2020 Senior Grand Finals
The Senior Grand finals were hosted by UWA on Saturday the 10th October on a day that was perfect for some quality games. Brothers had 3 teams lining up with our Colts taking on Associates, our Third Grade taking on Palmyra and our Premier Grade taking on UWA. All games were going to be close battles and thats exactly how they played out.
Colts – Division 1 finished 2nd on the ladder. They had beaten Associates in both games during the regular season. Round 7 was a 42 to 23 win and round 10 another convincing win 29 to 7.
Third Grade – Division 1 finished 4th on the ladder and had won their round 8 clash 22 to 10.
Premier Grade Division 2 finished 5th on the ladder which placed them into the divsion 2 finals. In their only clash this season we ran out narrow winners 21 to 19 in round 11.
Colts – Division 1 Grand Final
Our Colts gave Connor McDougall and the James “The Weapon” Wepener the perfect end to their first season as coaches when they took out the club’s first ever Colt’s GF following their 29-14 defeat of Associates..
On a very warm day, Brothers started stronger and dominated the first quarter, nearly scoring the opening points when centre George Peters had the ball dislodged from his hands as he crossed the line with a fine Soaks cover tackle. Brothers nearly paid a high price for that when Soaks broke down the left wing and their classy centre stepped and cut back inside the cover and was left with only full back Aidan Smyth to beat. It seemed a certain try but the Brothers full back pulled off one of several try saving tackles and and not for the first time it was followed up brilliantly by open side Josh Leibold who flattened the supporting Soaks player with an equally fine tackle. Brothers got back on the attack and were finally rewarded with the first try when number 8 Reuben Smuts went over from close range. Lightning struck twice then when following a loose Soaks kick, Brothers shifted the ball quickly to the right flank and Connor Shorrock took a great line and put captain Gabe Price into space, supported well and took the return pass to dot it down under the posts to send the Hill into ecstasy. Carlo Alexander added the extras to send Brothers in 12-0 at the break.
Brothers started the second half strongly and George Peters then made no mistake this time as he cut in from the left wing and kept stepping to score an excellent try under the posts. Carlo again put over the extras and at 19-0 the game looked won. Teams dont make a GF without having quality and Soaks showing the same spirit that saw them create the upset of the season to beat minor Premiers Baysie in the semis and came back very strongly, scoring two quick converted tries. They were only denied a third by another excellent try saving tackle by flying full back Aidan Smyth and at 19-14 with a man in the sin bin, Brothers looked on the ropes and it was as Sir Alex Fergusion used to say, squeaky bum time in the Brothers tech area. The rugby Brothers played in the last ten minutes showed a maturity beyond their years. It was no frills, smart, controlled and effective, led excellently by captain Gabe, and Marly Pearce leading the pack and Carlo with his probing kicks and with prudent substitutions coming on and executing well, Brothers hit back. A hard earned converted penalty from 35 metres from Carlo broke the Soaks momentum and Brothers camped out in the Soaks half to see the game out. It was very apt that the final play of the game and season was a try from close range by Forward of the Year, Dan Howard and Carlo banged the over kick as the final whistle went, the crowd went wild and the celebrations began. Aside from taking the cup, our final honour was the awarding of the Man of the match going to Carlo Alexander who had played another outstanding game in his outstanding season. Aside from his fantastic attacking and kicking game, we have rarely seen a player, let alone a fly half who puts in such a shift with his defense in every game.
A great end to an unusual, disrupted season during which the team, coaches included, have gelled brilliantly to form a close knit, real band of Brothers and friendships made for life. History made, well done all.
Third Grade – Division 1 Grand Final
Well we made it to the Grand Final this in itself is a wonderful achievement. Game day we all turned up at the ground a little stressed, anxious and excited. Changing room facilities were adequate but very congested with the colts preparing for a 11am game and the 3rds at 11.20 am so a bit of a distraction. The game officials on the day were a good group and the game was managed well and in a consistent manner which the players want and appreciate.
We started the game well a few early touches and the confidence started to grow. We kept the ball held our shape which allowed us to move the opposition around , this gave us momentum seeing them out of shape and with a few passes we were in and Shaq scored our first try off what can be described as playing to the game plan that was well executed. Jesse Rihari converted from a difficult angle 7-0. Then for a period we tended to allow the opposition to gain space by stepping back in defence instead of closing them down by denying them that space. This allowed Palmyra to gain confidence and get themselves back into the game. We made several silly errors and our ball handling and retaining skills where not up to our usual standard. Eventually Paly sneaked in and scored a try which they converted 7-7. With the game now even both teams were in the game Jesse made a number of good clearance kicks that got us on the front foot again and back in their half giving us a chance once again to expose their wings, Tamati Young at full back made a number of excellent runs one of which resulted in a try under the posts which was converted by Jesse. 14-7 This was our last scoring move. And now halftime.
The second half started, and Palmyra came out of the blocks and threw everything they had at us. 5 minutes in and they made several changes to their team which changed the way they played. We made several infringements that allowed them to gain territory and for a full 15 minutes we defended in our 22-withstanding increasing pressure from their pack they eventually broke us and scored – game tied again 14-14, Now we were in for a real arm wrestle and we got in their half but at a crucial point we made a small error and handed the ball back to Palmyra who then worked us back down the field into our own 22 again and they forced an error out of us in the last 3 minutes of the game right in front of the posts. Along with the penalty we also received a yellow card for repeated offences. The Palmyra Kicker stayed calm, kicked and gave them the 3-point lead over us. 14-17. We had one last chance from the resulting restart, but Palmyra held firm and we ran out of time. Final Result Joondalup Brothers 3rd grade 14 – Palmyra 3rd grade 17.
We were always in the game and we can be proud of our performance and hold our heads up. Being gracious in defeat is also an attribute that we can be proud of because it shows good character and we were very gracious. What made our Grand Final day such a success was not just the players in the final team squad, It was all the players who backed up the team all season giving the team that confidence that every player on the field could have been replaced by players on the bench on the day and acquitted themselves as well as the players who played did.
THE SQUAD: Glen Jessup, Daniel O’Flaherty, Matt Duggan, Pete Cotton, Sean Moreman, Sam Brockelsby, Alex Ormis-(Frankie), Phil Dvorak, Piate Kahika Taipa, Geriant Way, Gareth Thomas, Temanea Rangi, Jessie Rihari, Shaquille Greenwood, Tamati Young.
THE BENCH: Chad Capelli, Craig Findlay, Shaun Ilton, Mane Paroro Hou-Pere, Stuart Young, Bobby Edwards, Eric Palmer, Jeremy Shaw, Hayden vd Merwe, Stephen Butchers, Michael Walker
