After a lengthy delay while waiting for the referee to arrive, the Bulldogs went to work against the Bombala outfit – going on to win 26-18.

It was a first half dominance with the icy winds at their back that established a commanding lead for the Bulldogs. 

The home team were dominant on the left flank with Dylan Fletcher one of the best performers out of the centres, breaking the Bombala line a couple of times and going for long runs down the field. 

Fletcher’s runs paid off with two tries to his name for the day, while inside support from Allan Aldridge didn’t hurt with the Eden pick up also putting his name on the scorecard. 

Bombala were showing plenty of gumption through the middle, but were working hard to find metres in the middle. 

The teams other edge was also under pressure with hooker Matt Evelyn setting his winger loose a few times to keep the Blue Heelers guessing. 

On the back of the Bulldogs’ groundwork, the club secured three first half tries to Bombala’s one, leading 16-4 at the break. 

Roles were almost reversed in the second half as the driving winds continued to batter the Pambula Sporting Complex from the south. 

The Blue Heelers were keen to make the best use of the same wind they had just spent 35 minutes running into. 

Fletcher’s second early in the second half set up a 20-4 lead, but the visitors rallied and soon caught up by a measure of three tries themselves. 

Tries came through from hard-running centre Murray Jackson, while winger Logan Brownlie also slipped through the gaps. 

However, finding just one conversion through the winds, the Heelers trailed 20-18 with about 15 minutes to play. 

However, a Matt Evelyn try with just three minutes left to play sealed the result. 

While the conversion from Merimbula-Pambula half Jamie Sinclair served to cap off the result with the Bulldogs getting the edge 26-18. 

The Bulldogs are now holding third on the table just one competition point shy of the Cooma Stallions in second. 

This weekend, the Eden-Bulldogs combine head to Narooma’s Bill Smyth Memorial Oval to clash with the Devils. 

18s are the first cab off the ranks with play from 10.30am.