For the opening 10 minutes, the Rams had the majority of possession which led to them scoring the opening try.

From this point the game turned into a dour affair. Still starved of possession the Magpies defended resolutely against the strong Woden forward pack.

A well weighted chip kick from stand in five-eighth Brad Wylie provided the first scoring opportunity for the Magpies. Great anticipation enabled Judd Sherratt to pounce on the kick, before smartly slipping a pass to Henry Paton who raced 30 metres to give the Magpies a 6-4 half-time lead.

The Magpies opened the second half in determined fashion. In slippery conditions the game was a titanic arm wrestle, which was made even more intense through one of the teams being more heavily officiated than the other.

The Rams scored twice before Ben Warner scrambled over from dummy half to reduce the Magpies deficit to 2 points with 10 minutes remaining. A late try sealed the win for the Rams.

The undermanned Magpies put in a creditable performance. The injury to hard working lock Shaun Davis was a major blow, his work rate in both attack and defence was missed plus his loss reduced the Magpies bench to only one reserve. Brad Wylie was again the Magpies stand out player. His wholehearted effort confirmed his status as one of the competitions most valuable players.

For the third week in a row the Magpies make the trip to Greenway on Sunday, to play the Tuggeranong Bushrangers. After defeating Gungahlin last week the fifth placed Bushrangers have the Magpies in their sights, as only five points now separate the teams on the ladder.

The Bushrangers had the better of the Magpies in their most recent encounter; however the return of regular half-back Dane Snowden should add some stability to the Magpies line-up.

Woden Rams under 18s 20 defeated Yass Magpies under 18s 12 [H Paton, B Warner tries; M Freeman 2 conversions]