Blues belief helps Tumut overturn big deficit to win Group Nine premiership

The Blues trailed 14-0 after a fast start by Kangaroos at Equex Centre on Sunday.

However they showed plenty of fight to overcome a scoreless first half and reel in their rivals.

In his final game with his hometown club, Lachlan Bristow kicked a late field goal to complete the turnaround and take a 23-18 victory.

He thought the resolve the team showed reflected the spirit they've played with all season.

"I honestly thought we were gone with the start we had and we were just doing things we haven't done all year," Bristow said.

"We were playing terribly, dropping balls, giving away silly penalties but we were very deserving in the end.

"It was a good way to win it with this group of lads as we just showed fight all year.

"To come from behind like that was just unreal."

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Kangaroos got off to a perfect start as Latrell Siegwalt earned a line drop from the kick off.

Hayden Jolliffe then strolled over from dummy half to start the scoring after 11 minutes off the back of a fast play-the-ball from James Hay that had the Blues marker defence caught short.

Three minutes later they were in again after a one-on-one strip from Ned Copper stole the ball from Mal Aitken trying to work Tumut out of trouble.

A couple of passes later Kangaroos spread it to the other edge as Jake Mascini sliced through to score.

Aitken tried to get the Blues going but after a break his pass back inside ended up in Kangaroos hands and they extended their lead further as Siegwalt kicked a penalty goal.

All of the Wagga team's points came from Tumut errors.

They also struggled to get things rolling with their attack.

Charlie Barton really could have made the Blues pay for a scrappy first half but couldn't pick a ball up off his bootlaces a minute out from the break.

Kangaroos were leading 14-0 but the Blues started to get themselves back in the game.

After chasing down a break from Siegwalt to start the half, Jacob Sturt got them on the board four minutes after the interval when he was able to score off a ricocheted kick.

Things still weren't going right for Tumut with five-eighth Dean Bristow succumbing to a knee injury and Lachlan Bristow kicking a ball out on the full.

However they really got themselves right back into the contest when Billy Bridgeman was able to score in the corner following a penalty.

It cut Kangaroos' lead to two points with 24 to play.

A mistake from Matt Byatt off the restart gave Kangaroos an opportunity and after three straight sets on the Blues line.

Tumut eventually cracked as Mascini went over for his second with 18 minutes left.

However the Blues kept fighting and made the most of a Siegwalt mistake at the back as Aitken scored with 13 left to make it a two-point game.

A one-on-one steal from Michael Fenn on Siegwalt provided Tumut with their next chance and Jordan Anderson forced his way over with eight to play to hand the Blues the lead for the first time.

The Blues thought they had scored again as James Smart couldn't recover a Tom Hickson grubber kick but Siegwalt was just able to get to the ball before Toppin.

Kangaroos had a good opportunity to hit back when Nathan Rose found Mascini with a little kick but he was ruled to have lost possession.

Instead Bristow kicked a field goal to extend Tumut's lead with two minutes left.

A short restart attempt from Kangaroos was unsuccessful and Bristow was the last man to touch the ball as time wound down.

Bristow thought their fitness really showed in the back end of the game.

"Our boys have been training their arses off all year, it was hot and I think 'Roos gave way and we started to get over the top by just competing and staying in the battle.

"They fell away from the contest and we didn't."

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