The Goannas got into their rhythm from the opening whistle and had Kurri on the back foot.

Riley Brown, who is playing the best football of his career, was the first to score in the sixth minute and Kerrod Holland converted in the windy conditions.

Cessnock had the strong wind at their backs and kept Kurri at their own end of the field, forced a mistake and Brown again capitalised to cross out wide, taking the score to 10-0.

The Bulldogs rallied for a while and came up with a try of their own to get back in the game at 10-6, but that was as close as they got all day.

The Goannas were controlling the ball well and had Kurri stretched in defence. Kori Barber was next to score when he ran a great line off a Riley Brown pass and crossed without a hand being laid on him.

The game settled down for a while then the Goannas came up with a try that seemed to break Kurri’s spirit – from a scrum near their own line, Shaun Metcalf busted the defence open and found fullback Kerrod Holland in support.

Holland beat two defenders and raced 70 metres to score under the posts, taking the score to 22-6 at half time.

Injuries to second-rower Daniel Abraham (dislocated shoulder), fullback Byron Warren (hamstring) and halfback Blake Birch (hip) left Kurri with only one player on the bench in the second half and could result in some extended time on the sidelines for those troops.

Goannas coach Steve Kidd gave his team a massive wrap at half-time, but warned that if Kurri scored next they would be back in the game.

Cessnock made sure this did not happen when Jacob Garland was on the end of a good back line play and scored out wide.

This further boosted the Goannas’ confidence, and even though they were playing into a very strong wind they were making easy metres, and shortly afterwards new recruit Mick Hopkins charged through two defenders and scored near the posts.

Cessnock scored two more tries through Brendan Williams and Jacob Garland, and with the intensity out of the game, Kurri scored three consolation tries.

It was the Goannas’ best effort of the season, and coach Kidd said the improvement in the last two games has been really good and much-needed, as they will face some of the competition’s high flyers in the next month.

Shaun Metcalf was named players’ player in his best performance for the club so far, troubling the Bulldogs’ defence with his charging runs.

Others to play well for Cessnock were Riley and Joel Brown, Brendan Hlad, who set the standard in the middle of the ruck and was well-supported by Al Lantry and Jacob McKendry, and youngsters Jacob Garland and Brendan Williams, who have been outstanding all year.

Bulldogs secretary Jeff Polglase said prop Brendan Worth was the best in the beaten side, and that they are lucky to have the bye next weekend.

Cessnock’s reserve grade was once again in the game at half-time, with the score 14-all, but let it slip away and ended up losing 30-24.

The under-23s had a convincing 28-12 victory after being behind 12-10 at half-time.

The under-18s had another tough game, winning 16-12 – their third victory in four games.

This Saturday the Goannas take on the much-improved Central at Baddeley Park with the under-18s starting at 11am and first grade kicking off at 3pm, followed by the Newcastle Knights NSW Cup (reserve grade) taking on Penrith in a top-of-the-table clash at 5.30pm.

The Goannas will be selling tickets for a mega raffle to raise funds for the children of deceased Austar mineworkers Jamie Mitchell and Phil Grant.

The Cessnock and Kurri clubs have joined forces to support the miners’ families, with a specially-made combined jersey signed by both sides auctioned off after Saturday’s game.

A bid of $4500 by Alfabs Group representative Brad Kebblewhite clinched the jersey, while money from the ongoing raffle and donations were yet to be added to the overall tally.

Kurri has the bye this weekend, with their next match against Port Stephens on Sunday, May 18.

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See more photos from the local derby here.