A determined Southcity held off a late challenge from Young to move to outright second on the Group Nine ladder.
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The Bulls had to do plenty of tackling in the first half but kept the Cherrypickers at bay for almost 70 minutes at Laurie Daley Oval on Saturday.
Young closed within two points with eight minutes left in the clash following two quick tries but Southcity capitalised on an error as Trent Schubach swooped on a ball that ricocheted off the post to score to ensure his side ran out 20-12 victors.
Captain-coach Nathan Rose was thrilled with the team's defensive efforts against a top four rival.
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The Bulls were forced to defend six straight sets on their line in the first half but not only held strong but eventually made the Cherrypickers pay on the scoreboard.
"Young had most of the ball in the first 20 minutes so it was a massive credit to the boys," Rose said.
"I think we defended six sets in a row on the line and when you are doing that sort of stuff you are setting yourself up to be hard to beat."
Both teams had plenty of good opportunities to score in the first half but couldn't find the right execution until Kyle McCarthy took things into his own hands.
He sliced through the Young defence to score two minutes out from half time.
After all their defensive work, Rose thought it provided a real boost for the Bulls going into the second half.
"That definitely helped us as we were building pressure off the back of them having the majority of the ball," he said.
"For Doc (McCarthy) to come up with that try just before half-time really helped us."
Rose then scored a double to have the Bulls out to a 14-0 lead after 60 minutes.
However Young responded as Nic Hall got them on the board with 12 minutes to play before Inoke Vunipola crashed over four minutes later.
Just as the Cherrypickers comeback looked to be on, an error from Jake Walker two plays later ended their charge as Southcity held on to move a win above them on the ladder.
The Bulls had lost their last two games against top four rivals and Rose was pleased with how they responded from a disappointing showing against Gundagai before the general bye.
"The key for us was just to hold onto the ball this week," he said.
"We knew if we could do that the points would come off the back of it and we showed that."
They will now look to repeat the dose with a second clash with Temora, following a 38-6 win last month, while Young host Albury at Alfred Oval.