Though CSU did as expected and won its Woodbridge Cup match against a struggling Cargo side 34-18, the Blue Heelers made the Mungoes work hard for that win.

Despite having just 12 players on the field a number of times during the clash, losing Isaac Coldwell to a broken nose and having Blake Cramer battle a hand injury and asthma, Cargo stuck it to the hosts.

CSU only managed one try in the first half and with 25 minutes to go Cargo was a chance of an upset as it trailed 18-12.

It took a piece of individual brilliance from five-eighth Joe Coady - he sprinted 35 metres to score - to spark the Mungoes back into action.

CSU went on to post its fourth win of the season and climb to sixth on the ladder.

"It was good to get the win, it probably wasn't as good as it could've been, but we still got it," CSU captain Finlay Grabham said.

"We worked on a fair bit during the week, we wanted to change our structure up a fair bit, just go to certain points and things like that to be more competitive in this comp and I felt like we did that today a fair bit."

Cargo began the match at Diggings Oval with just the bare 13, but did well to match CSU in the opening exchanges.

While CSU had a try to fullback Andrew Bennett disallowed due to a forward pass in the third minute, Cargo five-eighth Dan Madden then showed he would be a threat when creating space down the left edge.

The two forward packs went at each other, CSU lock Rylee Lew putting a crunching hit on Cargo's Nathanial Davis while Will Middleton made plenty of hard yards for the Blue Heelers.

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Both winger Tom Bray and fullback Duncan Young came up with big defensive plays to deny prolific CSU try scorer Blake Schaefer, but in the 23^rd minute the Mungoes finally got on the board.

It was the vision and rapid acceleration of Coady that did it, the talented playmaker then converting his own try.

CSU was dealt a blow five minutes out from half-time when Bennett was sin-binned for a professional foul, but his actions in denying Cargo a quick play the ball almost certainly prevented a try.

In the second half the arm-wrestle continued.

CSU zipped out to an 18-0 lead as Zac Hunt crossed twice in the space of five minutes, his first coming after a charge down.

But Cargo rallied as Madden crossed then late arrival Bailey Skelton - playing his first match in two years - burrowed over. That made it 18-12.

Coady's brilliant 35-metre effort came five minutes later and though Madden nabbed his second for Cargo, the Mungoes finished the match strongly.

Latu sprinted away down the right edge to score with seven minutes left and in the final minute CSU laid on another.

Bennett charged hard from the back, put Hunt into a gap and the second rower then found Schaefer in support. He ran 40 metres to score.

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