Goulburn Bulldog Dillon Rota has ended his first stint with the Monaro Colts with a Country Championships trophy.
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The grand final between the Colts and the Illawarra South Coast Dragons was played on Saturday at Sydney's HE Laybutt Sporting Complex, and the former emerged victorious in a tight match by two points.
Rota, who missed out on the Colts' first round match but played the next three, proved to be an important part of the team, and he drew resounding praise from coach Terry Campese.
"Dillon is a legend of a fella," Campese said.
"The whole team was made up of really good blokes and it makes it so much easier to coach. Dillon is a really good guy and he's a huge asset to Goulburn. I was pleased to see him in our side."
The match was an emotionally poignant one for Campese, whose nan died shortly before the final took place.
In response to the emotional upheaval, Campese kicked two out of three conversions and a crucial penalty goal, which was integral to Monaro's two-point victory.
The Colts men, who are yet to miss out on a Country Championships grand final, have often played against Illawarra. While Campese was aware that there is a history between the two teams, he urged his players to focus on the future and not the past.
"We spoke about it through the week," he said.
"It's the first time there's been an open final in a long time. The past is long behind us, and we knew that the 23s lost to Illawarra a few years ago.
"We spoke about that and in life, it's about taking opportunities, and the boys did that on Saturday."
The Colts' resilience was the most impressive aspect of the match on Saturday, particularly when Illawarra crossed for a try and scored a conversion early in the game.
Monaro soon responded in kind, which kicked off a chain of one-for-one scoring between the two teams.
At 16-16 in the 63rd minute, it was difficult to see how either side would break the deadlock and hold its lead. At this point, Campese stepped in and scored the crucial penalty goal, which put the Colts ahead by two points.
Through some desperate defence, Monaro managed to hold its lead until the end of the game. Raucous celebrations ensued after the final horn.
From the outset of the campaign, Campese was confident in his team's ability and knew they were capable of winning the tournament.
"As a coach, I was excited," he said.
"These boys had an opportunity to stake their claim and I put my hand up straight away for the coaching role. It's been a really good campaign, we've been together six weeks now and the boys have done a tremendous job."
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