Wests unleashed a scrum assault against the Gungahlin Eagles on Saturday to muscle their way into the John I Dent Cup top four with a crucial win at Jamison Oval.
In a contest that would make hard-nosed front-rowers gush, Wests and Gungahlin spent more time packing scrums than they did running the ball as the home side ruthlessly exposed an Eagles weakness.
The scrumathon lifted Wests to a 40-29 win, propelling them from fifth to third on the Canberra premier division ladder as the battle for finals spots heats up.
At one point Wests skipper Harry Lloyd made the decision to pack 10 scrums in 15 minutes after his side won the upper hand and had both Eagles starting props sent to the sin bin on separate occasions.
"We are strong up front and we wanted to take advantage of that as much as we can," front-rower Lloyd said.
"There were enough scrums for us to take that advantage. I hesitated more for the concern the scrums would go uncontested and we didn't want to lose that advantage.
"It's a tight season, there are three teams chasing those two finals spots. We've had some tight losses and so it was important for us to get that one."
Gungahlin's front row was on the back foot before the game started, with prop brothers Ray and Nic Dobson unavailable and Rian Murphy being knocked out in his comeback in reserve grade.
Wests spotted a weakness and didn't hide their intentions to expose the Eagles, turning to their set piece to help them gain an advantage.
They led 12-0 in the opening minutes but the Eagles went on a charge and scored three unanswered tries - including two in 60 seconds - to lead 21-12 in the blink of an eye.
But a mountain of possession and the weight of the forward pack tooks its toll, allowing Wests to storm back to the front and hold on for their third win of the season.
"The second half defensively, we were really good so that was a massive positive," said Wests coach Craig Robberds.
"The Eagles traditionally have a strong scrum, so without the Dobson boys we got a bit lucky.
"To score 40 points against Gungahlin, that's a pretty good result for us. This season is so tight so every position from third to six is really tight."
Wests jumped ahead of Gungahlin and Queanbeyan, who were thumped 42-17 by Royals at Phillip Enclosed.
The Eagles showed plenty of guts after fighting with 14 players for 20 minutes and coach Dan Atkins believes
"I thought it was pretty even but obviously having three front-rowers away was pretty telling, apart from the scrum we did pretty well around the field," Atkins said.
"We sent in some under-20s front-rowers and they really held their heads high. We've got heaps to offer and we'll take plenty out of that. I'm very proud of the effort, we've got a lot more to come."
AT A GLANCE
John I Dent Cup: WESTS 40 (H Lloyd, B Kaino, C Ashmore, T Campbell, C Luteru, penalty try tries; A Meek 4 conversions) bt GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 29 (R Karena, T Atkins, J Kotz, R Ilolahia tries; J Kotz 3 conversions, penalty), ROYALS 42 bt QUEANBEYAN WHITES 17; TUGGERANONG VIKINGS 48 bt UNI-NORTHS OWLS 12.
Reserve grade: Tuggeranong Vikings 43 bt Uni-Norths Owls 24; Royals 29 bt Queanbeyan Whites 12, Gungahlin Eagles 30 bt Wests 23.
Women's: Uni-Norths Owls 20 bt ADFA 0, Tuggeranong Viqueens 38 bt Royals 22.
Colts: Tuggeranong Vikings 49 bt Uni-Norths Owls 21, Queanbeyan Whites 35 bt Royals 22, Gungahlin Eagles 64 bt Wests 5.
First division
First grade: Tuggeranong Vikings 88 bt Uni-Norths Owls 0, Queanbeyan Whites 36 bt Royals 17, Cooma 62 bt Easts 5, Goulburn 59 bt Young 5, Gungahlin Eagles 41 bt Hall 0, ADFA 71 bt Wests 7.
Second grade: Tuggeranong Vikings 76 bt Uni-Norths Owls 8, Queanbeyan 81 bt Royals 31, Goulburn 27 bt Young 21, Gungahlin 31 bt Hall 22, Wests 14 bt ADFA 12.
