THRILLER: How Sarina toppled the minor premiers Brothers in the Mackay District Rugby League finals

Sarina captain Kane Linnett gives the inside story on how his club overcame adversity to defeat Brothers and book their spot in the grand final.

Quintel Wailu scored the match-winning try for Sarina in its extra-time win over Brothers. Picture: Marty Strecker

Sarina is through to the Mackay District Rugby League grand final after pulling off a thrilling upset over Brothers on Sunday.

The Crocs fought through adversity throughout the game, finding themselves behind the eight-ball early as Brothers prop Declan Laird opened the scoring in the 11th minute.

To add to Sarina’s troubles early, a pair of Crocs were sent to the sin bin midway through the first half, leaving the side with just 11 players on the field.

“There’s been a lot of times throughout this year where we’ve had to respond to adversity and fight through,” Sarina captain Kane Linnett said.

And fight through they did, countering with a try of their own late in the first half to make it a 6-4 game entering the break.

And while Brothers again took the lead with a pair of quick tries to winger Matthew Skaife and centre Rydge Smith, Sarina countered once again through Dario Takitaki.

Despite their resilience, the Crocs remained in arrears in the closing stages of the game, trailing 18-14 in the final few minutes.

That was until their centre Takitaki broke through the Brothers defence in the final stages of the match, levelling the scores at 18-18.

Kane Linnett. Picture: Michaela Harlow

Brothers fullback Zane McKellar had the game on his boot, with an opportunity to send his side through to the grand final with a match-winning conversion, but was unable to put it through and Sarina had to settle for extra time.

“We had an opportunity to win the game then and there, but what I was most happy about was how the boys got around (Zane) and kept their spirits high,” Linnett said.

And that motivation was rewarded early in the extra time period, with Benny Barba finding hooker Quintel Wailu who dove in for the winning try.

“We’ve got the confidence and belief in ourselves that we can win these close games, we’ve done it throughout the season,” Linnett said.

The Crocs will now enjoy the weekend off as they look ahead to the grand final, which will see them face off against the winner of Brothers and Mackay Magpies’ preliminary final.

“It’s a good chance for us to rest, we’ve got a few lads carrying some injuries so the bye was much needed from our perspective,” Linnett said.