SNARING a late try to draw meant Melton Warriors left Eltham with a result that felt close enough to a first win of the season in Victorian Rugby Union at the weekend.
The 17-all draw means the Warriors are still yet to win after earning promotion to division 2 in Agrade.
But club captain Kieren Dalziell said the players walked away happy enough with a draw after fighting for much of the game to come back into the contest. A first-half sin-bin was responsible for Melton giving up two of Eltham’s three tries for the day.
“Our winger had to come in and play at half and Eltham scored two tries down that wing. They just had the space to get around and there would be no defenders left,” Dalziell said.
“It would have been crushing to lose by two points. We were chasing the scoreboard all game.
“It felt like we were on top and we had the momentum for a good part of the second half.”
A penalty 10 metres from goal and two phases was all it took for Melton to barge over and make the score 15-17 as time expired.
Matt Bridges’ kick was the last action of the game and he made no mistake.
“It definitely felt like a win, which is a bit weird,” Dalziell said. “We played very well, came together and did some of the team things. There was a lack of communication for [Eltham’s] other try, but it wasn’t poor defending. It was a team effort without standouts.”
Melton plays Wyndham at MacPherson Park this weekend.
