Goulburn Bulldogs fall short against West Belconnen Warriors

The home side was trailing by six points with about 15 minutes left on the clock at the Workers Arena on Saturday, July 15, but weren't able to claw their way back, going down 24-16.

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Bulldogs coach Shane McCallum said discipline and bad umpiring cost his side the match in the final stages.

"In the last 10 to 15 minutes, we could have been more disciplined," he said.

"There were a few bad calls from the referee, but you can't blame that."

A slow start didn't help the Bulldogs either.

"We needed to be up for the game from the opening whistle today, but we weren't and it bit us on the backside," McCallum said.

Looking at the overall performance, McCallum said besides gameplay issues, his side didn't gel as a team.

"The effort was there, but the execution let us down," he said.

"Our completion rate was down and you can't concede the amount of ball we did and expect to win.

"I was pleased with individual efforts, but it's a team game.

"You need to have 13 players on the field doing the tough stuff and unfortunately, it wasn't there."

Home losses are always tough to take, but McCallum said this one hurt more given how congested the ladder was.

"We needed to win that game to cement second spot, but it's another match that got away from us," he said.

"It's going to make our season a little harder now.

"We just have to concentrate on next week and forget about this match."

Blake Jeffery, Tyler Cornish and Bradley Arnall were the try scorers for the Bulldogs.

The loss pushes the Bulldogs, which have played an extra game than most, down to fifth spot.

Goulburn next play the Belconnen Sharks in Bruce from 3pm on Saturday, July 22, a side which sits above them on the ladder.

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