Jeff Caldwell signs off after winning grand final of two halves

"I wish my kicking was a bit better," the 55-year-old veteran said.

Having captained the Dirty Reds reserve grade side to a stirring come-from-behind premiership win over ADFA, it was a small point. But it was indicative of Caldwell's competitive drive and constant desire to improve.

This mindset was evident throughout much of the team on Saturday, who fought back after falling 12-5 down at half time.

Having started the match running uphill and into the wind, Caldwell expected a rough first half.

"The first half was the hard half, we knew that," Caldwell said.

"I chose to run uphill and into the wind and the sun. That was the first choice, and we knew if we could hold them within striking distance, coming home was easy."

After a scrappy first half, in which ADFA's constant pressure denied the Dirty Reds of any space or possession, 'easy' seemed a long way off.

But 34 unanswered points in the second half vindicated Caldwell's belief in his team. Even more impressively, those 34 points came largely by way of tries, as Caldwell's toe-poke style of kicking proved unsuited to the windy conditions.

Little could stop the home team at Goulburn's Poidevin Oval after the break. Two gritty tries early in the half gave the Dirty Reds a 15-12 lead.

It was then that a lion-hearted try from small forward Nick Tabner, which was his first in eight seasons for Goulburn, broke the seal.

As ADFA tired, the footspeed of flyhalf Nicholas Cornish and outside centre Tyler Cornish allowed the Dirty Reds to spread the visitors' defence thin.

Tries were evenly distributed, with one each to the Cornish brothers, Tabner, Michael Cooke, Hamish McCormack, Will Mooney, and Eric Brown.

After Goulburn claimed a 39-12 victory, vice-captain Izzy Tittor was named Man of the Match. Though Tittor didn't add his name to the scorers' column, his hulking presence and invaluable metres gained at number eight were critical to the home side's victory.

It was the perfect send-off for Caldwell, who knew from the outset that 2020 was his last season.

"I made a choice at the start, I got fit and said 'let's do one more'," he said.

"A couple of the boys, like the Cornish boys, I'd played with their old man. It was nice to run out with some kids."

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