It’s one of the longest undefeated runs in the club’s history.

Possibly the longest!

Along with co-coach Mik Webber, first grade captain Boyd Newby took on the coaching duties this season and to date they've maintained the undefeated status they inherited from last year’s coach Darren Solomons.

Newby’s captaincy record of 115 games at winning percentage of 77 per cent was already impressive, and now his coaching record is even better, but talk of either the team’s or his personal run of wins doesn’t sit comfortably with Newby. It’s as if saying it out loud could jinx the side.

“There’ve been some very close games in there that could have gone either way… games where we had to dig deep and some we won on the bell,” Newby said.

“We’ve had to work hard for the majority of our wins and Cooma will really test us this weekend.”

The Cooma Red Devils, like Goulburn, are a physically tough country club that throws everything they have at you for 80 minutes and away trips against Cooma have always been a difficult assignment for Goulburn. At home, the Dirty Reds have an 81pc winning record against the mountain men, but at Cooma that record drops to 55pc - virtually even money.

“There’s probably a few things that make the Cooma games tough,” said Newby.

“It’s a lengthy bus trip for starters and it can take the boys a while to get their heads into the game.

“They also get big vocal crowds at Cooma. Some people say the weather makes a difference but it’s probably not much different to what we’ve had around here lately.”

“What we need to do is stick to our basic game, which we’ve been doing very well this year. When we do that, I feel confident in any match.”

Last week’s double header may have served as the perfect preparation for the Cooma trip.

The Reds beat Hall in both grades on Saturday then backed up to beat a fresh RMC side, that hadn’t played the day before, on Sunday. It was a test of commitment for the player, which Newby believed they passed with flying colours.

“The wins against Hall and RMC were particularly encouraging,” he said.

“We’d played Hall two other times this year and both were close. I think the 49-0 win on the weekend probably showed some of our improvement. Then to back up and play the next day and have a solid win (the score was 33 - 7 against RMC) I think showed a lot of character.”

Newby is particularly happy with the continuing improvement in discipline and defence which were evident on the weekend.

He said he was also very pleased with the integration of the new players, some of whom started the year with the U18s side and have settled well into senior rugby.

“The young blokes and the new guys have fitted in really well,” Newby said.

“There’s a lot of mobility and a lot of heart there. Some have been thrown into the deep end but the way we work with second grade coach Peter Lucas has made the transition easier.”

A glut of injuries has meant a total of 50 players have taken the field this year in reserve grade. Some of the injured players, such as Tim Moule and Aidan Greaves, are expected back within the next few weeks and others are a chance of being back in time for the semis.

The Reds road to the playoffs consists of the away game this Saturday against Cooma, followed by home matches against Yass (July 25), RMC (August 1) and ADFA (August 2) with the semifinals on August 8.

First grade: Goulburn Dirty Reds 49 (Mik Webber 2, David Hook, Brad Clements, Ben Todkill, Adam Lachlan, Josh Solomons tries; Dom Falk 2, Jackson Reardon, Isaac Walker conversions; Dom Falk 2 penalty goals) bt Hall Bushrangers 0.

Second grade: Goulburn Dirty Twos 10 (Jordan lees try, Bradon Courts conversion; Brandon Courts penalty goal) bt Hall Bushrangers 8.

First grade: Goulburn Dirty Reds 33 (Ben Todkill 2, Jack Brims, David Hook, Mik Webber tries; Dom falk 4 conversions) bt RMC 7.

Second grade: Goulburn Dirty Twos 21 (Jordan Lees, Jay Butler, Matt Bird tries; Brandon Courts 3 conversions) bt RMC 15.