Penrith District Rugby League: Grand final charge, Week-2 preview
With a grand final spot up for grabs the pressure is building in the race towards the Don Feltis Cup. We preview this weekend’s two finals matches. FULL PREVIEW.
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It’s all systems go in the Don Feltis Cup as minor premiers Emu Plains and Windsor face off for a spot in the grand final.
After a major scare last weekend St Clair are in action against Colyton, where the loser can start preparing for next season.
Week two finals preview.
EMU PLAINS v WINDSOR
The battle between last year’s grand finalists promises to be another beauty.
Windsor got the chocolates back in round 11, but plenty of water has passed under the bridge since the Wolves outclassed the reigning premiers at a drenched Heber Park.
Both teams are expected to be at near full strength for Sunday’s contest, where the winner will walk away from Leonay Oval with a ticket to next month’s grand final.
Feelings bubbled over in the last encounter when Emu skipper Thomas Romer and Wolves powerhouse Dallas Burns both received their marching orders just after halftime.
With little separating the sides, Windsor made the most of their chances with back-to-back tries in a five-minute blitz to break the contest open nearing the interval.
Once again Torrie Willie will be one to watch for Windsor. Cunning as ever, the clever playmaker was at his scheming best at Hebersham and got the better of both Isaac Thompson and Cameron Williams.
The battle of the packs alone will be worth seeing. Windsor’s Eton Lindsay and Sam Cookson are a blend of power and class, and alway know when and where to strike.
On paper it’s an even match up. Both finished miles clear of the other seven sides and statistically, Emu Plains are marginally better in both attack and defence.
Like a game of chess, this one could come down to a battle between the ears. You can bet Emu coach Darren Bell and his opposite Troy Dargin are set to unveil a few surprises.
Prediction: In terms of kicking on and winning the title, Sunday’s result could well prove to be a line in the sand. In what is expected to be a another physical contest, the loser could well struggle to back up in the sudden death clash that awaits against either St Clair or Colyton.
With neither side about to back down, expect the tit-for-tat rivalry to continue. Just like Windsor flipped the script following the grand final, this weekend Emu Plains will be the ones with a chip on their shoulder.
And with the home ground advantage, it could prove to be enough.
Emu Plains by 6
ST CLAIR v COLYTON
St Clair eventually got the better of an impressive Cambridge Park last week, but Colyton will fancy their chances of going one better in the sudden-death clash at Cec Blinkhorn.
If not for a couple of wayward Cambo conversions, the Comets’ season could be over. Entering the finals as a premiership dark-horse, there’s now concerns Ayden Pittman-Lyon’s troops may struggle to backup from what was a physical and mentally draining encounter.
On the other side of town, the Colts finished relatively unscathed following a clinical take down of Brothers and are expected to back up in good shape.
St Clair finished on top in both meetings this season. In the most recent match in round 12, Kobe King struck late to seal a two-point victory in the wet, on a night where prop Josh Kalati made a massive impact from the bench.
Form wise, Scott Thompson’s Colts appear to be timing their run to perfection. The 16-point upset victory over Brothers followed two competitive outings against Emu Plains and Windsor.
Prediction: This one is a flip of the coin. On one hand the forward packs seem to cancel each other out, while the Comets appear to have more strike in the halves. On the other, a fast finishing Colts look primed to take advantage of a banged up Comets.
In the end, the smarts of seasoned veteran Tinirau Arona could prove to be the St Clair circuit breaker.
St Clair by 2
FINALS WEEK-1 WRAP
Finals footy is underway as the race towards the Don Feltis Cup heats up.
While top sides Emu Plains and Windsor enjoyed a well deserved rest, the remaining four sides headed to Federation Forest in a mad scramble to extend their seasons.
Third placed St Clair tackled Cambridge Park, and Brothers met Colyton in a battle between fourth and fifth. Full wrap, plus photo gallery including under-19s.
COMETS HANG ON
They started as raging favourites, but St Clair were forced to dig deep to repel a Cambridge Park ambush.
The Comets survived 28-26, but in a contest with more twists than a trapped snake it was a game that could have gone either way.
Cambridge Park struck in the second minute through powerhouse five-eighth Marli Sini, and it was 12-0 four minutes later when Cameron Keene ran the length of the field against the run of play.
Sensing their season slipping away, the third placed Comets stemmed the flow of points before doubling down with a four-try scoring spree of their own to open an unlikely 22-12 halftime advantage.
Winger Liam Pearce crossed in the right corner before Bryson Demanuele slotted a crucial sideline conversion. Another three tries followed in a stunning seven minutes.
Backrower Kobe King crossed after running a perfect line. Centre Leha Fakatava added another from a midfield bomb which was quickly matched by Isaiah Nuimata’s solo effort.
Tries were traded after the break, but just as St Clair looked set go on with the job, Cambo turned the screws.
Sini narrowed the gap to six and when Lachlan Crossley pounced on a Jacob Swann-Knight grubber, the big No.6 lined up a conversion attempt to level the scores with 20 minutes left to play.
The kick sailed to the right of the posts, but in a frantic closing the prospect of an upset continued to grow legs.
With multiple attacking sets Cambo pressed from close range but following an opening hour that included 10 tries, the points suddenly dried up.
“Cambo came out firing and were very physical,” said St Clair captain Tinirau Arona.
“When they scored those two quick tries I thought it might be a tough day. We lost five-eighth Bronson Tuhaka to an early head knock, but we eventually found our way back into the contest.
“We were fortunate that they missed a couple of gettable goals, but hats off to Marli, he was excellent for them if not for scrambling defence he would have scored the match winning try.”
In terms of St Clair’s best, the skipper couldn’t go past the impact from the bench.
“Replacement props Jordan Kalati and Leka Haumono came on and changed the momentum for us, they combined to lift the energy when we needed it.”
COLYTON FLIP THE SCRIPT
After falling to Brothers twice in the preliminary rounds, Colyton flipped the script when it mattered most to finish comfortable 28-12 winners.
In an almost perfect opening, Scott Thompson’s men ran in three tries before heading to the sheds with an unassailable 18-0 lead.
Fullback Jesse Poulsen got the Colts away to a bright start with two early tries, while winger Keegan McGrann was on hand to finish a sweeping play in the left corner.
The flow of points continued after halftime through Shaun Va’alepu, before Brothers struck back through centre Siaosi Huihui in the 65th minute.
Brothers added another two via Zach Wright and Isaac Petrus but it was too little too late
“In the first half we did what we had to do,” said Thompson, whose Colts now meet St Clair in another eliminator.
“We got to 22-0 after 60 minutes and then it got a bit scrappy. Our defence was excellent early, the boys defended their line for multiple sets before Jesse scored the first try.
“Jesse had moments of brilliance and the outside backs were mostly error fee. In a tough pack, I thought James Stonestreet was excellent.”
PHOTO GALLERY
First Grade: St Clair v Cambridge Park
First Grade: Brothers v Colyton
U19s: Windsor v Brothers
U19s: Glenmore Park v Colyton
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