Souths Juniors Finals: Fresh Tigers primed to keep A-grade trophy in Matraville ahead of GF showdown
The Souths Juniors grand finals are set with the Redfern All Blacks the only thing standing between consecutive titles for Matraville. The Tigers say they are fresh and ready to fire however.
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The stage is set for the Souths Juniors decider, with Matraville Tigers looking to make it consecutive titles against Redfern.
The All Blacks know the feeling of putting multiple titles together, taking all before them from 2015 through to 2018 in a four-year period of dominance.
Can the Tigers begin a dynasty of their own?
Matraville was the first team into the grand final after taking down Redfern in the qualifying final 23-22, and they’ve got their sights set on repeating that result this weekend.
“Everyone’s back. We’ve had a lot of blokes injured and overseas, but everyone is back,” coach Grant Hyde said.
“We’ve played two games in a month whereas the All Blacks have played four.
“It can work in a positive and negative way. It’s given us a chance to get some niggling injuries sorted.
“We’re fit, healthy and fresh, and the boys are keen to go back-to-back.”
That desire to win consecutive A-grade premierships is driving this Matraville group, after breaking a 103-year drought against South Eastern last year.
“That talk hasn’t stopped. It’s all they’re saying on the WhatsApp,” Hyde said.
“They’re enjoying themselves and have really banded together. They’ve formed a good mateship that s driving us to go back-to-back.
“We finished first and won our way into the grand final. We’ve handed over training in the last two weeks to the captain and senior players to work on what they want to.”
DEPTH KEY FOR MATTO
Hyde praised the depth within the club to help them navigate a challenging period through the middle part of the season.
They suffered consecutive losses and the back began to catch up, before class kicked in and allowed them to win the minor premiership.
“We’ve had young blokes stepping up and have had to fill in a lot,” he said.
“A lot of our job was manicuring the team through that period, and those boys will be guns for us next year.
“We didn’t win by many points in those games. Our defence is awesome and that is what can get us home.”
NEVER COUNTING RAB OUT
The Tigers remain alert for a Redfern side that can pull out a win from the most impossible of positions.
They did it with three late tries against La Perouse in week one, before staging a late comeback to only just fall short against Matraville in the qualifier.
“We got out to 22-10 and the next minute it was 22-all,” Hyde said.
“In that first week I had our game plan ready to face La Perouse.
“They have pure speed and natural talent. They’re fraught with danger and one of the best I’ve seen.
“It doesn’t matter who you face, they have young blokes turning up and killing it. They’ll take off, run on the last, kick a lot and put pressure on in defence.”
WEEK THREE
Redfern booked its spot in the decider courtesy of a 24-10 win over La Perouse in the preliminary final.
It means they will have teams in both senior men’s grades, with their reserve grade side causing an upset to the tune of 14-6 to complete a clean sweep over La Perouse at Mascot Oval.
FINALS WEEK ONE
The first week of the Souths Juniors finals provided four thrilling contests across A-grade and reserve grade.
Catch up on the big weekend of action, plus see the match-ups for week two.
FIELD GOAL ADVANCES DOLPHINS
A late piece of Mark Daoud brilliance advanced the Coogee Dolphins to week two of the finals with an 11-10 win over South Eastern.
Trailing by two with five minutes to play, the Dolphins halfback stepped up to the plate and slotted a penalty goal to tie the game up.
The ensuing kick-off went out on the full, gifting Coogee prime field position for a chance to take the lead.
They fumbled possession, but were able to force a mistake with South Eastern’s first tackle, giving them another chance.
That’s where Daoud stepped up, hitting it sweetly from 18m out to sink the Seagulls.
“It was one of those games we were quietly confident of all the way through. We had the wood on South Eastern and we prepared well,” coach Michael Golden said.
“I thought the game would go into predictable patterns, but we had too many turnovers and were in an awkward spot at halftime.
“We lifted the intensity and physicality, showing more line speed and intent, and were able to grind it from there.
“Once we took the penalty goal I thought we could grind it from there. We practice for those situations.
“The last thing we do after ball work is have Mark and our other half kicking field goals and Josh Rudolph trying to charge them down.
“It was pleasing to see Mark hit one and Josh charge one down, both coming up clutch in big moments.”
Golden praised the efforts of his lock to stick it out to the end, earning player of the match honours.
“Josh was our best on the day. He copped a boot to the eye that closed his left eye,” he said.
“Mark didn’t have a pleasant first half, but he showed mental toughness to bounce back.”
They will now face La Perouse this weekend for a spot in the preliminary final, with Golden hoping they can repeat the result from their round 14 encounter.
“La Perouse has been a bit of a bogey side for us, but we beat them last start,” he said.
“I think we have the formula to get the job done. We need to be aggressive and complete (our sets).”
MORE SOUTHS JUNIORS
RAB LAUNCHES LATE TO DENY LA PEROUSE
Redfern has staged a stunning comeback to deny La Perouse 24-21 in the qualifying final.
With time winding down and the margin wide, RAB scored three tries over the concluding stages to snatch an unlikely victory to push them one game away from the grand final.
Former NRL player and current All Blacks coach Wes Patten said his side displayed plenty of self belief when they looked gone.
“The boys weren’t defeated,” he said.
“We always believed we could win the game. With a few minutes to go we needed three tries to win and only had 12 men.
“We’re pretty stoked with what happened. The boys dug deep. It’s like somebody flicked a switch.”
Patten said their belief has been with them all season, seeing them end the regular season in second and now with the chance to take on Matraville for a direct path to the grand final.
“Jay Belgrove was a standout in the forwards and has brought the energy all year,” he said.
“Joven Gyemore and James Fraser were both outstanding as well.
“We’re in good stead, but that was a scare that we needed.”
ROVERS, ALL BLACKS MARCH ON IN RESERVE GRADE THRILLERS
The Alexandria Rovers will have a shot at a spot in the grand final after an 18-10 victory over South Eastern.
In a physical encounter, the Seagulls took all the momentum into halftime with quick tries to Esava Leweni and Zac Williams to hold a 10-6 lead.
The Rovers stuck solid in the second, with Jayden Riley edging them ahead with 15 minutes to play, before Denver Burns sealed the win in the closing stages.
Redfern lives to fight another day after eliminating Mascot in golden point 26-22.
With the lead changing hands throughout the second half, a missed conversion from the Jets close to full-time saw the two head into the extra period.
The All Blacks only needed one set, spreading it wide and racing the best part of 50m to score and set up a showdown with South Eastern.
Originally published as Souths Juniors Finals: Fresh Tigers primed to keep A-grade trophy in Matraville ahead of GF showdown
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