Crucial mistakes and a number of controversial refereeing decisions have seen the Cootamundra Bulldogs slump to their fourth consecutive loss of the season.
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The home side were outscored eight tries to three by Brothers Wagga, who ran out 42-16 victors, however the Bulldogs were left seething by a number of first-half penalties that robbed them of momentum at key moments.
The Dogs looked to have turned their fortunes around after an early linebreak from Patrick Cameron almost found the whitewash.
However, the winless Brothers outfit were just as hungry for points and registered the first try of the day with a cracking score down the left wing in the 20th minute.
The visitors continued to press their advantage and were rewarded with a Matthew O’Neill try only minutes later, Harold Kirby converting to take the scores to 10-0.
Things were looking grim for the Bulldogs after multiple penalties and a 40/20 gave Brothers field position, however dogged defence saw the home side through and into Brothers territory..
With 10 minutes to play in the first half, Jack Hogan opened the Dogs account with a fine finish in the right corner before another Brothers try saw the visitors take a 16-4 lead into the sheds.
The halftime break brought little improvement from the home side, with early mistakes costing the Dogs dearly after Brothers centre Edward Ansell scored against the run of play to spark a four-try blitz from the visitors.
Tries to Kirby, Cade Price and Zachary Wilson took the wind out of the Bulldogs’ sails as they found themselves 32 points adrift with 25 minutes to play.
Strong words from the sideline stiffened up the Dogs defence and pressure finally converted to points after captain Aaron Byrne touched down for a well-earned try to narrow the gap to 36-10.
A scrappy final stanza marred by send-offs and the referee’s whistle saw neither side gain real ascendancy, however a length-of-the-field try to Brother’s Liam Carey saw the visitors skip further ahead.
The Bulldogs had the final say with a barnstorming try to Jason Cronin, but the side will take little consolation after being consigned to the bottom of the Group Nine ladder.
Coach Warren Lloyd could hardly fault his team’s effort but stated improvements have to be made.
“You can’t just (lose all the 50/50 calls) and that seems to be happening every week,” Lloyd said.
“It’s no excuse and we’re not scoring enough points, but getting those 50/50 calls keep the boys in the game.
“It’s no secret that we haven’t got the biggest pack but the boys have got serious heart and I’ll never fault their effort.”
