Blowes Cup: Bathurst Bulldogs secure top three finish with win over Forbes Platypi

Bulldogs claimed their third win in as many games over the Platypi with their 28-19 win, which was the biggest winning margin for the Bathurst men out of all the meetings with Forbes in 2021.

The two clubs continued their trend of producing close results, although it wasn't looking like it was going to be that way at one point.

Bulldogs produced some superb football on either side of half-time to run out to a 21-7 lead.

Forbes hit back to put the Bulldogs under pressure, using their dominance at the set piece to keep the Bathurst men on their toes, but the hosts pulled through for a crucial success.

The win keeps Bulldogs third and puts them nine points clear of Forbes with one round remaining.

Bulldogs' Peter Fitzsimmons said the Platypi strength in the scrum was a major hurdle to try and overcome but his team did an excellent job.

"We had to fight for it. They had some dominance in the scrum and had us on the back foot at times on the set piece. In the lineout we looked okay, but we had to fight hard in the scrums and try to dominate everywhere else," he said.

"That's the area where they've been a force, especially with Heamani Levaka coaching them. I just think that the fast pace of our ruck and the hard work we've put in to keep control in our gameplay is what got us the win.

"A few silly things from us allowed them to get deep in our half later in the game so there's a couple of spots in the game where our intensity dropped, and we had to fight to get that back.

"We can't afford to be doing that over the next few weeks."

If current competition leaders Orange Emus can defeat Cowra Eagles in next week's top-of-the-table matchup, and Bulldogs overcome Orange City next week, then the Bathurst side will finish the regular season in second.

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