It was party time at Rankins Springs over the weekend after the Dragons were able to secure an unlikely premiership after picking up a two-point win over the undefeated minor premiers Goolgowi on Saturday.
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The thought of reaching a grand final seemed out of reach after the Dragons started the season with three straight defeats before roaring into life with a 50-20 win over Narrandera.
They picked up three straight wins from that point to finish the regular season in fourth and, after a nail-biter, secured a place in the preliminary final after a golden point win over Hillston.
The passage to face off with the minor premiers was secured with a 20-0 win over Barellan, who fell to Goolgowi the week before seeing the Rabbits first into the decider with a 16-8 win.
It was a tight start to the game with both sides trading early sets before Damien Walker had a chance to give the Dragons an early lead with a penalty goal from 20 metres out, but the kick drifted to the left.
The Rabbits best chance in the opening 20 minutes fell to Vaughn Higgins, but he was taken into touch by the Rankins Springs defence before he could reach the line.
It was the Rabbits who took the advantage into halftime; however, with a penalty and strong run from Tom Condon giving Goolgowi good field position, and Henry Taylor was able to crash over in the corner to give his side a 4-0 lead at the break.
The Dragons hit back just four minutes after the break as a mistake from the kick-off by the Bunnies gave Rankins Springs the ball 10 metres out, and Codey Parsons was able to get over, and a successful conversion from Walker saw them leading 6-4.
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Springs captain Jamie Parsons was taken from the field after a heavy knock, and the Rabbits were able to retake the lead as after running the ball on the final tackle, a cutout pass from Mitchell Cooper found Dean Taylor, who barged his way over.
As time wound down, it looked like the Rabbits might hold on before Codey Parsons was able to get over despite the best efforts from the Goolgowi defence to hold him up, and with four minutes left, the Dragons lead 10-8.
The Dragons were able to hold on and pick up their second ProTen Cup title.
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Liam Warren
As someone with an underlying passion about sport it is a privilege to report on the sporting landscape around the MIA
As someone with an underlying passion about sport it is a privilege to report on the sporting landscape around the MIA
