The Gungahlin Bulls let out a sigh of relief on Saturday night when Jake Scholes was cleared of a serious neck injury after their Canberra Raiders Cup game was stopped for an hour to wait for an ambulance.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Bulls lost to the Queanbeyan Blues 46-16 at Seiffert Oval, but their hearts dropped at the start of the second half when Scholes fell awkwardly in a three-man tackle.
In a game which had a bit of everything, including three players being sent off, Scholes was unmoved for 40 minutes as teammates and brother Bradley waited nervously for the ambulance to arrive.
Bulls outside back Bradley Scholes scored a second-half try as the Bulls tried to topple the unbeaten Blues, but the only result that mattered after the game was Scholes' injury report.
The hooker was cleared of serious damage and had feeling in his limbs, but the injury to NRL player Alex McKinnon has put all sports people on edge.
Blues captain-coach Terry Campese asked Bulls counterpart Lincoln Withers if Gungahlin players wanted to postpone the game given the uncertainty surrounding Scholes.
"He [Scholes] has feeling but they are doing tests to see if something is there," Withers said.
"It's not great when something like that happens. They [Bulls players] are all good mates, they all grew up together and are local boys ... the game got quite fiery in the second half.
"Our first half was quite ordinary but I think [after Scholes' injury], the guys got a bit of fight in them which was good to see."
The win helped the Blues keep their buffer at the top of the ladder, but the Queanbeyan Kangaroos are nipping at their heels after beating the Belconnen United Sharks 44-22 on Saturday.
The Blues led Gungahlin 22-6 when Scholes was injured and the extended break sparked the Bulls into action.
A quick pass from Bulls five-eigth David Williams put winger Kane Allan over untouched as Gungahlin found extra motivation after the injury.
Frustrations mounted for the usually dominant Blues to the point where things boiled over with 30 minutes remaining.
The Blues had one player sent off for punching, and the game was delicately placed at 22-12 when another Blues player was given his marching orders and a Bulls player suffered the same fate in a heated battle.
However, it was the Blues who found a way to capitalise on the reshuffled Gungahlin pack, crossing for three tries in the 20 minutes to seal the game and their 11th win in a row.
Campese was happy with his team's overall performance, but admits they need to react better when tensions start to rise.
"After the long wait [for the injury to Scholes] the boys just wanted to get back out there," Campese said.
"After that just a few incidences and we just obviously need to react a bit better to that."