Change to Comp

The Sydney Rugby Union has announced the format for the 2012 Shute Shield Premier Rugby, Grade and Colts competitions.

President Chris Birch thanked all Clubs and the competition sub-committee for their input into the competition structure over the last two months, saying, “The SRU Board has listened to all submissions and we believe the outcome will justify the process that has been taken.

“The Sydney Rugby Union has worked closely with the Australian Rugby Union to design a competition to advance Premier Rugby in the Sydney area”.

The 2012 Premier Rugby competition will run from 14 April to 15 September, with the Grand Final scheduled to be played on 15 September 2012.

All Clubs will play a minimum of 16 games with byes scheduled after Round 8 and Round 11, and a split round 15 to allow for wet weather and postponements.  All Clubs will play each other in the first 11 rounds of the competition, before splitting into two groups of six for the final five rounds.  Competition points will accrue for the entire 16 rounds.

The finals series will be played over four weeks involving eight teams.

The Grade competition will follow the same format as Premier Rugby, with Colts to mirror the format, however the Colts finals series will commence and finish one week before Premier Rugby.

The draw will be released as soon as all obligations have been met.

Dewet Roos - www.seiserphotography.com

clubrugby.com.au: Congratulations, you got the win you wanted but you had to come from 9-0 down at one point and things weren’t going your way, were you worried with the start you’d made?

Dewet Roos: “I wouldn’t say I was worried with the start, we made a few silly errors, a few dropped balls and we didn’t play outside our twenty-two and didn’t kick for territory in the first fifteen minutes and I think that’s what cost us because they got the penalties and converted them into points. But there was never a nervous moment there, I knew the boys had it in them to come back from that.”

CR: And you did come back to then go into the break 14-9 ahead and it was off the back of some storming work from a couple of your big boys, Ruben Vito and Luke Smart, who really got you some go forward ball to work from didn’t they?

DR: “Yeah, they’re very positive players, and they’re always getting over that advantage line. They just go forward and stay on their feet so well and they gave me better ball to work with and to feed the backs.”

CR: You controlled large parts of the second half without being able to finish them off and all of a sudden, they’re back within a point and there’s ten minutes to go, were you nervous at that point?

DR: “Yeah, at that stage I was a bit nervous, we gave away two or three penalties in a row there which cost us and we were marched down the field and they put points on straight away. It just shows that you can’t slack off, you can’t be ill disciplined, you’ve just got to stick to your game and be patient.”

CR: A real positive for this side is the pace and ball handling skills it possesses and the threat you pose on the counter attack and that was the case at the end when you broke away for the winner wasn’t it?

DR: “Yeah, it all comes down to the confidence we have in our team. It’s a young team with an average age of 20-21 and I think a lot of the boys can go places. They’re very confident and it shows up in our attack.”

CR: Some of these guys – including yourself – have already played quite a bit of 1st Grade, is it fair to say that you should go onto form the nucleus of that next level at Southos for the next few years?

DR: “Yeah, we spoke about that not too long ago, about the club moving forward and they said that they want to look after the players that are already here and not just bring other players in when they don’t need them. We’re getting rid of a few things at the club and bringing some new things in which will all combine to provide a positive for the club next year.”

CR: So, it’s about putting faith in those ‘home grown’ players rather than chasing ‘names’?

DR: “That’s the thing and they’ve said it will take time, maybe two or three years but we’ve got to stick to that. We might not make the finals next year but with a bunch of guys like this coming through, it is going to be amazing. I must pay a compliment to the boys, they helped me a lot and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. If we can keep these guys happy, then we will go somewhere, we will go higher.”

Eastwood captain Chris Dan:

Chris Dan - www.seiserphotography.com

clubrugby.com.au: You won the Minor Premiership but just couldn’t quite put the icing on the cake today, you must be very disappointed?

Chris Dan: “It’s extremely disappointing, we’ve trained hard all year and been pretty consistent and we were in it until the last minute there. They got turnover ball, spread it wide and they had some quick backs and we knew that but we just weren’t able to shut it down. Credit to their boys, they just kept coming at us all game.”

CR: You got the start you would have wanted and took your opportunities for a 9-0 lead but there was still an awful lot of footy to be played wasn’t there?

CD: “Exactly. You’ve got to play the full eighty minutes and that’s what Souths did, they kept going and held us out and like I said, it was a credit to them. They had some big forwards and I think they just got over the advantage line a bit better than we did.”

CR: Having had that early lead only to be pegged back and overtaken, what was the message at half-time?

CD: “It was pretty much that we’d been on top for the first thirty minutes, we’d played some pretty structured footy and with the wind at our backs in the second half, we just needed to play some field position. We did do better in that area but we just couldn’t seal the deal.”

CR: Ill discipline cost you as well at times with a number of crucial penalties going to Southos and you appeared to be having a running discussion with the referee as a result?

CD: “Yeah, I did. It was a challenging game for the referee but that’s the way rugby is. You win some, you lose some and we did what we could. That’s all I can ask from my boys.”

CR: You did comeback however but the more the clock wound down, the more you pushed for the winner and the more susceptible you became for the counter attack?

CD: “Yeah, I thought we had it there. We were going forward and the boys were all up for it but you can’t stop that quick turnover ball, there’s not much you can do. We’re a young bunch of boys and we’ll come back bigger and better next year and hopefully, we can snag it ourselves.”

Southern Districts head coach Alan Wright:

Rebels score - www.seiserphotography.com

clubrugby.com.au: Many congratulations, it’s been a good season as a whole for the side, a terrific last few weeks in particular and now you’ve capped it off with a Grand Final win over the Minor Premiers – you must be very pleased?

Alan Wright: “Very and I think the difference was that we had what was really a ‘no name’ pack of forwards and they just stood up constantly all season. There’s blokes there that have played fourth grade last year, blokes that played a bit of second grade last year but there’s not too many that have had first grade games, maybe a couple and they just kept standing up. We’ve got a classy set of backs but the forwards have set the platform for them all year.”

CR: It’s a young side too?

AW: “Yeah, I think the oldest person in the backline is twenty-two and the oldest person in the side is the number eight who’s twenty-nine but after him, I think the next is twenty-five so they’re all young players and hopefully, they’ll all be back next year.”

CR: You fell behind by 9pts in that first half, missed a kick at goal and a couple of tries fell by the wayside, was it a case of just backing yourselves to finally come good?

AW: “What we talked about before the game is that the way the game’s played now, you’ve just got to be patient. No matter how far you are behind, it doesn’t take much to catch up and we just said that if we were patient, the opportunities would come. The game always goes in ebbs and flows if you take your opportunities, we probably didn’t do that as much today because we got held up three times over the line but we won the game so it doesn’t matter!”

CR: Well, you did stay patient and the points did come but despite having the better of the second half and the better chances, it still came down to the final ten minutes to settle it?

AW: “They’re a good side and they’re actually a very fit side as well so you can’t afford to relax. I think we had a few brain snaps in the middle period of that second half, we weren’t prepared to hold the ball for as long a period as we needed to and I think that made a difference.”

CR: And as we saw, when you did keep ball in hand, your backs can be devastating?

AW: “Particularly Ben [Volavola], Apo [Latunipulu] and Rohan [Saifolio] at full-back. They’re all only nineteen years old and Jale [Vatabua] in the centres is the same age too – they’re all only going to get better.”

CR: You’re the first head coach to bring a Premiership back to Forshaw Park – how does it feel?

AW: “Well, it’s just great for the club. They’ve had years where they were considered the easy beats of grade football and now they can stand up and say that ‘s no longer the case.”

CR: The club has come in for some criticism over the last couple of years for trying to ‘buy’ success but this side shows that you already have the nucleus of an exciting young team that should go on to greater things in 1st Grade as they get older. Could today’s result be a turning point in terms of the recruitment policy at the Rebels?

AW: “I think so, I mean, you’ve got to want to play and you’ve got to want to play for the team, you don’t necessarily want to play for the money. If you’re playing for the money, you’re playing for the wrong reason and these guys were playing for nothing today. They got nothing out of it other than winning and that’s what they’re playing for and for each other and that’s what you’ve got to do if you want to win Premierships.”

Rebels Celebrate 2nd Grade Victory - www.seiserphotography.com

Southern Districts have claimed the first Premiership in the club’s history with a come from behind victory over Minor Premiers Eastwood at Concord Oval. Trailing 9-0 after almost half an hour, the Rebels concocted two converted tries before the break for a 5pt lead. Captain Dewet Roos extended the advantage with a penalty early in the second half before a converted try from the Woodies made it a 1pt ball game with ten minutes remaining.

Both sides pushed for the win in the dying moments but it was from a Woodies attack that the Rebels turned over possession to hit them on the counter, with a runaway match winner from replacement Alex Gibbon earning the historic victory. An emotional Roos was overcome by the landmark win at the final whistle:

“I’m almost lost for words, I don’t know what to say. It’s been just awesome to lead this team for the whole year, we had our ups and downs but it’s amazing to think that I am the first club captain to win a Premiership. The boys really had to stay on their toes for that last twenty minutes but we stuck it out which just makes it an even better feeling at the end having come through it.”

The opening quarter saw both sides with chances to establish themselves on the scoreboard but Eastwood were the first to convert pressure into points through the boot of Mick Snowden – penalties in the 6th and 14th minutes sandwiching the Rebels best opportunity when a forward pass halted Ben Connolly’s potential run to the line.

Nathan Powyer - www.seiserphotography.com

The Woodies 6-0 lead was much to the approval of their raucous band of blue-wigged supporters who were amassing in numbers to cheer on both second and first grades and it wasn’t long before their jubilant mood improved even further. After Roos had missed the chance to narrow the gap in the 16th minute with a failed penalty attempt, further ill discipline from his team mates allowed Snowden to punish them once more.

Having defeated highly fancied Sydney University a week earlier to earn their shot at glory, the Rebels were never going to lay down in the face of adversity and after almost half an hour of plugging away with little to show in terms of genuine threat, their persistence paid off. A rare foray into the opposition twenty-two was repelled initially by some aggressive Eastwood defence but Dennis Swann eventually proved too much of a handful, the burly prop burrowing over from five metres to get Southos on the board.

The try had a polarising effect on both teams. The Rebels suddenly had belief while the Woodies looked hesitant and little errors started creeping in to their game and when Snowden kicked out on the full from outside his twenty-two in the 35th minute, it gave Southos the field position they wanted in order to mount their next assault.

A knock-on from the ensuing line out led to a trio of five metre scrums and after fly-half Ben Volavola had skirted away from the second of them only to be held up over the line, it was a case of third time lucky as the next put in saw no.8 Rubin Vito peel off the back to slam down try number two.

Roos converted both scores to send the underdogs to the sheds with a 5pt lead at 14-9 and head coach Alan Wright was pleased his young side had found a way back into the match after losing their way a little during the half:

“I think because they’re young – particularly the backs – they think that if they’ve done two or three things and they haven’t worked yet, they have to try something else but Eastwood made mistakes as well. They panicked a bit at times and I think when they went to 9-0, they thought they had the game won, switched off a bit and gave us the ball back which made a difference for us.”

The first twenty minutes of the second half saw the Rebels maintain the upper hand but a combination of handling errors, missed penalties and the referee’s whistle prevented them from building an unassailable lead. Roos calmly converted a penalty for offside for an 8pt lead in the 45th minute but couldn’t dissect the posts on the hour after another Eastwood infringement.

In between those two events, the mercurial talents of Volavola came to the fore in the 55th minute when he ghosted through two tackles to break the line but ran out of support in order to profit and a minute before Roos’ unsuccessful kick, a series of attacking raids saw them held up over the line for the second time in the match.

However, you can’t keep a good side down for long and this Woodies team – containing a host of players such as Bleddyn Gant, Marty Plokstys and Simon Norris who have all had significant 1st Grade game time across the year – didn’t finish as Minor Premiers without good reason.

After absorbing all of the Rebels best shots, they struck with a delightfully fashioned uppercut of their own with only 10 minutes left on the clock. A penalty kicked to touch gave them a line out within striking distance and when the ball found fly-half Ben James, he fizzed a pass into the terrific running line of Nathan Powyer to put him through to the posts. Snowden converted and it was a 1pt ball game.

Southos were stung into a response and when a clearing kick from Eastwood was charged down by Luke Smart, the ball was recycled and Roos entrusted his forwards with a mission towards the posts. After they were ruled to have been held-up over the line for a third time, they were then left fuming when the referee penalised them at the ensuing 5 metres scrum for collapsing.

Jale Vatabua - www.seiserphotography.com.au

When a Volavola field goal somehow hit both uprights before bouncing to safety with 2 minutes remaining, you wondered if it actually wasn’t meant to be their day and that the Woodies would indeed claim victory with a late strike.

However, there was to be a final twist in the tail as an Eastwood line break inside the Rebels red zone was turned over metres from the line and Volavola quickly read the opportunity for a counter attack. He stepped inside one despairing dive before picking the optimum moment to release replacement Alex Gibbon down the unguarded right flank and the 2010 NSW Country Junior Player of the Year pinned back his ears to sail into the corner and break Eastwood hearts.

Perhaps fittingly, skipper Roos had the last word as he steered his conversion home from the angle and the boys from the Shire had finally broken their Premiership duck.

Southern Districts 24 (Dennis Swann, Rubin Vito, Alex Gibbon tries; Dewet Roos 3 cons, pen) d Eastwood 16 (Nathan Powyer try; Mick Snowden 3 pens, con) at Concord Oval. HT: Southern Districts 14-9. Referee: Steve Hardy

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clubrugby.com.au: Always nice to win the big one and you’ve won back a trophy that’s been missing from the Uni cabinet for a few years?

Adam Campbell: “Yeah, it’s been a while and we’ve had a couple of shots at it and luckily we had a couple of guys involved that have had a couple of cracks at it as well so it was really good to finally get the job done.”

CR: It was a terrific start from Uni, you got out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter and it all seemed plain sailing but Grand Finals are never that easy are they?

AC: “No, not at all. We knew that if we slipped up even for a couple of minutes that Easts would jump on that opportunity and they did to their credit. It was a little lapse but we were lucky enough to get a couple of penalties back in front and then held out.”

CR: You’ve had a couple of close ones with them this year so you knew they could play if given the chance and they started to find some holes either side of half-time didn’t they?

AC: “Yeah, we expected that and they had a good win over Randwick last week so we knew they were in form. We didn’t have that good a game last week which I think worked well for us because we’d been through that moment of doubt in the war zone so I think that actually helped.”

CR: At 17-15 down, was it just a case of backing yourself and sticking to the game plan because it had already earned you that success early on?

AC: “Yeah, we had to. We were shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit, we weren’t playing with any territory but once we got down there and we got a penalty, we had to take those points, get ahead and then just try and wind the clock down.”

CR: Minor Premiers and now Grand Final winners – the perfect year?

AC: “Yeah, a great year and I think I’ve got through every game this season so I’m happy not to have been injured as well!”

Eastern Suburbs captain Will Catherwood:

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CR: Commiserations, you won’t have been happy with the start but that was a see sawing game that you came very close to winning?

Will Catherwood: “Yeah we did. We came out of the blocks a wee bit slow and made too many basic errors off first phase early on and in finals footy you can’t afford to do that. That gave Uni a bit of a lead and we were playing catch up footy from then and we came close but not close enough.”

CR: You did come back and you did it by playing some terrific rugby and really stretched their defence across the park?

WC: “We did and that was the talk at half-time, to keep the ball in hand as we were kicking away too much possession in the first half. The guys really came back and had a good crack and scored a couple of good tries but we just fell short.”

CR: Field position was key and although you had Uni on the backfoot for large parts of that second half, when they did get into your 22 they looked like coming away with points?

WC: “They’re a real threat out wide and we knew that and in the second half, we really tried to cut down that option. I think we did that well and managed to get some points on the board ourselves but we just couldn’t hold out.”

CR: It was an incredible end to the game with all that possession inside their red zone after the siren and you were just held up at the end after the siren?

WC: ‘Yeah, we had opportunities to score if the ball had come a couple of seconds earlier but that’s footy, on another day it might have been a different story.”

CR: Despite today’s disappointment, it’s been a good season for the side though?

WC: ‘It was, we started off a bit slow but we galvanised and we had a lot of changes throughout the season with guys coming up and down through the grades so to go sixteen or seventeen games unbeaten and make the Grand Final was a real accomplishment.”

Sydney University joint head coach Peter Playford:

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CR: Congratulations, terrific start at 15-0 but Grand Finals are rarely that straightforward are they?

Peter Playford: “They’re not easy but all year you work for it, you train for it, you get them in that area and you work them hard and they came through. Also, we had Scotty Stumbles at nine and being able to draw on his experience was brilliant. It was good, they came back and both sides played it in good spirit. Third grade is a grade that Uni haven’t won for a few years so it’s good to win it.”

CR: What stood out was the quality of play from both sides, the handling, execution and decision making all made a mockery of the 3rd Grade status on the day?

PP: “Well, I finished playing about three years ago and if that’s third grade, that’s the grade I would have played I think! There’s some first graders in there in the making and there’s some who have played first grade like Dave Dillon, Adam Campbell and Aldy King so it’s an exceptional side.”

CR: What was the message when you did go behind because you still looked dangerous when you got in the right areas?

PP: “I told the number ten – who missed three kicks last week – that if he can get us home today that I’d shout him all night. He’s just told me that he’s only a poor student so I owe him a few!”

CR: You had some success in your playing career but how’s this coaching lark compare?

PP: “It’s good fun. You get there and the boys love it, they want to get to training, they want to get better – it’s a good environment. I said to the boys during the week that this is probably the best experience out of all of them. Being able to teach a group of kids and get them together and win a Grand Final we haven’t won for a while tops all of them. It’s probably the best time of my career in rugby and I’ve had a bloody good one!”

Henderson Shield 3rd Grade Match Report: By Paul Cook

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Sydney University have claimed their first 3rd Grade title in four years, holding out a spirited Eastern Suburbs side 21-17 to lift the Henderson Shield in a hugely exciting encounter. After blasting out to a 15-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, the Students looked set to rack up a landslide victory, however, the Beasts regrouped to dominate proceedings either side of half-time with some eye catching rugby and turned the game around to edge ahead 17-15.

Just as they appeared to have built a platform from which to go on with the job, ill discipline cursed the Beasts and Uni fly-half Jack Macklin punished them with two penalties midway through the second half that proved to be the difference. Varsity captain Adam Campbell paid tribute to their opponents performance and praised his team mates determination to get the job done:

“It was pretty tough. They threw everything at us and luckily enough we came away with it but we had some faith in the boys that we could hold out and we did.”

Having fallen at this stage last season, Easts would have been keen to come out firing and try to banish the demons of that loss to Randwick 12 months ago but facing the Minor Premiers was always going to be a tough ask and Uni started the game in no mood to be trifled with.

They’d already had a try disallowed for a foot in touch in the opening 5 minutes before Macklin slotted home a penalty to kick start the scoreboard. However, Easts’ respite was to be short lived as minutes later, Uni went wide off a line out just outside the red zone and winger Josh Koops was the right man in the right place to cross and leave Macklin to slot expertly from the angle to open up a 10pt margin.

Easts weren’t necessarily playing poorly, it was more a case of everything they tried not quite coming off while everything the Students touched turned to gold and they struck again five minutes later with clinical execution to extend their advantage. An overlap down the right flank saw Levi Dodd pick up neatly off his feet to give former 1st Grader and USA Sevens representative Nick Edwards the chance to dot down acrobatically in the corner.

Jeremy Raftos - www.seiserphotography.com

The angle was too tight for Macklin this time but with Uni scoring at almost a point a minute and growing in confidence with every play, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Easts. The Students were using the width of the field to stretch their opponents defensive line while the Beasts in turn were playing more conservatively and using the capable boot of fly-half Jeremy Raftos to play for field position.

However, when they did eventually break their duck, it proved to be the lifting of a heavy load from their shoulders. A Sam Devlin penalty was a small step on the scoreboard but a giant leap psychologically as Easts started to throw off the shackles and chance their arm before the break.

Devlin had another opportunity to narrow the gap after the siren when an under fire Uni were pinged for not rolling away but the full-back pushed his effort wide leaving them with a 12pt deficit but much momentum with which to carry into the second half.

The break certainly did little to dull their attacking intent but a five pointer was what was really required to cement the comeback and two in four minutes turned the game on its head. Both came from speedster Nick Healey, the first a 50 metre streak into space down the left flank before a step and a fend to the posts, the second as he ran a great line straight onto a measured offload from Raftos and scorched through to the chalk.

Having already experienced two tight games against the same opposition in the regular season, Uni joint head coach Peter Playford was not surprised by Easts fightback:

“I thought they played really well. I thought we had them under the pump early in the half but I knew it had to come. It’s a Grand Final, nothing ever goes to script and you rarely roll out to forty or fifty.”

Devlin converted both scores to put the Beasts in the lead and if they’d been able to maintain such a high level of play, it would have been hard to see Uni finding a way back into the game but as their attacking hurricane became slowly downgraded, the Minor Premiers started to reassert themselves, looking to play at the other end of the field and force mistakes.

Josh Koops - www.seiserphotography.com

The concerted pressure eventually told with the concession of consecutive penalties and Easts could only have themselves to blame after ignoring the referees warnings. The second penalty was given for ‘playing the ball on the ground’ despite been spoken to for the same offence at the previous ruck.

Macklin punished them for both indiscretions to make it 21-17 and Easts had it all to do once again. They increasingly threw caution to the wind as the clock ticked down, piling tired bodies forward and after the siren had sounded with the Beasts tapping every accrued penalty to try and smash through the wall of Uni defenders, a last desperate dive for the line looked to have got them home.

However, the referee was right on the spot, adjudged the ball to have been held up and promptly called an end to proceedings. While Uni celebrated their hard fought victory, the Beasts sat motionless and inconsolable but both sides should take great credit for their enterprise in what was a terrific advert for 3rd Grade rugby.

Sydney University 21 (Josh Koops, Nick Edwards tries; Jack Macklin 3 pens, con) d Eastern Suburbs 17 (Nick Healey 2 tries; Sam Devlin 2 cons, pen) at Concord Oval. HT: Sydney University 15-3. Referee: William Houston

Blake Boulton - www.seiserphotography.com

clubrugby.com.au: It wasn’t the most expansive of games but when it comes to a Grand Final, you’ll take the win any way it comes I guess?

Blake Boulton: “Yeah, any way is a good way in a Grand Final and West Harbour are a tough side. We had a hard game against them here a few weeks ago so we knew it would be tough and any points we could take, we were going to take them on the day and that helped us home.”

CR: Did you take anything from that previous game?

BB: “Yeah, we gave away a lot of penalties in that game and we piggy-backed them upfield. We’ve done that for the last couple of weeks so this week, our focus was really on discipline and making sure we didn’t give too many penalties and we didn’t do that today so we’re really happy with that.”

CR: You were down by 3pts at half-time, what was the focus?

BB: “The focus was on calming down. We panicked a lot in the first half and threw a lot of passes that probably shouldn’t have been thrown so the focus was to settle down and play the type of footy we wanted to play and we did that in the second half.”

CR: You kept your discipline while they lost theirs and you made them pay with your boot and there were a couple of long range efforts at the end that you must be really pleased with?

BB: “Yeah, very happy. Any chance you get you’ve got to try and knock them over so I’m very pleased.”

CR: They were pressure kicks as well with it being a Grand Final on their own turf in front of a few of their noisy supporters doing their best to put you off?

BB: “Ah, any kick is a pressure kick I guess, it was just good to get the win.”

CR: That’s your second successive Premiership – some achievement?

BB: “Yeah, two in a row does make it extra special because you don’t get many teams at any grade level backing up from one year to the next.”

CR: You’ve got two young, driven and ultimately successful coaches at the helm who now have two trophies from their first two seasons in the role. What do they bring to the table?

BB: “They’re just really good. They’re young and enthusiastic and keep us on our toes at training. They know their footy and they’re really a part of the team because they’re young coaches. We’re a close group of guys and that really helped us throughout the year.”

CR: Three in a row next year?

BB: “Hopefully!”

West Harbour captain Pat Alexander:

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CR: Commiserations, always tough to lose at the final hurdle, especially when it comes down to penalties?

Pat Alexander: “Yeah, full credit to Easts, they played a hard game. The scoreline shows that no tries were scored so that shows the level of commitment from both sides on the day.”

CR: You drew 14-14 all with them here three weeks ago, did you take anything from that game into today?

PA: “Well, we were actually undefeated on this ground all year until today so it just shows how close the gap is between the two teams.”

CR: You got your noses in front at half-time – what was the chat at the break?

PA: “We hadn’t lost a second half this year so being up at the break, we were looking to pile on the points. Unfortunately, they didn’t come and we made some poor decisions but that happens in Grand Final football.”

CR: Ill discipline was an issue and when you’ve got a guy who can slot them from virtually halfway, that’s costly?

PA: “What can you do? Full credit to him too, they were pressure kicks and he hit them all.”

CR: Despite today’s result, can you reflect on a good season for the side?

PA: ‘A terrific season. I love these boys, it was all fantastic and we left it all out there.”

Eastern Suburbs joint head coaches Tate Hawkins & Tom Bowden

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clubrugby.com.au: It was a tight game last year as well from memory but you win these Grand Finals any which way you can don’t you?

Tom Bowden: We scored a try last year but this one was definitely a tighter game but as expected following that draw a few weeks ago. We knew it would be a tough game but we thought we would be able to play a bit more of our football than we did. In patches we did it but otherwise they were really good at unsettling us and being really physical.

Tate Hawkins:  Finals football just comes down to winning and kicking your penalty goals essentially and we got there in the end.

CR: You had a fair amount of territory in the first half but as you said, they defended manfully didn’t they?

TH: Their defence has been good all year, I think they’ve only conceded about seven more points than us across the season and fifty points on this ground in eleven games so it was never going to be an easy day. We knew we were never going to run through them because their whole game is based on defence.

TB: I thought it was really good for our guys to recompose themselves in the second half because they’d got their tails up and they had a bit of momentum towards the end of the first half so I thought it was credit to our guys to really settle themselves down and go back to playing our style and our phases of football and come away with the victory.

CR: The additions of De Bartolo, Ward and Brenac are rather handy too aren’t they?

TH:  “We chased them up early season and had them coming in and out and even with their experience, a couple of these guys hadn’t won a Premiership before and with the club, they’ve played over a hundred first grade games each so it was really good to make sure that they came back and are giving back a lot to the younger guys who are learning a lot from them. They really add a lot and the boys really like playing with them as well.”

CR: Two years as coaches, two Premierships. What’s the secret?

TB: “Good culture and plenty of beers!”

TH: “If you’re happy off the field, you’re happy on it.”

CR: Three in a row next year?

TB: “We’ll see what happens.”

TH: “Who knows, we’ll see where we land.”

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Eastern Suburbs have made it back to back 4th Grade Premierships, overcoming a resolute West Harbour 15-6 to retain the Henderson Cup at Concord Oval. The Pirates, playing on their home ground, took a 3pt lead into the break but were held scoreless after the break in a match that came down to a test of discipline to decide the outcome.

In what was the epitome of finals football, two sides built on strong defence cancelled each other out across the hour, with the Beasts scoring five penalties to two in order to triumph. Fly-half Blake Boulton was the hero, slotting all five of his side’s three pointers to nullify the six points from counterpart Alex Lavender and he was understandably overjoyed with the victory, no matter how it transpired:

“It definitely wasn’t a running rugby game with lots of tries but we were happy with the way we defended all year and today was exactly the same. We defended really well on our line and didn’t let them in, they didn’t let us in either but we were lucky enough to get away with enough points and the win.”

Both teams came into the decider with the impressive record of conceding an average of less than 9pts per game over the course of the season so it was perhaps no surprise that the final turned into one for the purists with chances in the red zone limited by well marshalled defence at both ends.

On paper, the Beasts were favourites. Reigning champions, Minor Premiers and with the experience of former 1st Grade stalwarts Gavin De Bartolo, Ben Ward and Ed Brenac to call upon but despite the boys from Woollahra making the early running, Wests were in no mood to merely roll over and lay down for the expected result.

The sides had drawn 14-14 a mere three weeks earlier on the same pitch and with the vocal support of their home crowd, the Pirates were keen to take the game to their opponents from the start and early pressure told when Lavender opened the scoring with the first penalty of the day.

However, Easts soon settled and started to find the greater fluidity in attack and it wasn’t long before Boulton levelled terms in the 14th minute. Time and again, they earned good territory and a sniff of the posts but on each occasion, the Pirates stood up to be counted, put their bodies on the line and thwarted danger with a series of important tackles.

The only time their fortress was breached was when De Bartolo ran onto a drifting wide pass in the 25th minute to cross in the corner. It would have been no shame to concede a try to the 2007 Ken Catchpole Medal winner but on this occasion, the touch line found him first and the score was erased from the record books.

Wests’ refusal to buckle seemed to lift the team as a whole and drive them onto greater efforts in search of their own breakthrough and having soaked up more than their fair share of hits, they profited from Easts’ frustration to procure two penalties in quick succession. Lavender pulled his first wide of the posts but made no mistake with the second to give the ‘home’ side the narrowest of margins at the break.

Despite the deficit, Easts joint head coach Tom Bowden had seen enough from his charges to remain optimistic for the second half:

“The message was simple. ‘Everyone take a deep breath. We’re up to it, just keep playing our football and we’ll come away with the points’ and we did.”

Indeed, his optimism proved to be well founded as the Beasts ramped up the intensity after the restart to strike for home in a game whose outcome was becoming increasingly reliant on the referee’s whistle. Boulton levelled matters for a second time as the hosts’ supporters made their vocal disenchantment at the balance of penalties more audible with each decision.

The tables looked to have swung in their favour however, when a touch judge report fingered Easts captain Nathan Lowe for a dangerous tackle but despite the awarding of a penalty, the punishment didn’t appear to fit the crime as no yellow card was forthcoming and Wests eventual decision to kick for touch was curtailed by a knock-on from the ensuing line out.

Their profligacy came back to bite them as Boulton nailed penalty number three soon after although the initial attack that earned it looked to have brought greater reward. A nice dart through the line from the fly-half had created a chance for prop Rhys Ward and his dive for the chalk appeared to be successful but was instead called short and play brought back for an earlier infringement. The no.10 never looked like missing.

With ten minutes left on the clock, Easts rumbled forward again and a tiring Pirates outfit fell foul of the law once more. With the jeers of derision from disgruntled Pirates fans echoing in his ears, Boulton converted from 35 metres to extend the lead to 12-6 and when Wests turned over another line out after kicking a penalty to touch within striking distance, the writing was on the wall.

With victory already assured, Boulton sealed the deal in the dying moments with another exemplary strike from fully 40 metres after the Pirates were pinged for not rolling away and the celebrations could begin.

Eastern Suburbs 15 (Blake Boulton 5 pens) d West Harbour 6 (Alex Lavender 2 pens) at Concord Oval. HT: West Harbour 6-3. Referee: Michael Hogan

Eastwood Win - www.seiserphotography.com

Eastwood have turned a near perfect regular season into a Shute Shield premiership after one of the greatest Grand Finals in history, defeating Sydney University 19-16 in extra time.

With the scores tied at 16-all after 80 minutes, the match went into two more periods of ten minutes each way with Pierre Hola – one of the best players on the field – hitting the decisive penalty in the 88th minute.

With Sydney University aiming to send Phil Waugh into retirement with a record seventh straight premiership, this was always going to be a fiercely fought affair and scuffles broke out on a number of occasions.

Uni hit the front early via a Daniel Halangahu penalty, however soon after the Uni flyhalf was knocked out cold trying to tackle a rampaging Pierre Hola.

Despite being down for around five minutes, Halangahu stayed on the field and after a period of hiding from the main action, he still turned in an accomplished performance in attack and defence.

Hola and Bernard Foley, who had taken over kicking duties from Halangahu, traded penalties before the Tongan superstar caught Uni right winger Nathan Trist out of position and slid in a ball behind the line for John Grant to score.

Hola then nailed the conversion from the sideline to put Eastwood ahead 10-6.

Foley added another three points in the 28th minute to close the margin to one, however Eastwood’s enterprise was delivering results. On three occasions the Woods turned down kickable penalties to go for the try, and while they did not all come off, one chance delivered another penalty which they took in the 38th minute to open the lead to 13-9.

Nic White attempted to extend the lead further with a 56m attempt after the half-time siren, and while the ball went wide, it easily cleared the dead-ball line to the amazement of the crowd.

Eastwood dominated from the outset in the second half however they failed to register any points for their field position.

As expected, Sydney University was never going to let up and it was no surprise that they took the lead soon after Waugh entered the game via a try to scrumhalf Matt Schwager.

Foley converted from close range to give Uni a 16-13 lead with 27 minutes to play.

Hola had the opportunity to close the gap with a 40m penalty attempt soon after, however the shot went wide.

By now the game had turned into an enthralling arm wrestle and it looked as though Eastwood were going to get out of jail with less than ten minutes remaining. Hola kicked across field on halfway to again find Grant who put on the after burners to streak past everyone but Foley who pulled off a great cover tackle which looked like a premiership-winning tackle.

However there was to be another twist in the tail with Eastwood awarded a 77th minute penalty 17m in from the right touchline.

Hola made no mistake and when Uni could not capitalise on field position in the final stages, the game went into extra time.

Eastwood was first on the attack however Hola’s close-range drop goal attempt went wide in the 82nd minute.

The Students were next to bring the game downfield however just when it looked like they may crack the Woods the play became unstuck. With the ball on the ground, Ben Batger toed the ball ahead three times over 90m forcing Uni to scramble the ball into touch.

Soon after the critical penalty opportunity came with Hola breaking the deadlock in the 88th minute.

In the second period of extra time Eastwood again looked like scoring but Uni twice managed critical turnovers on their own line with Pat McCutcheon proving to be a standout.

They turned those plays their own way and managed to garner field position but were unable to find the points they were after as the clock wound down to the 100th minute.

Eastwood 19 (John Grant try; Pierre Hola 4 pens, con) d Sydney University 16 (Matt Schwager try; Bernard Foley 2 pens, con, Daniel Halangahu pen) after extra time at Concord Oval. HT: Eastwood 13-9. Referee: Ian Smith. Crowd: 7372.

By the clock
3rd – Daniel Halangahu penalty goal. Sydney University 3-0.
9th – Pierre Hola penalty goal. 3-all
17th – Bernard Foley penalty goal. Sydney University 6-3
19th – Pierre Hola missed penalty attempt
20th – John Grant try; Pierre Hola conversion. Eastwood 10-6
28th – Bernard Foley penalty goal. Eastwood 10-9
38th – Pierre Hola penalty goal. Eastwood 13-9
40th – Nic White missed penalty attempt
52nd – Matt Schwager try; Bernard Foley conversion. Sydney University 16-13
57th – Pierre Hola missed penalty attempt
78th – Pierre Hola penalty goal. 16-all
82nd – Pierre Hola missed drop goal attempt
88th – Pierre Hola penalty goal. Eastwood 19-16

Lower Grades

Colin Caird Shield Grand Final

EASTWOOD v SOUTHERN DISTRICTS

Southern Districts are celebrating their first ever grade premiership after defeating minor premiers Eastwood 24-16 to win the Colin Caird Shield.

The Rebels defeated the top two teams in the competition in the Preliminary Final and Grand Final, however the ultimate prize was not sealed for Souths until the final moments of the game.

Eastwood were on top for much of the first half, with scrumhalf Mick Snowden perfect with his three attempts at penalty goal to open up a 9-0 lead.

However Souths continued to pile on the pressure and eventually that converted into points when prop Dennis Swann crashed over after a sustained period of attack.

The momentum had swung the way of the Rebels and it wasn’t long until they were attacking again with Ben Volavola held up over the line. From the ensuing scrum, No.8 Rubin Vito swung off the back to score Souths’ second try.

Dewet Roos converted for a second time to take a 14-9 lead at the break.

A penalty early in the second half opened up an eight point lead however Roos missed the opportunity to go further ahead when he missed another shot shortly after Souths were held up for a second time.

Just when it looked like Souths’ seemingly impenetrable defensive line couldn’t be cracked, Ben James put Nathan Powyer through a hole on a deft second man play with the wing scoring untouched.

Snowden’s conversion made it a one-point game with ten minutes remaining.

Souths quickly came down the field and were held up for the third occasion to set a 5m scrum, however a penalty to Eastwood entitled them to another attacking raid.

Former Australian Sevens rep Nick Reily made a scything break downfield however play broke down, as it did two minutes from full-time when it again looked like Eastwood may steal the result.

However from the final turnover Souths flung it to the right wing to 2010 NSW Country Junior Player of the Year Alex Gibbon who streaked away to seal the result.

Southern Districts 24 (Dennis Swann, Rubin Vito, Alex Gibbon tries; Dewet Roos 3 cons, pen) d Eastwood 16 (Nathan Powyer try; Mick Snowden 3 pens, con) at Concord Oval. HT: Southern Districts 14-9. Referee: Steve Hardy

Uni celebrate - www.seiserphotography.com

Sydney University have reached their seventh Shute Shield Grand Final in a row, beating a gutsy Manly 31-16 at TG Millner Field. After an early barrage from the Students took them out to a 14-0 lead, the Marlins fought back to go into the break only a point behind but a second half masterclass in control, discipline, intensity and execution from Uni saw them hold Manly to a mere 3pts while two tries from hooker Sam Roberson sealed the win.

Eleven points from the boot of Daniel Halangahu made him Sydney University’s all time record point scorer in the process, passing the incredible 1000pts mark and it was the Waratah fly-half’s knack of producing the timely touch-finder behind a hardworking and experienced back row that made the difference on a day of fine margins.

Elated Uni centre Tom Carter reflected on a hard day at the office:

“We played a typical Uni game, played field position and waited for them to make errors and then got some points but credit to Manly, they played right till the end. These games are really hard, they had everything to gain and nothing to lose and they played their hearts out but we hung in there. We weren’t perfect and we need to be better but we won.”

Manly were first out of the blocks, keen to get the upper hand and impose themselves on the Students and their impressive start would have been rubber stamped had Willie Ripia converted a third minute penalty. He didn’t and you wondered even at this early stage whether that would come back to haunt him.

The Students began to settle and the first quarter became a case of them patiently building phases and territory to apply pressure while Manly held resolute and looked to counter from any half chance. A break in the 16th minute by Marlins centre Andrew Smith left him with numbers on his outside but his pass went too early and too high and the chance was gone.

Dean Mumm - www.seiserphotography.com

Sparked into a response, the Students concocted their own play and made the breakthrough two minutes later. A terrific run by captain Tim Davidson through the midfield attracted plenty of defenders and gave Daniel Halangahu the opportunity to find a gap for Bernard Foley. He in turn fed Michael Hodge and the young winger stepped off his left leg, stood up Ben Seymour and arrowed towards the posts leaving Halangahu a simple conversion.

Four minutes later, they struck again as Foley took off down the right wing, evaded a couple of missed tackles and fed Tom Kingston. The gun Waratah flyer doesn’t need a second invitation and he showed exactly why he’s one of the country’s hottest young properties as he stepped inside and put on the afterburners to carve a swathe to the posts.

Halangahu again did the honours and at 14-0, Manly were in desperate need of a foothold in the match before it sailed away from them. They got it through a Ripia penalty in the 25th minute that served as the catalyst for a period of pressure inside Uni’s twenty-two which ended with their own five pointer.

Setting up a maul from 5 metres out, the Marlins already had a penalty for offside in the bag but playing the advantage, they worked the ball infield towards the posts and flanker Kotoni Ale eventually crashed over. Ripia added the extras and Manly were warming to the task.

Their comeback was virtually complete when a Ripia penalty in the 36th minute – after Halangahu had pushed one wide at the other end – meant that the teams went to the sheds with only one point separating them. It was very much game on.

Uni head coach Todd Louden was disappointed with his side’s drop in intensity after such a positive start but he was adamant that there was still only one side in it:

“We went back into our shell a little bit and didn’t navigate the wind very well but we knew we had them. We knew we had to hustle and we knew they would drop off because our fitness would see us come over the top.”

Anthony Hegarty - www.seiserphotography.com

Five minutes later, they set about regaining the ascendancy and it was to a familiar friend they turned. When Halangahu kicked a penalty for offside into touch, the line out was taken and the driving maul was set.

Louden swears that they don’t practice it but their ‘go-to’ play has been so devastatingly effective this season, that his statement seems incredulous. Manly did better than most in the first instance, repelling the initial assault but when they rumbled through again off a second penalty, there was no holding them, even Tom Carter lending his weight to the final try scoring shove that put Sam Roberson over.

Halangahu extended the lead to 8pts and having already battled exhaustively at the breakdown – hooker Anthony Hegarty was running his own ‘hits of the week’ showreel – it must have been a further hammer blow to the Manly psychology to see Phil Waugh come trotting onto the paddock in place of Jono Jenkins.

The former Wallaby and Waratah no.7’s cameo was imperious and alongside the tireless efforts of skipper Davidson and the raw aggression of Pat McCutcheon, Manly were slowly starved of any significant ball from which to do damage.

Ripia reduced the arrears on the hour, slotting a penalty after Smith and Seymour had combined to go close on a rare visit into enemy territory but it was the little one percenters that were making the difference. Uni were virtually error free and in Halangahu, had someone that knows how to control the pace of a game or take the sting out of an opposition with a well placed touch finder.

Conversely, Ripia – brilliant as he is at orchestrating play from deep – was reticent to go to the line and when he did have his hands on the pill, particularly from turnovers, kicked too much away. Manly looked a far better prospect with ball in hand and every ounce of possession needed to be cherished.

The final ten minutes for the Marlins became a frustrating lesson in how to close out a knockout game with the Students happy to play field position, maul at every opportunity and look to force penalties and it was Halangahu’s first three pointer of the day in the 75th minute that not only took Uni out past a converted try margin at 24-16 but also took him over the 1,000pt mark and made him their all time record point scorer. A terrific achievement for a terrific player.

It was left to Roberson to put the icing on the cake 3 minutes from time, the young rake being the profiteer once more from that seemingly invincible maul to grab his second and put the Students into Grand Final seventh heaven.

Sydney University 31 (Sam Roberson 2, Michael Hodge, Tom Kingston tries; Daniel Halangahu 4 cons, pen) d Manly 16 (Kotoni Ale try; Willie Ripia 3 pens, con) at TG Millner Field. HT: Sydney University 14-13. Referee: Ian Smith

Final Thoughts…

Sydney University centre Tom Carter:

“Eastwood were outstanding yesterday – brilliant backline, incredible halves, great backrow, solid up front. They’re a very impressive footy side but in saying that, there’s a few areas we think we can expose. They’ve beaten us twice this year but it wasn’t the team we had out there today so they’ll be confident, they have every right to be as they’ve been the best team this year but on Grand Final day, that means very little.

“I think the one thing you can say about this group is that they never take a result for granted. It was a special day, Daniel Halangahu, Davo, Waughie and I, it might be the last time we play together and there’s a group of us that have played together since we were colts so it’s a special time of year and something we really cherish at this club. Next week won’t be easy but hopefully, we can finish off on a really good note.”

Manly head coach Tim Lane:

“We were in the game and had we taken two or three opportunities down the right side in both halves, it possibly could have been a different ball game. They’re strong, obviously with their set-piece and their maul which they scored two tries from and that’s their experience, that’s their go to play. They didn’t create much but that’s how you win games I suppose, you’ve just got to take your opportunities. Their first two tries were quite good but the others were just brute strength and experience.

“We’ve taken one step further than we have in the last couple of years but we want to take one more. Next year it’s going to be a very different ball game, the Super 15’s longer, we’ve got three or four guys that have picked up contracts this year that aren’t going to be with us for a lot of the time so it’s going to be tough.”

Sydney University head coach Todd Louden:

“We did a whole lot of homework and we knew what they were going to throw at us so we just had to batten down the hatches so to speak but what was really rewarding was our second try which we’d been practicing. We knew they’d come hard at our lifters and jumpers and we knew that if we offset that, we’d get one and it’s always good when a plan comes together. I thought that 14-0 lead was pretty interesting because I backed their backs but they didn’t have any respect for ours and I’m being quite pointed deliberately because that’s where it came from.

“Finals are always a fifty/fifty, you turn up and you expect to win so I’m not worried. We’re obviously very respectful of Eastwood, they’d have to be the favourites, given their form this year and we’re very respectful of that. However, we also know that with finals, it’s one shot and anything can happen and we also dusted Randwick by a similar scoreline and at their home too.”

Lachie Turner & James Stannard - www.seiserphotography.com

Eastwood have taken their dominant regular season form into the knockout stages, beating a bewildered Randwick 77-15 at TG Millner Field to reach their first Grand Final since 2005. The writing was on the wall early for the Wicks as Nic White went over within the opening two minutes and went on to claim his hat-trick within the first quarter as the home side racked up a 46-10 advantage by half-time.

Showing no mercy, they went on with the job after the break with Lachie Turner and the Shute Shield’s leading try scorer John Grant also completing three try salvos and the Woodies could even afford for points machine Pierre Hola to have an off day with the boot. The former Tongan international slotted only three from nine conversion attempts but still accrued enough of a haul to become Eastwood’s record points scorer over a single season.

The victory was also a nice way to redeem the loss to the same opposition at this stage last year but for Lachie Turner, that fact was merely a finely placed brush stroke on the bigger picture:

“It’s always sweet but to be honest with you it wasn’t really a massive focus for us and we didn’t really speak about it. This is a new side with new goals and it wasn’t a massive motivator, we were more driven by the goals we wanted to achieve this year and we’re halfway there now. We’ve had a good season, we’ve started something and we just want to go and finish it now.”

If Randwick were to stand any chance of toppling the Minor Premiers on the day, the general acceptance was that they had to hold firm in the early stages and not concede. That the Woodies almost went over in the first thirty seconds of the match was concerning. That they coughed up three tries in the first 8 minutes was bordering on criminal.

White got the ball rolling, running off the back of a five metre scrum to slice through within two minutes before Tim Bennetts pounced on a loose ball a minute later for the second after an Hola penalty had ricocheted back off the posts. Straight from the restart, the Woodies should have had number three as Lachie Turner released hooker Damien Fitzpatrick to the line but as the front row try machine dove for glory, he dropped the ball cold.

No matter, the way this game was going, another chance was only just around the corner with the Woodies running rampant and Randwick in complete disarray and it was the mercurial White who grabbed his second in the 8th minute after good work from no.8 Locky McCaffrey to make it 15-0 with Hola still luckless with the boot.

The Galloping Greens finally found some rhythm after 10 minutes when a period of good field position ended with fly-half Toby Browne using a decoy run from Tim Wright to put Tom Joseph through to the posts. Browne’s conversion brought it back to 15-7 and despite the poor start, it looked as though Randwick had come away relatively unscathed. The key was to hold firm in defence and take the sting out of Eastwood’s rapier like incursions. What they couldn’t factor for however, was the brilliance of Nic White.

The restart was dropped by the unfortunate Al McFarland, giving the Woodies the put in at the scrum from 10 metres out. McCaffrey fed White who initially headed right but stepped once, twice and a third time to change direction, bedazzle a line of defenders and go over in the left corner for a terrific individual try and his hat-trick.

A Browne penalty in the 25th minute maintained hope but it was scant response to Eastwood’s onslaught and four more tries in the 10 minutes before half-time all but confirmed the result.

John Grant sailed in for his customary five pointer before Fitzpatrick redeemed himself, making no mistake with the grounding this time after good work from Bennetts to nail his eleventh try in only seven games since his return from injury. A chip kick from Ben Batger was then gleefully accepted by Turner who stepped his way brilliantly under the posts before an exchange of passes between Grant and the impressive Mitch Lees put the Wests Tigers bound flyer in for his second.

After four straight misses, Hola had long passed the kicking tee to Batger who slotted three from four for a half-time score of 46-10 and Randwick head coach Craig Morrison admitted it was a tough task to rally his players during the break as they stared down a missed tackle count of twenty-one to Eastwood’s four:

“I identified quickly how poor we were and then focused on what we had to do to turn our performance around. It was about execution, not the scoreboard. We’d put a big focus on getting out of our area early on and putting them under some pressure down their end, which was a good plan but executed terribly. Our kick off reception was another key focus and yet we could not catch uncontested ball, we had to be spot on in all areas and unfortunately we were far from it.”

His words didn’t have the requisite effect with the status quo resuming in the 44th minute, McCaffrey capping a fine display by breaking through two soft tackles to cross. Hola tried again and finally succeeded but Eastwood joy turned sour in the 50th minute when standout centre Tim Bennetts was carried from the field with a nasty looking ankle injury.

The embattled Wicks fought on and claimed their second five pointer of the match when Browne and Ben Mowen combined to put Ethan Ford over in the corner but last week’s monumental effort against Easts was starting to show and by the final quarter, they were mere sitting ducks for an Eastwood side keen to take advantage.

Two in a minute from Turner earned him his hat-trick and had the crowd purring as the Waratah speedster firstly outpaced the cover defence from a James Stannard grubber and then scooped up spilt pill on halfway to turn and race home alone.

Randwick couldn’t buy a trick and every mistake was being punished. Shaun Foley jinked his way to within 5 metres of Eastwood’s line before his pop-up pass to his support instead landed in the arms of Woodies skipper Hugh Perrett who turned tail, sped to halfway and put Grant away on his inside to coast in for his third and break the unbelievable seventy point mark.

The massacre was completed when replacement full-back Nick Reily skirted around a sleeping defence on the touchline from a quick throw and there was no-one home. Pierre Hola finished with only three from ten but on this form, Eastwood might not need his points next week anyway.

Eastwood 77 (Nic White 3, Lachie Turner 3, John Grant 3, Tim Bennetts, Damien Fitzpatrick, Locky McCaffrey, Nick Reily tries; Ben Batger 3 cons, Pierre Hola 3 cons) d Randwick 15 (Tom Joseph, Ethan Ford tries; Toby Browne con, pen) at TG Millner Field. HT: Eastwood 46-10. Referee: Nathan Pearce

Final Thoughts…

Eastwood winger Lachie Turner:

“That third try was important. To bounce back after dropping the ball over the line that quickly, that really set the momentum for the rest of the day. If we hadn’t got that one, it might have turned into a bit more of an arm wrestle than it was so we’ll have to speak to ‘Fitzy’ and tell him to put that one down next time!

“I think if you go back through the last six weeks, we haven’t really been tested so I know the guys are ready and raring to go. They’re ready for a big game and they’re gearing up for it so I’m sure that whoever we play next week, we’re in for a pretty big test.”

Randwick head coach Craig Morrison:

“We were poor, no doubt. They’ve had great defence all year so they deserve credit for forcing turnover ball and then doing well with it. This has been their bread and butter this season, they score a lot of points on turnover ball and put you under a lot of pressure defensively.

“We let them play but injuries and a six day turnaround were a factor. We looked tired but don’t be too harsh on our boys, one contracted player versus ten or so is hardly an even contest but that’s our problem, not Eastwood’s.

“The club did well to reach six Preliminary finals this season but we set the bar high for ourselves so we are disappointed we did not get further. Given our circumstances, I think we achieved relative success and more importantly, we have the motivation to do better and to do things differently next year.”

Eastwood head coach John Manenti:

“I said to the boys pre-game that if they went out there and did the things we’d asked of them, they’d blow these blokes away and they wouldn’t be able to go with them. They probably exceeded my expectations to a degree and we actually didn’t have the ball for that much time. I know that sounds funny when we’ve scored seventy points but we scored a lot of counter attack tries, a lot of first phase tries and some fairly soft tries which meant that we didn’t get to execute a lot of the stuff that we thought we would need to but today was just about getting the result.

“Pierre Hola’s scored three hundred and something points and he’s missed six shots at goal that he wouldn’t miss too often again. ‘Fitzy’ dropped the ball over the line and we bombed two, maybe three other certain tries but it’s good that we weren’t perfect and at least we know we’ve still got a bit to do for next week and I’m sure we’ll do it.

“We’ve had a season to be very, very proud of whatever happens from here but I know we’ll put in a good show, I know it’ll be a good Grand Final and I know Eastwood will be there to win it so whoever we face, if they’re going to beat us, they’re going to have to be really good.”