A STRONG opening quarter proved decisive for the Bathurst Bulldogs on Saturday as they beat Orange Emus 26-19 and kept their perfect record in the 2019 Ferguson Cup intact.
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Bulldogs starved Emus of the ball in that opening 10 minutes at Ashwood Park and their weight of possession told as they zipped out to a 14-0 lead.
As Emus began to see more of the ball, the gap between the pair closed to five points, but that is as close as the visitors got.
"I was nervous, when it got to 19-14, I thought 'Oh geeze, it's going to go to the wire this one'. But I am happy that the girls really lifted," Bulldogs coach Tuma Aisake said.
"After our last game against Mudgee I said to the girls they had to lift. They have been training really well. Matt [Waterford] and Marita [Shoulders] just get the girls together and get them working really good, their experience helps."
Emus assistant coach Jeremy Reay was proud of the way his side fought their way back into the contest - one which used a 12-on-12 format - but conceded Bulldogs' strong start was the difference.
"They were very slow at the start, but when we stared to get our game to how we can actually play, started to bring a bit of intensity into it, you could see what we could do," he said.
"We had no ball at the start and you can't score without the ball. But as soon as we got the ball, we'll you could see what happens, we scored.
"I guess it shows they [Bulldogs] are the top team, but it gives us something to work for. We can beat them we know we can."
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Both Bulldogs and Emus headed into the match undefeated so far this season and as the game unfolded it was easy to see why.
The rivals pulled off some brutal hits in defence, strung together phases, pilfered at the breakdown, offloaded under pressure and threw some impressive cut-out passes.
The first quarter Bulldogs flexed their muscle as they controlled possession. The first try came as Jakiya Whitfeld took a quick tap from a penalty just outside her 22, fended off a rival and ran away to score.
While Bulldogs prop Haylee Lepaio made a number of aggressive charges, it was piece of aggressive work from a winger which led to the next try.
Kirsten Howard pulled off a brilliant one-on-one tackle as Emus looked for space on the fringe. That player was then penalised for not releasing and once again a quick penalty tap from Whitfeld caught her rivals napping.
That made it 14-0 at the first break and while Emus lifted, yet another Whitfeld quick penalty tap caught them out on the stroke of half-time.
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It was representative talent Jacky Lyden who finally got Emus' opening try with a pick and drive in the last play of the third quarter, and when a burst of Lailee Phillips speed led to another three minutes later, Bulldogs were under pressure at 19-14.
It took a miscued Kate Gullifer kick which Emus subsequently knocked-on to swing momentum back Bathurst's way with just under four minutes remaining. Whitfeld swooped on the lose ball and ran away to score under the sticks.
Gullifer converted to make it 26-14, with Emus grabbing a consolation try after the siren via veteran Amanda Ferguson.
"As I said to our girls, you've got to give them respect. If there's no respect you are going to get belted. But we did show them respect," Aisake said.
"Haylee Lepaio - woah - Tiffany [Holland] and Jakiya they just showed their experience."
