In a must-win game for the home side, the Goannas started in an aggressive manner and the highly-rated Souths team struggled to go with them.

Cessnock was first to score when Jacob McKendry made a break off a nice Geordie Connelly pass to sprint into open space and find Shaun Metcalf in support.

Metcalf raced away to score under the posts and Kerrod Holland converted for a 6-0 lead.

The Goannas continued to put pressure on a sluggish Souths defence and were again rewarded when Joel Brown put a nice kick behind the defence and Al Lantry won the race for the ball.

Cessnock had been in this position many times during the season only to let their opponents back into the game, and there were again concerns when Souths scored off a kick to reduce the lead to 12-6 right on half-time.

At the break, Goannas coach Steve Kidd was really pleased with the team’s intensity and ball control, having completed their sets at 80 per cent, but stressed that if they did not continue that effort in the second half their season could be over.

Cessnock started the second half in a similar manner to the first and, after continued pressure, were rewarded when Gene Brown did well to pick up a low pass and score under the posts.

Souths were frustrated by Cessnock’s relentless defence and struggled to gain field position.

The Goannas gained a further two points from a Holland penalty to take the score to 20-6, then to cap off a great game Holland, on the back of a nice set play, outpaced the defence, scored and converted to make the final score 26-6.

Goannas president David Woodbury was full of praise for Holland, saying: “(He) has been a revelation this season since coming from Singleton and must surely be a red-hot favourite to be voted Newcastle rookie of the year”.

Players’ player went to Kori Barber, whose defence in the second half when the team was under pressure was great.

Jacob Garland had a sensational game on the wing, continually taking high bombs and doing some tough runs out of dummy-half. Jacob McKendry was another to impress and is playing with plenty of confidence.

Cessnock’s reserve grade team struggled against a very good Souths side and were defeated 62-0.

They had a number of players unavailable through injuries and work commitments and had to call on three under-18s players to fill in. One of these players, Dan Jurd, played the full game in the front row and was voted players’ player.

The under-23s continued their good recent form and beat the competition leaders 14-8. It was a tough encounter with neither side prepared to relent.

Cessnock’s tries were scored by Ben Rose and Nathan Aitchison while Dean Wearing kicked three goals.

The whole forward pack worked really hard in the wet conditions with Zaine Morgan, Jay McCord and Luke Vernon standing out. Vernon was voted players’ player in a squad that is playing well and is assured of playing finals footy come September.

This Saturday the Goannas have a tough road trip to Macquarie, who are strong in all grades. The first game will kick off at 12.15pm.

The Cessnock club would like to thank all the old boys, players and supporters that participated in the bowls day on Sunday. It was the highest turnout in the last five years.