By Chris W.B

The last time these two sides met, North Sydney snatched victory in the 50th minute of extra time, and the Crusade were forced into sudden death football against the Bulls.

Two weeks later, and it's sudden death again, with a chance at a Grand Final berth on the line. With players such as Geoff Toovey, Billy Moore, Gary Larson and Daryl Halligan retiring- it was a game which North Sydney needed to win if they wanted to send out their stars as winners.

The opening minutes of the game were tense and frenetic, both sides playing out regulation sets and finishing with accurate kicks from two of the game's finest halfbacks. An offside penalty against the Newbloods in the 9th minute had Gold Coast up 2-0, and this seemed to lift Gold Coast. Two powerful sets resulted in big gains, whilst the Newbloods struggled to make metres even on the back of piggyback penalties.

Despite the weight of possession and looking the stronger team, Gold Coast continually squandered chances, eager to put the game beyond doubt early so they could avoid another extra time embarassment. The opening try of the match came in the 24th minute, Ashley Harrison finding a half-gap and offloading to Waisale Sovatabua- who raced sixty metres to score past a despairing Anthony Quinn for an 8-0 lead.

Harrison went from hero to villain moments later, a blatant forward pass in his own half giving North Sydney a chance to attack. New Zealand bound centre Grahem Bond made no mistake, exploiting some slow wing defence to score a brilliant solo try. Halligan was never in doubt, the sideline conversion setting up an 8-6 scoreline.

The remainder of the first half was tense and exciting, with Andrew Johns making it 10-6 with a penalty on the stroke of half-time after Billy Moore caught Kris Radlinski high.

HALFTIME: Gold Coast 10 lead North Sydney 6

North Sydney came out the stronger in the second half, some jarring defence reminding Gold Coast that they were beaten only a fortnight ago. However, Gold Coast used their finals experience well, exploting a Vila Mautatia knock-on to score a soft try against the run of play- snatching a 14-6 lead despite looking the weaker in the opening exchanges.

North Sydney seemed to have lifted as a result of the try, forcing Kris Radlinski into touch and gaining the ball deep in Gold Coast territory. However, it was Gold Coast's turn to dominate, forcing the Newbloods to lose ground in the set. On a horror last tackle, the ball found Billy Moore, who lofted a bomb inside his own territory. Danny Buderus plucked it from the air easily, throwing aside Anthony Quinn to score a try in the corner. The conversion was missed, but Gold Coast lead 20-6 with half an hour to go.

In cruise control, Gold Coast repelled repeated attacks on their line easily, but couldn't put another try on the tiring Newbloods- who seemed to have a pact with Lady Luck herself- as bounces continually evaded the Gold Coast chasers. As the game drifted out of North Sydney's reach, spite came into the game, with Mark O'Meley on report for a lifting tackle on Brian Carney.

Gold Coast continued to fail to find the match-sealer, and Brett Kimmorley brought his side back within reach moments later, scoring a brilliant solo try to make it 20-12 with six minutes remaining.

Defending their line with the season in the balance, Gold Coast repelled the next North Sydney set. The Newbloods were obviously agitated by Gold Coast's time-wasting strategies, conceding consecutive penalties for a high tackle on Tommy O'Reilly, followed by a blatant late hit on Andrew Johns as he attemped a field goal. The attempt missed, and Johns had a chance to score a penalty goal, but it also fell short. Brett Kimmorley grabbed the falling ball, only to drop it cold in the tackle. The siren about to go, Gold Coast played out a set, before Tommy O'Reilly iced the win with a short ranged field goal for a 21-12 win.

GOLD COAST: 21
Brian Carney
Waisale Sovatabua
Danny Buderus
Johns 4/6
O'Reilly 1 fg.
def.
NORTH SYDNEY: 12
Grahem Bond
Brett Kimmorley
Halligan 2/2
PoM Points
Brian Carney 3
Danny Buderus 2
Grahem Bond 1