The weather held off and allowed for a free flowing game which in the end made it very hard for Bombala’s 12-man side to take on Broulee which had a full 15, plus  a full bench.

Bombala received the kick off and were very positive with the ball and made some good metres up the field. 

However, a penalty to Broulee saw the pressure released and allowed the Dolphins to clear the danger with a kick to the side line.

Some good work from our only four backs, Chris Anderson, William Beale, Kincaid Lunn and Hugh Stephen meant Broulee were getting frustrated early on.

With 10 minutes gone the Dolphins were finally able to hold onto the ball and score out wide, converting, and taking the score to 7-0.

But Bombala were right back at Broulee.

Some strong runs from the front rowers club of Joel Cherry, Haywood Fraser and Vin Papalii were proving too much for the Broulee forwards.

From this platform Haywood Fraser had a bullocking run dragging numerous defenders to score to the right of the posts, which was converted by Dane Cottrell – bringing the score to 7 a piece.

The next 10 minutes of the first half were all about territory for both teams, Broulee were struggling to find their rhythm and Bombala’s defence was causing some real frustrations even being short.

With the Broulee back line throwing rushed passes which were not sticking Bombala were able to kick and relieve the pressure.

It wasn’t long before the break and the frantic pace at which the Bluetongues were having to play took its toll. 

Debutant Steve Bonnett, playing in the second row, had to leave the field with a calf injury, leaving the Bluetongues with 11 players on the field.

It turned out to be a telling blow, with Broulee finally setting up a nice series of forward runners, drawing in the defence which saw the ball head wide to several unopposed backs to score under the posts, converted 14-7 to Broulee.

Again Bombala lifted and were able to get hands on the ball and create a turnover. 

With the defence at sixes and sevens, Dane was able to dart through the ruck and score, which he converted 14-14.

The halftime whistle blew which was a much needed break for the Bombala Boys.

Coach Vin Papalii praised the boys efforts at the break and asked the boys to “lift for the final 40 minutes, keep up the good talk in defence and slow the ball down when we have it.”

After kick-off, Broulee were first to score, by again going wide and finding plenty of room to send their two wingers down the sidelines. 

Two quick trys, both of which were converted, sent the Dolphins to a 28-14 lead.

Bombala’s talk was extremely positive and they were not giving Broulee ground up the middle, which was forcing the Dolphins to go wide to get points, an effort the Bluetongues should be proud of. 

The Bluetongues weren’t done, and if the Bluetongues had a full side Broulee would have been in serious trouble. 

Broulee’s defence splintered and leading from the front Vin Papalii crashed over which was converted by Ross Page – score 28-21.

Unfortunately this turned out to be Bombala’s last points for the game, and with Dane Cottrell having to leave the field with a shoulder injury the 10-man Bluetongues were out on their feet.

In the last 20 minutes Broulee ran away with the game scoring five unanswered trys, three of which were converted leaving the final score 59-21 to the home team.

After the game coach Vin Papalii said: “I’m really impressed with the effort from the boys who turned up, they didn’t give up for the full 80 minutes and that showed in the score, with only 10 players on the field at the end the score could have been a lot higher.”

Points for the game were as follows:

3 points to Slade Newton playing in jersey 15 (HJ Brown Constructions), was everywhere in the game both in attack and defence.

2 points to Haywood Fraser playing in jersey 8 (Village Ford) who was solid and led from the front and was positive all day.

1 point was shared between William Beale jersey 12 (Jamie’s Bobcats) and Matt Gould jersey 6 (Dungaree Past Co) both gave everything on the day.

Players Player went to a Broulee local Junior rugby player who was keen for a game Aaron who playing on our wing had a big game and in particular was very strong in defence. Thanks to Aaron.

Commitment Cup went to Kincaid “KC” Lunn who against doctors orders played to help out and had a great game defending against a constant stream of Broulee backs.

A special thanks from the Bluetongues on the day to B J Papalii who was our man on the sideline, keeping us hydrated and strapped up all game, thanks mate.

The Bluetongues are on the road again this weekend, travelling to Batemans Bay to take on the top on the table Boars at Hanging Rock with a 1.30pm start. 

The Bluetongues wish to thank their sponsors.