After the 2021 regular Katrina Fanning Shield season was ended by Canberra Region Rugby League last week, the Goulburn City Bulldogs women have secured the minor premiership by the skin of their teeth.
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In a statement released last Thursday, the CRRL said that, due to the current lockdowns in the ACT and NSW, it had decided to finish all competitions as they stand and will aim to begin a finals series once the lockdowns end.
By the end of their last completed match, against the Queanbeyan Blues on Sunday, August 1, Goulburn had done enough to place itself on top of the ladder, despite sharing exactly the same number of wins, losses, and points as the second-ranked Yass Magpies.
The only difference between the two sides was four points on the for-and-against differentials.
Though the lockdown came at the worst possible moment for the Bulldogs, according to coach Wayne Blackwell, he is confident about the side's chances should a finals series materialise.
"I think we'll go all the way," Blackwell said.
"We were down on troops when we played Yass last time. They seemed to have got the better of us, but I don't think they will now.
"We'd just started hitting form before the lockdowns. We'd gotten all our players back on the field and we got everyone in their right positions and then this happens."
2021 is the first year the Bulldogs have had a Katrina Fanning Shield side since 2018. Among their numbers, the team possesses some incredible talents who have played various levels of representative football.
The challenge throughout the year for Blackwell has been ensuring they play as a unit, and not a collection of individuals.
In recent weeks, the team's training has paid off, and prior to the lockdown they were on a five-match winning streak.
This run culminated in what Blackwell believes to be one of Goulburn's best performances of the year: the 24-4 victory over a highly-touted Queanbeyan Blues outfit.
"I think we're on top of what we have to do," he said.
"In that game against Queanbeyan, the girls were outstanding. They were tough, mobile, and took them on in the middle and we got through them on the edges."
Last week, the CRRL said it will look to have a finals series of some kind for each division finished by the end of September.
As it seems likely that Yass and Goulburn, the two dominant teams throughout the year, will play in the grand final, Blackwell is confident the Bulldogs now have the numbers and training to revenge their only defeat of the year.
"We're not scared of Yass, but they're scared of us," he said.
"The win against Queanbeyan was my biggest fear, that we wouldn't get over the top of them. I think they're a much tougher team than Yass in defence.
"Not so much in attack, Yass are a much better attacking side but we've got the defence to hold them."
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