REPLAY: Hallam College face The Grange College in Storm Cup grand final

Hallam showed why it was the team to beat all season, winning their first Storm Cup after a spectacular first half against The Grange. WATCH the replay here.

For the first time in Storm Cup history Hallam has its hands outright on the winners trophy.

But it was not without a scare against The Grange, who gave it their all, particularly in the final 20 minutes of the contest.

In the first 20 minutes it was all Hallam as the minor premiers showcased their skills which helped them to five wins during the season.

If there were any grand final nerves the team didn’t show it.

Hallam dominated through the middle to open up The Grange in the first 20 minutes.

Their halves Jayden Matatumua and Izaac Batey scored the first two tries of the contest before hooker Micah Warena scored the third.

When powerful forward Albert Vaka added the fourth try, Hallam led 24-6 and had The Grange on the back foot at half time.

It got worse when forward CJ Buskermolen powered over in the early stages of the second half to make it 30-6 for Hallam.

When Hallam made it 36-6 with 18 minutes to play after a wonderful pass from fullback Waka Hammond found Ryder Sparrow who scored in the corner the contest looked over.

But The Grange had other ideas.

Led by captain and halfback Matthew Kereti the team fought back.

Kereti scored the first try with 15 minutes to play before three tries in the space of 10 minutes got the margin back to 12 points with a handful of minutes remaining.

The Grange, with their speed and run, stunned Hallam who made uncharacteristic mistakes including missed tackles to allow the opposition to come back.

But it was too little too late with Hallam scoring one last try to not only end the contest but end the season on a high.

Hallam’s Matatumua scored his second try to put a full stop on the Storm Cup season.

He was one of the best alongside Hammond, Vaka and Warena.

The team will now play New South Wales side Patrician Brothers Fairfield in the quarters of the Peter Mulholland Cup next Wednesday, which will be livestreamed on Kommunity TV.

SCOREBOARD

Hallam 40

Try scorers: J. Matatumua 2, R. Sparrow, CJ Buskermolen, A. Vaka, I. Batey, M. Warena

Conversions: W. Hammond 6/7

The Grange 24

Try scorers: M. Kereti 2, A. Mulipola, N. Sialaoa, M. Walker

Conversions: M. Walker 3/5

PREVIEW

One thing is clear as Hallam prepares to take on The Grange in the Storm Cup final.

There is no love lost between the sides.

The two schools will battle each other on Thursday night, looking to not only be crowned Victorian champions, but also earn the right to represent the state at the upcoming Peter Mulholland Cup finals against NSW’s finest.

Catch the grand final LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on Kommunity TV from 6pm.

Check out all the Storm Cup finals action below.

The two schools already share grand final history in the competition after battling each other back in 2022.

But they shared the trophy that day after drawing 16-16 in a game where no extra time was played due to time constraints.

There was a real sense of disappointment neither school won it outright.

This final will change that with extra time and a winner guaranteed.

Hallam have gone through the season unbeaten.

“We’ll talk about that, we’ll talk about that moment at Gosch’s (and the draw),” The Grange coach Shannon Love said.

“We had a couple of people that played or were on the sideline for that game.

“I think that (the draw) will really help stoke the fire.”

It’s a similar story at Hallam as the motivation to win intensifies.

Hallam have missed out the past two years of winning the trophy on their own, drawing against The Grange before losing by two points to Victoria University in last year’s decider.

“There’s excitement and anticipation,” Hallam coach Janan Billings said.

“We know what happened to us, losing by two points (last year), so we won’t take anything for granted.”

Hallam has been the team to beat all season, winning all matches and having the best defence and attack.

The team has received a major boost ahead of the final, but Billings concedes there was still plenty of hard work to do to beat The Grange.

“We go into the final full strength and that will be really pleasing,” Billings said.

“We’re not resting on our laurels and we are going to be ready and prepared for The Grange.

“We know what we’ve done previously doesn’t count for anything.

“We know we have to do the hard work and complete the tackles.”

Billings added the team will handle the pressure of being favourites, with their players experiencing quality matches this year in the Harold Matthews Cup and the recent ASSRL Championships.

Love said The Grange was happy to be the underdogs.

“They (Hallam) are the benchmark, they will be hot favourites, but we are going to turn up and compete and display as much effort as possible,” he said.

“We’ll give them a good crack.

“Hallam has everything to lose so we’ll see if they are able to handle the pressure of favouritism.”

Love conceded Hallam doesn’t have many weakness, so the focus would be on beating them with their pace and skills from their outside backs.

He added keeping their resilience would be vital.

Hallam have a strong history in the Storm Cup.

Against Victoria University, the team fought back multiple times to win and it could be the same in the final against Hallam.

“It’s really important we are a resilient league side,” he said.

“Just being able to compete is our big focus.

“They just continue to display effort and it’s going to be our best opportunity to win.

“I was proud of the way they were able to do it against Vic Uni.”

Originally published as REPLAY: Hallam College face The Grange College in Storm Cup grand final