By Chris W.B

The underachiever tag often finds itself hanging squarely around the necks of Roger Bossert's Sydney Oilers- but in seasons gone by- the Wollongong Destructors (formerly the Country Diamonds, playing out of Grafton) have been similarly disappointing.
2002/2003 offered so much for both clubs, but Sydney fell short at the final hurdle, whilst Wollongong had to make a second half charge to make fifth. Today's game would decide who were the real achievers of 2002/2003.

Brett Kimmorley got things underway with a towering kick-off, and the opening sets of six showed that both sides took the game very seriously. Whilst neither side has any Premier League experience, both boast a lot of veterans, and this was clear as neither side made sloppy errors.

The first break of the game came when captain Simon Woolford was on the end of a scintillating Howard Opan short ball. The passage looked promising for points, but a mistimed pass to Brett Kimmorley resulted in Wollongong surrendering the possession deep in Sydney's red zone.

Brett Kimmorley, formerly rated as one of the game's best playmakers, was having a nightmare. Three dropped balls in the next five minutes put Wollongong under constant pressure- handing Sydney plenty of time in Wollongong's half. A penalty for offside in the 10th gave Andrew Mehrtens a chance to get the first points- but the attempt was waved away.

Wollongong continued to make half breaks, but continually squandered their opportunities. When they did get into Sydney's half, they were met with stealy defence by the best forward pack in the business.

It took twenty minutes for someone to get on the board, and it was Wollongong's Michael Withers who did it. Having played in the 2001/2002 finals for Hobart, Withers took a quick tap off an Oilers' penalty and caught the defence napping. The try was nonchalantly converted by Howard Opan to give Wollongong a 6-0 lead.

Another hectic ten minutes saw much the same, with Wollongong's speedy men making breaks, only to be shut down by poor handling or strong last ditch defence. A penalty in the 31st put Wollongong further ahead, 8-0 courtesy of Opan's boot.

In a more amusing twist, Jason Ryles seemed unsure of who he was playing for- making two line breaks for Sydney, and surrendering possession three times through poor passing, and in one case through a shocking attempt at a grubber.

The half trickled to a close, neither side able to break the entertaining but repetetive trend of Wollongong breaking the line- and Sydney dragging them down.

HALFTIME: Sydney 0 trail Wollongong 8

Dominik Bush's boot got the game underway in the second half, and Wollongong made their intentions clear from the outset- hitting harder in defence, and running faster in offense. Despite the trend towards breaks in the first half, it was a long pass from Brett Kimmorley which saw Wollongong extend their lead- Darren Senter collecting and palming off Matt Gidley to score out wide. Opan was faultless with the kick, Wollongong up 14-0.

Gidley's error in defence saw him taken off the field, replaced by youngster Adam Hughes. This seemed to stabilise Sydney's sometimes weak right side defence, and Wollongong made substantially less ground. Ironically enough, the next break came on the left side- where Graham Bond danced circles around Jason Robinson before offloading to a trailing Michael Withers. Whilst Withers got his double, Wollongong moved to a virtually unassailable 20-0 lead in the 60h minute.

From the kick-off, Graham Bond put the game beyond doubt- collecting a seemingly hopeless pass from Danny Orr and making the best of what little ground he was given by Jason Robinson. He danced his way to the line, and Opan converted again to make it 26-0.

In the 62nd, Sydney had every right to feel robbed, when Jason Robinson snatched an errant Kimmorley pass from the air and sprinted ninety metres to score under the sticks. The try could've been a game-breaker, but was called back after referee Bill Harrigan found that Robinson had been offside. Wollongong almost rubbed salt into the wound, but Kennedy was able to hold Woolford up over the line to prevent an embarassing scoreline.

When Sydney finally did get on the board, it was too late to salvage the game. However, the two players involved were fitting, Robinson and Ryles combining in what was Sydney's only real highlight in the game. Robinson scored out wide, but there was little to celebrate, Sydney assured of a Division Two appearance again. Wollongong celebrated, heading on to meet Central Coast in the Grand Final- and already assured of a wildcard game against the Canberra Chargers.

FULLTIME
Wollongong Destructors 26
Michael Withers 2
Graham Bond
Darren Senter
Opan 5/5
def.
Sydney Oilers 6
Jason Robinson
Mehrtens 1/2

PoM Points
Michael Withers.........3
Graham Bond............2
Simon Woolford.........1