Our mighty U12 Gold side has gone undefeated through the 14 rounds of the regular season, Joondalup Brothers U12 Blue was crowned “Minor Premiers” of the U12 Gold division before the final few rounds of regular season games with a total of 78 Points, a points difference of 543 and along the way scoring 94 tries, 58 conversions, while only conceding 7 tries all season.
The Grand Final was contested by Joondalup U12 Blue and Palmyra U12 Gold who finished second on the ladder. We had played Pally twice during the regular season and had won both games, so the boys had a lot of confidence and belief going into the Grand Final. The game was an amazing game to watch with both teams playing a very attacking style of rugby with Brothers U12 coming out on top to win 21 to 19 and lift the trophy.
First Half
Pally opened the scoring in the 8th minute with an unconverted for an early 5-0 lead. Brothers then settled into the game and started to dominate possession and win the forward and set-piece battle, with our pack pushing Pally off several of their own scrums. This allowed Brothers to make several telling breaks into the Palmyra 22 but excellent defence from Pally and a lack of accuracy and execution kept the Brothers out. Finally, in the 20th minute our flying winger Taj Parker broke through the first line of defence and then outpaced the Palmyra cover defence to score a fantastic try out wide, which was well converted by our number 10 Ethan Jack for a 7-5 lead at half-time.
Second Half
The second half started with real intensity from both sides with the breakdown, being heavily contested and turnovers going both ways. Brothers were next to score in the 26th minute with our big lock Nico Viljoen crashing over under the posts after a powerful, jinking run from a quick tap penalty. Full-back Jaedyn Du Plooy slotting the extra 2 from the kicking tee for a 14-5 lead. Palmyra hit back with a converted try after an outstanding solo run by their big number 15 to tighten the scoreboard up at 14-12. Brothers extended our advantage with a try from standout prop Jesse Barnes who reached-out and touched down under the posts after a barnstorming run, carrying multiple Pally defenders with him after great lead up work by the backs had got us in behind the Palmyra defence. Ethan Jack adding the extra 2 from in front for a 21 – 19 lead with 10 minutes to play. Palmyra rallied and managed to score a try in the 46th minute but were not able to convert from out wide. Brothers to their credit did not go defensive and immediately went on the attack almost scoring on the corner after some slick handling and a kick through from the back line forcing Pally to ground the ball in-goal. With only seconds to play, Pally went long with the goal line drop out which was fielded by Ethan who calmly kicked the ball into touch, the final whistle went followed by huge celebrations from the Brothers players and their supporters!
A big thank you to Palmyra U12 for contributing to such an exciting final and congratulations to the Joondalup Brothers U12 players, coaches, managers, and supporters on a fantastic season and for earning a well-deserved U12 Gold Major Premiership winner’s trophy for 2022!
