After fourteen straight wins the South-West Brahmans went down to the Bungendore Tigers 21-14 in the Grand Final of the Tooke Shield last Sunday at Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan.
The Brahmans started the game by weathering a good set of six by the Tigers that saw the Tigers carry the ball deep into the Brahmans end of the field. Displaying good defence the Brahmans managed to force a turn over and combined with the forwards lining up to carry the ball up field, they answered the challenge put to them by the Tigers.
When Captain Coach Jason Pollard put in one of his trademark long kicks for the sideline the Bungendore Tigers found themselves scrambling in defence on their own line. Feeling under pressure the Tigers came up with an error and the Brahmans went back on the attack with Pollard taking the ball wide to the right hand side of the field. James Blair, the clubs leading try scorer cut back to the inside took a neat pass of his coach and the Brahmans were in alongside the posts. Abed Atallah converted and the Brahmans led 6-0.
However the try came at a very severe cost to the Brahmans as Blair had to leave the field with damage to his kidneys and took no further part in the game.
The Bungendore side responded with a forty metre try down the left hand side of the field. The Tigers failed to convert and after ten minutes the score was 6-4. Play seesawed up and down the field for the next ten minutes with both sides searching for an opening in the defence. With both sides equally committed to good defence, openings were hard to come by, but with a smart side stepping burst by Brad Early the Brahmans worked the play down field. With twenty minutes gone on the clock Nathan Schofield turned on the speed to score in the corner and the Brahmans led 10-4.
The hard hitting defence was having an impact and the bench was being constantly rotated as the day warmed up. The weather was also taking its toll and the Tigers were pushing the ball wide at every opportunity. This tactic paid off late in the half when Bungendore scored down the left hand side to take the lead 12-10. The Brahmans lifted to take the game up to Bungendore and with some clever play from the inside backs they got Abed Atallah into the clear and he raced in under the posts only to have the referee rule the last pass forward.
This meant that instead of going to the break with the lead the Brahmans went to the sheds trailing 12-10.
Five minutes into the second half the Tigers opened the lead up to six points when they were the first to score. The game was starting to slip away from the Brahmans as they found themselves on the wrong side of a very lopsided penalty count.
The crowd erupted when the referee ruled a field goal off a drop punt to stretch the Tigers lead to seven points 17-10. Joe Dyball the powerhouse big front rower for the Brahmans got his team back to within three points of the Tigers when he finished a cross field move to score out wide.
Victory seemed still within the grasp of the Brahmans as the clock ticked closer to the full time mark. The Brahmans supporters who had made the journey to Queanbeyan began to erupt with the chants, but it was to be very short lived after an error came off the kick off. This saw the Tigers take full advantage of the mistake and as the clock ticked on they sealed the game with the final try of the season to run out the winners 23-14.
The awards for the Grand Final game were: Players Player shared between Abed Atallah and Joe Dyball. The point’s award were: Joe Dyball (3), Graham Moorby (2), Shannon King (1).
While it was disappointing not to win the final at their first attempt, the club is very pleased with the way that every player gave it his best shot. To win 18 games out of a total of 21 one played is no mean feat and it reflects well on all concerned. To all the Canberra, Boorowa, and Yass based players thanks for the effort you made travelling to training all season and to Abed Atallah who travelled from the coast to play each weekend a big thanks. And a special thanks to Jason (Polly) Pollard for all his hard work in recruiting the players and his dedication to training and his never quit attitude.
To Benny Glover and his under eighteen side good on ya mate, you found some handy players there and they will go on to become great senior players. And to our strappers the Ings brothers and young Biff the team could not have stayed on the paddock with out you fellas. To Peter Sharman and Tom Stadtmiller for running the water, and the one thousand other things you guys did all season to help the club, many thanks! And lastly a big thanks to everyone else who helped out and a special thanks to all the fans that showed their support throughout the season.
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