Northern Suburbs continue the celebrations after grand final win breaks 41-year Shute Shield drought
A SWARM of supporters invaded North Sydney Oval before the final bell in Saturday’s historic grand final win. And that was just the beginning of the party for Northern Suburbs.
- Norths resurrect the spirit of ‘75
- Brothers take backyard rugby to Norths
- 336km run through alps in five days
NORTHS skipper Will Miller was still celebrating the Shoremen’s “unreal win” in the Shute Shield grand final when the Mosman Daily spoke to him on Monday.
“Everyone is stoked,” Miller said. “We are!” cheered a chorus of voices and cheeky laughter in the background.
Northern Suburbs smashed their 41-year premiership drought with an emphatic 28-15 victory over Sydney University on Saturday.
Miller said the game was hard fought and fortunately in the end his team got over the line.
“Uni scored a couple of late tries there which really swung the momentum back their way, but I had faith in the boys and they held composure well,” he said.
“They are a good bunch of blokes who just dug deep for each other.
“Everyone worked really hard for this for the whole year, so it’s been a real team experience. Everyone fought really hard for this moment.”
The premiership capped off a winning season for Miller, who earned the Ken Catchpole Medal as the 2016 Sydney Rugby Union’s Player of the Year.
Coach Simon Cron said he aimed to create a winning culture at Norths. “When we started the season, my expectation was for us to win,” he said. “You want to create a bit of a dynasty and that’s something that can keep on going for years in the club, not just one year.”
Cron said the day was massive for the club and its supporters at North Sydney Oval. “When we scored our last try the roof of the stadium lifted and people flooded the field,” he said.
“It was just pure excitement for all the supporters. One of my players said when the team scored he stood up, ready to celebrate and saw 1000 people running towards him; it was amazing for them all.”
MATCH REPORT
Northern Suburbs rewrote the record books with a stunning 28-15 Shute Shield grand final victory on Saturday.
The Shoremen went into the match against the battle-hardened Sydney University as underdogs even though — with 12 straight wins — they were the form team of the competition.
The result not only guaranteed the team a lucky 13th win but it broke a 41-year premiership drought.
After a tense opening stanza that saw Norths take a 10-3 lead to the break, the game opened up in the second half as Uni fought back and hit the front via tries to Tom Carter and Tolu Latu.
A penalty goal to Angus Sinclair with 10 minutes left on the clock saw the Shoremen back in front at 16-15.
Then, two minutes later, came the defining moment of the season when man-of-the-match Hugh Sinclair swept on to a loose ball deep in his own half and combined with brother Angus to send winger Richard Woolf on a joyous dash to the line.
Norths supporters dominated the 12,000-strong North Sydney Oval crowd and all semblance of control was lost when Will Weeks surged over for another try right on the bell. The ground was invaded by jubilant fans and fulltime was called with the conversion abandoned.
“It has been a long time coming but we finally got it” said Norths captain Will Miller. “I can’t believe it.”
Nick Kygrios’ girlfriend in $12m Sydney property video
The glamorous model girlfriend of tennis star Nick Kygrios has appeared in a slick video promoting a stunning new home that’s shooting for a suburb record in Sydney’s inner west.
Country teens making mark with Waratahs in Super Rugby
Some of Country rugby’s top teenagers have been called into the Waratahs for Super Rugby debuts as the academy bids to keep an impressive winning record intact against the Queensland Reds.