands on the ball, scored under the post and, with Luke’s conversion, the Bulldogs had the game all tied up 18-18.
It was looking like an unlikely Dogs victory but, with the game slowed down to a walk, a late penalty goal from long range handed Port an upset victory.
The Bulldogs were best served by Jamie Willis (with a man of the match performance on debut), Tom Cook and Mitch Simmington (who both looked dangerous with the ball), Luke Young and captain Gary Warburton, who never stopped trying to the end.
The Hansen Cement Group sponsored Reserve Grade started their season well with a strong 38-18 win over Port Kembla on Sunday at a wet Noel Mulligan Oval.
Milton were on the board within minutes with good ball movement seeing Jesse Pieker score in the corner. Jesse converted his own try for a 6-0 lead.
Soon after Milton were looking good but had an apparent try called back for a forward pass however at the ten minute mark the were rewarded for their effort with Jimmy Little running a great hole close to the line to take the score to 10-0.
The Bulldogs had good control of the match and a third try follow 6 minutes later with quick hands seeing Webby score down the wing taking the score to 16-0.
The final ten minutes saw Port Kembla win a run of penalties which allowed them to regain some control and with the half closing out they snuck over for a try of their own to take the half time score to 16-6.
The second half started in similar fashion with Port having a rash of possession and this saw them gain control and post another converted try bring the score line to 16-12.
From here Milton rallied showing good composure to wear down their opponents and regain dominance. Some great team tries were scored by Will Ray, Scott Webb and Tim Cooper with the Bulldogs showing some great ball movement despite the conditions.
The score went out to 30-12 before Port Kembla grabbed a simple try from close to the Milton goal line to take the score to 30-18.
Milton final points came with approx. 5 minutes to go with another backline movement ending with a try in the corner.
Final score 38-18.
Player points on the day went to Scott Webb and Paul Ardler 3, Jayde Tooth and Tommy Ray 2 and Jesse Peiker 1.
Coach Owen Dredge advised he was very pleased with their first hit out with everyone playing well.