Macarthur Rugby League: Grand final talking points, +120 photo gallery
It was a Macarthur Rugby League grand final day at Campbelltown Stadium that will be long remembered. Among a host of entertaining plays, there’s plenty to talk about. +120 PHOTO GALLERY.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There was no shortage of entertainment on a hot and wild Sunday afternoon at Campbelltown. But with the silverware now locked in cabinets across the region, many have already made moves towards 2024.
Grand final talking points.
AMONG THE BEST GRAND FINALS
There’s been no shortage of cracking first grade deciders over the past 30 years, and this year was no different.
But was it the best? Well that will be long debated, but many who have been around the traps long enough believe it’s up there with some of the best.
LOKO FAREWELL
With only three games to his name before the grand final, Jacob Loko proved a welcome addition to Thirlmere’s bench for the decider.
Parked on the right edge, the former Eels utility proved a handful with his second phase offloads. But restricted by constant knee issues, Loko has now called time on a career that included 23 NRL appearances from 2011-13.
TOO QUICK FOR A PROP
Tony Campbell’s runaway try was the perfect way for The Oaks to kickstart their premiership celebrations.
But with his mad dash over 30m, you have to wonder if the big No.8 has run straight out of the prop-club.
HELL CORNER
Campbelltown Stadium’s northeast corner turned out to be a black hole for defending teams last Sunday.
Narellan looked to have the women’s title in the bag until Collies struck with a late try, after Gwen Swann somehow managed to recover a bouncing ball that seemed certain to hit the back fence.
Then in first grade, Thirlmere’s premiership fortunes turned when winger James Lee flew above a pack of Rams to plant the ball in the notorious corner.
STADIUM v LOCAL VENUES
The rusted-on tribal atmosphere unique to each club’s home ground is tough to beat, but there’s no doubting Campbelltown Stadium as a grand final venue.
As tensions escalated throughout the first grade game, the roars of the Camden and Thirlmere fans reverberating throughout the western stand were a perfect backdrop to a gripping finale.
PICTON ANNOUNCE NEW COACH
After failing to make this year’s finals, Picton has wasted little time in gearing up for 2024. Earlier this week the Magpies announced the appointment of Simon Woolford as first grade coach.
With more than 250 NRL games under his belt for Canberra and St George Illawarra, the former hooker brings a wealth of experience that includes coaching gigs at Parramatta, Newcastle and with Huddersfield in the UK Super League.
THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT
Finally, a quick shout out to all the clubs, coaches and players for your assistance and patience throughout the season. Our coverage is all the better for your guidance and input, and we thank you all.
And remember, it’s a long summer without any footy, so if you’ve got a story or any trade rumours we’d love to hear them via the links above.
GRAND FINAL DAY WRAP
The sun belted down at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday and the footy sizzled on a cracking day of senior Macarthur Rugby League grand finals.
Collies were eyeing consecutive titles in the open age women’s, and Camden shared similar thoughts in the top grade, while The Oaks and Mittagong set out to rewrite history in reserve grade.
Grand finals wrap.
CARDIAC ROOSTERS STRIKE LATE TO SINK RAMS
The Roosters have done it again.
For the third straight week the Thirlmere boys have boarded the late train, only this time the journey ended at the club’s seventh title after a miraculous 28-26 come from behind grand final victory over Camden.
It was a decider that had more twists and turns than a corkscrew, one the Rams seemingly had in the bag with eight minutes remaining.
Leading 26-18, and backed by the sounds of ‘Rammer’ from a packed western grandstand, Camden practically had both hands on consecutive titles.
Up until that point, Thirlmere half Damon New was having a bludger of a day with the boot. And when he aimed a last play kick towards the northeast corner, it looked like another mongrel off the boot until flying winger James Lee snatched it from Camden’s grasp to get the Roosters within four points.
Then with just five minutes to play, a Camden error gifted Thirlmere a shot at the title.
On a day loaded with strong performers, Roosters fullback Hayden Sutton picked up the medal for man of the match, but young winger Wiremu Tuiletufuga can’t have been far behind.
Faultless at both ends of the park, the powerhouse No.5 was given the ball with little room to move but somehow managed crash over in the left corner for his third try of the afternoon.
With the scores level, New placed the tee just inside the touch line, and up until that point he had landed just one from five.
Yet, despite the tunes of death riding Rams fans, the No.7 split the middle and Thirlmere celebrated its third title in five years.
Relieved and bouncing around with the cup after full time, New, who was part of Thirlmere’s 2020 success couldn’t hide his delight.
“The kick for Lee’s try was a bit of a floater,” said New.
“I didn’t hit it well and it just kept rolling forward off my boot, but Jimmy’s a freak and he made the kick look perfect.”
But if Lee’s try came with a touch of fortune, New’s clutch conversion was the opposite.
“I just tried to block the noise out and go through my routine, I looked at the goalposts and thought ‘this is going over.’ Then I just kicked the thing and thank god it went over … it felt so good,” said New.
But did he know as soon as it left his boot?
“I did, as soon as I struck it, it felt so good and I knew it was gonna go over,” he said, before racing away to join brother Mitch in the celebrations.
It was the only sure thing in an epic riddled with uncertainty.
Thirlmere exploded out of the gates scoring three tries to Camden’s one in a blistering opening 20 minutes.
Tim Simona and Josh Bryant combined to put Tuiletufuga over in the eighth minute, but the Rams replied three minutes later when winger Kienan Power-Tempest crossed for the first of his two following a Jack Miller bust.
Having already tasted premiership success on the NRL stage, Curtis Scott then carried the Roosters on his back with a double inside five minutes, including a long range effort along the western grandstand sideline.
Trailing 14-6 and sensing Camden’s hopes quickly fading, Brad Speechley – last year’s player of the grand final – turned the tables.
Busy as alway, the clever half put Metuisela Taungatua under the sticks, and then on the stroke of halftime he caught the Thirlmere defence napping to give Camden an unlikely 18-14 advantage.
Tuiletufuga and Power-Tempest exchanged tries early in the second half, before Speechley won a penalty after being hit late from a last play kick.
On a day of turning points, Camden opted for the two points and an eight-point buffer with 24 minutes still to play.
And that’s the way it remained, until New returned serve wearing his magic slippers.
THE OAKS BREAK PREMIERSHIP DROUGHT
The Tigers are the toast of The Oaks after the town’s reggies brushed aside more than three decades of heartache with a comprehensive 26-10 grand final win over Mittagong.
Christian Nahlous, the Tigers captain and proud local junior, led the club to its first title since 1992 and first in reserve grade since 1985.
Mittagong arrived at Campbelltown eager to erase the memories of last season’s grand final heartache, but they were never really in the hunt as player of the match Cameron Williams guided the Tigers to a comfortable 18-0 halftime lead.
Towering winger Brad Dawson struck in the eighth minute, and the margin quickly doubled when centre Brendon Hearne pounced on a Williams grubber.
Williams was having a day out, and when the half busted through the Lions defence for the Tigers’ third, it was always going to be tough for Mittagong to reverse the trend.
And so it proved, when once again Williams broke clear, this time drawing the fullback for Jake Ennis to stroll across for an unassailable 22-0 advantage.
The Lions refused to rollover and hit back with a double to centre Timothy Townsend, but it was the Tigers final try that sent The Oaks fans into overdrive.
With a midfield bomb left unattended, Tony Campbell simply steamed onto the bounce and set sail for the try line.
With encouragement from the outer, the big prop thundered across the turf from 30m out before being mobbed by overjoyed teammates.
“It’s certainly a win for more than the team, it’s for the club and also the town,” said Nahlous.
“Mittagong love to grind, we just had to stick with them and complete, and we knew if we did that then we’d have a real chance.
“Williams is one of our main men, he’s been playing like that all year.”
The Oaks were well served upfront, and the skipper was quick to single out his props.
“I think our entire pack were all good, but you can't question the efforts of Campbell and Jack Bonning,” he said.
“They both stood up with huge runs in the first half and Jack kept going in the heat up until halftime.”
It’s been a long time between drinks for The Oaks, and when asked if he’d organised leave from work on Monday, Nahlous was quick to double down.
“Yep, I’ve put in for Monday … and Tuesday!”
COLLIES GO BACK-TO-BACK IN HEARTSTOPPER
Campbelltown Collegians have edged out the Narellan Jets 14-12 to claim its second Open Age Women’s title in consecutive seasons.
Having already had their colours lowered by Narellan earlier in the finals, Collies were expected to bring their preliminary final winning form over Camden to the big dance.
But Narellan had other ideas and quickly converted repeat sets into points when hooker Ashanti Pennell beat several defenders from close range.
As the temperature soared, so did Campbelltown’s errors as a committed Jets prevented the reigning premiers from gaining any momentum through centrefield.
Narellan looked like heading to the sheds with a 10-point advantage, but runaway winger Alofa Schuster was cut down in a brilliant one-on-one cover tackle by fullback Pandora Visesio.
It proved to be a major turning point. Shortly after, Italia Nuku-Mariner put Collies on the board, and they only trailed 6-4 at halftime.
Narellan started the second half like the first, and when Brooke Wilkins finished a width of the field spread in the left corner an upset loomed, and more so after Jemma Crane landed the touchline conversion for a 12-4 lead.
The score remained that way until the final seven minutes when Collegians five-eighth Imogen Lowe burrowed over from dummy-half.
Narellan clung to a 12-10 lead in the final minutes, but ultimately had their hearts broken by player of the match Alafou Fatu.
The No.11’s last play kick to the right corner found open space in-goal, and remained unclaimed until winger Sinead Sio pounced on the loose ball for the title winning try.
“We just kept making small mistakes and we needed to tighten up our defence,” captain-coach Aggie Dean said of Collies’ first half.
“At halftime we spoke about concentrating on making yards up field before moving the ball.
“We knew we could turn it around with discipline and by just encouraging each other, we're like a family.
“It has been a really great week for the club and me as a coach. Back-to-back is great but we’ve had three girls teams get up, last weekend we also won the U15s and yesterday the U18s won.”
PHOTO GALLERY
First Grade
Reserve Grade
Open Age Women’s
Join the conversation
NSWRL Junior Reps: Top 20 performers from round one
NSWRL Junior Reps footy returned at the weekend and the big guns stood tall when it counted. We look at 20 of the top performers from all four grades across the weekend.
Read more
NSWRL Junior Reps Rd 1: 20 major talking points from opening round
An incredible opening weekend saw a pair of 650+ day droughts broken, upsets across the grades and new contenders emerge. See what made headlines in our 20 talking points from NSWRL Junior Reps round one.
Read more