IN a contest that came down to pure strength, it was the Bathurst Bulldogs who were out muscled in a 18-7 loss to the Dubbo Kangaroos in Saturday’s Central West Rugby second grade qualifying semi-final.

Bathurst were kept scoreless in the second half at Endeavour Oval by a Kangaroos defensive line up on top of their game, sending the Bulldogs to a sudden death match this weekend with Orange Emus.

However, being on the wrong side of the scoreboard didn’t trouble Bulldogs coach Rob Danelon greatly. He was pleased to see his side putting what they learned at training into action.

“Our effort was unbelievable today. We talked on Thursday about our defensive line speed, which I thought we upset them with throughout the whole game, and put that pressure on them phase after phase,” he said.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to get those breaks. We allowed some loose balls to allow them a chance to attack our own try line.”

“I think they [Dubbo] were able to maintain the pressure just a bit better at the breakdowns and with their back line as well. At stages they were able to consolidate and they just played smarter than us.”

Dubbo didn’t give themselves the ideal start with a kick out on the full, but they got the ball back immediately. It led to a penalty goal just two minutes in to make it 3-0.

More points finally came via a converted try to Dubbo half Aaron Payne, who crossed from close range 25 minutes in for a 10-0 lead.

It looked like that would remain the score until half-time, but a try to Brodie Scott got the Bulldogs back within three points after he found a gap in the Kangaroos defence near the posts.

The second half began much like the first as another Chris O’Shea penalty extended Dubbo’s lead to six.

Bathurst survived three line breaks throughout the next 20 minutes, two coming down the wing of Dubbo’s Josh Croke and all leading to territorial gains of over 50m.

One of Bathurst’s best chances came from a break started by Dylan Sinclair, but Ben Sheppard’s try was disallowed for a forward pass.

With four minutes remaining Dubbo broke the spirits of the Bulldogs when Tim Symonds fended off two players to go in under the posts.

DUBBO KANGAROOS 18 (Aaron Payne, Tim Symonds tries; Chris O’Shea 2 penalties; Chris O’Shea conversion) defeated BATHURST BULLDOGS 7 (Brodie Scott try; Ben Sheppard conversion)