It's come down to this. The second placed Gold Coast Crusade and reigning premiers clashing with the seventh placed Central Phoenix. Neither side is stranger to the grand final and its pressure. In the last five seasons Gold Coast have contested four deciders (winning two) and the Phoenix have contested one.
The Sides
Gold Coast made two changes to the side that last week out-lasted Central Coast in a 28-24 thriller. Josh Perry moves back to the bench to allow Jason Cayless a starting berth. Rupeni Caucaunibuca has shifted to fullback, and Tommy O'Reilly comes into the run on. Adelaide bound fullback Billy Slater will play out of jersey #17.
Rumours that Aaron Barba would make a late comeback to the Phoenix line have proved unfounded, with Kiwi winger Brad Flemming retaining his run on spot. Stuart Fielden and Iafeta Pelea'easina are the new front row with Alex Synn and Scott Logan moving back to the bench. Talk of Vinnie Anderson losing his bench spot to Yuji Suzuki or Manny Emonds have proved unfounded.
Gold Coast Crusade Central Phoenix
1 Rupeni Caucaunibuca 1 Clinton Schifcofske ©
2 Shannon O'Reilly 2 Brad Flemming
3 Ryan Girdler 3 Keith Senior
4 Matthew Gidley 4 Leigh Bush
5 Tommy O'Reilly 5 Scott Donald
6 Jonny Wilkinson 6 Danny Orr
7 Andrew Johns © 7 Paul Deacon
8 Danny Nutley 8 Stuart Fielden
9 Danny Buderus 9 Harley Autitia
10 Jason Cayless 10 Iafeta Palea'aesina
11 Tony Puletua 11 Adrian Morley
12 Steve Simpson 12 Hunter Tylerson
13 George Smith 13 Scott Sattler
++Interchange
14 Karl Pratt 14 David Shayne
15 Josh Perry 15 Alex Synn
16 Daniel Abraham 16 Scott Logan
17 Billy Slater 17 Vinnie Anderson
Gold Coast won the toss and elected to receive the kick-off from Clinton Schifcofske. This proved almost tragic when Rupeni Caucaunibuca lost the ball in a heavy tackle from Stuart Fielden only thirteen out from his own line. The Phoenix were gifted with an ideal way to start the game- but an overly ambitious Brad Flemming pass was put down by Scott Sattler to release the pressure.
After their initial blemish, the Crusade controlled the game in its early stages. Their offensive sets were exciting, and most importantly, made good metres despite the intensity of Central's defence. Their defence, not a facet of the game the Crusade are known for, was also powerful. Crusade fans would have been unhappy to not see their side score despite the mountain of early possession- dropped balls and poor last tackle options continually thwarting a possible early try. The experiment with Rupeni Caucaunibuca at custodian had so far failed to provide any real benefit to the Crusade, and the big Fijian was replaced with Karl Pratt ten minutes into the game. Pratt's defensive weakness was targetted by Central immediately, with Alex Synn coming on to put some pressure on the smaller utility.
Even Synn's size and power couldn't crack the Crusade line, and after a piggy-back penalty downfield, the Crusade mounted their most promising offensive raid of the game. Irish international Tommy O'Reilly was marked down as the first scorer in the 2004 Grand Final- the talented winger on the end of a long Johns' ball. The man who had created the try nailed a difficult sideline conversion to give the Crusade a 6-0 lead after eleven minutes. It looked as if the Crusade would go up 12-0 off of the resulting set of six, Andrew Johns' bomb finding the arms of Karl Pratt for what looked to be a try. Replays showed Pratt had bounced the ball in attempting to ground it however- and the Phoenix were momentarily let off the hook.
The Phoenix slowly played themselves back into the game- forgetting the margin and instead focussing on playing football with their forward pack. The likes of Morley, Fielden, Tylerson, and Sattler hit the Crusade line without tiring, and this soon got the Crusade onto the back foot. Even the likes of Daniel Abraham and Josh Perry, both proven players, couldn't stem the tide as the Phoenix gradually bashed their way back into the contest. In the 21st the Phoenix got their first points of the game, Scott Donald going over out wide passed a diving Shannon O'Reilly. The try was engineered by the forwards, who laid down an excellent foundation before Paul Deacon bombed out wide for his winger. Deacon was unable to land the difficult sideline conversion, and the Crusade remained ahead at 6-4.
The Crusade looked to have lost some of their enthusiasm for the game after the try was scored, and the Phoenix made some easy metres on their return set. These easy metres turned into more points when the Phoenix ran it on the last and sent Clinton Schifcofske through a yawning gap left by Tony Puletua racing up on the kicker. The sometime Queensland fullback raced fifty metres, passed a despairing Karl Pratt, to score the second Phoenix try in a minute. Deacon was this time equal to the task of converting, and the Phoenix lead 10-6. The Crusade were understandably shell-shocked after controlling much of the first fifteen.
After the flurry of Phoenix points, the Crusade stablished in defence. Billy Slater returned to his usual fullback position and the reigning premiers reverted to the defensive pattern they'd been using all season. This had a marked effect, and the game became an enthralling stalemate between two equally desperate sides. Both produced some promising attacking raids, but neither looked like scoring as halftime approached.
HALFTIME: Gold Coast 6 trail Central 10
After a messy start to the second half, the Crusade were the first to post points. Adrian Morley was put on report for a high tackle in the 42nd, and from the resulting penalty the Crusade mounted the first attacking raid of the second half. It didn't take long for Karl Pratt to score Gold Coast's second try- the strong utility muscling his way over from dummy half to level the scores. Andrew Johns somehow missed the routine conversion to tie things up at 10 all.
The next set of six saw the Crusade regain the lead when a penalty for holding down the player in the play the ball allowed Andrew Johns to knock over a penalty from thirty out to make it 12-0. The newfound lead worked wonders for the Gold Coast players' confidence, and they produced an excellent set of six to follow up on their six points turnaround. The Phoenix went one better however- an eighty metre set of six being led powerfully by Adrian Morley and Stuart Fielden before Keith Senior through off Billy Slater and Matthew Gidley to score out wide. Paul Deacon converted to make it 16-12.
The Crusade response was instant, with their defense trapping the Phoenix in their half and forcing Danny Orr to send a wobbly clearing kick down the throat of Billy Slater. The Queenslander through it out wide to Shannon O'Reilly, who was able to get around Brad Flemming to make some good metres and put the Crusade right on attack. Danny Nutley won the battle with the Phoenix forwards, powering over off a short Wilkinson ball to score under the posts. Johns converted from in front to change the lead once more, the Crusade leading 18-6. The second half had already produced eighteen points- and it wasn't even ten minutes old.
The points didn't continue to flow however- as the two sides settled into the rhythm of the second half and better read the opponent's attack. Both sides produced plenty of big hits and desperate tackles in the next fifteen minutes- but it was Steve Simpson who lifted the Crusade spirits (and the hopes of their fans) with his incredible workload. Even Simpson's workload couldn't completely nullify the Phoenix dominance though, and they continued to dominate the centre of the field. If it wasn't for Simpson and the superiority of the Crusade backline- the game could well have gotten away from the Crusade.
As it was, Brad Flemming put the Phoenix back in the lead in the 65th when he took a blind flick pass from Keith Senior to crash over out wide. The video referee spent a good five minutes deciding whether or not Flemming had been bundled into touch by Tommy O'Reilly before grounding the ball- but ended up deciding it was a legitimate try. Deacon again managed to land a difficult conversion to put the Phoenix up 22-18 with fifteen minutes remaining. Fans had thus far enjoyed some really thrilling football- and the game was still far from over.
The Phoenix were then forced to grimly defend their slender lead as the Crusade enjoyed a pile of possession thanks to a lop-sided penalty count, currently favouring them 6-3. Despite this, the Phoenix forwards continued to marshal their troops and keep the Gold Coast players from crossing the white line for a possible match sealer. It would take the greatest player in the world to crack that line, and thankfully for Crusade fans, he was wearing the #7. Johns took the ball to the line on the last tackle, and sent a deft short ball to a supporting Billy Slater, who made some excellent metres downfield before finding Johns on his outside again. The Crusade fans went insane as Johns took it around underneath the posts to put the Gold Coast back in the lead- the conversion making it 24-22.
The try sparked something in the Phoenix line, and a fight broke out as the Crusade sought to bring the ball back. Harley Autitia, Stuart Fielden, Josh Perry, Jason Cayless, and George Smith were all cautioned following an old-school brawl on the Phoenix thirty. The penalty went in the Crusade's favour after referee Bill Harrigan ruled that Autitia had started the melee. Andrew Johns duly extended the Crusade's lead to make it 26-22.
The game was far from over, and the Central fans knew it, the "Phoenix" chants threatening to bring down the roof. The Phoenix, despite being based in the Northern Territory, were clearly the fan favourites as they sought to unseat the Crusade as the premiers. Crusade bound Scott Sattler must have experienced split loyalties as he played desperately to rob the side he'd be playing for next season of a premiership.
Brad Flemming, easily the Phoenix's best player in the weeks leading into the grand final, experienced every grand finalist's nightmare when he knocked the ball on cleanly in the 72nd- only ten metres out from his line. The crowd got right behind the Phoenix as they grimly defended their line- knowing full well that another try would spell disaster for the Central Phoenix. Two tackles in saw the Crusade on the back foot- although Josh Perry had come dangerously close before he was thrown back by a desperate Schifcofske/Flemming tackle. The Phoenix successfully held out Puletua, Girdler, and Johns as the Crusade ran it at the line relentlessly. The ball was kept alive however, and a sloppy Danny Buderus pass bounced five out from the Phoenix line. For that instant both sides seemed frozen. The bounce of the ball would decide whether the Crusade would win their second consecutive premiership or not. It bounced to Steve Simpson, and the big second rower looked certain to score. Somehow he was repelled by a strong Keith Senior tackle. Senior managed to push Simpson back seven, eight, nine, ten metres before the second rower offloaded to a supporting Shannon O'Reilly. Donald, off his wing to assist Senior, could only watch in despair as the Redlands' bound winger brought it around under the posts. The Crusade players swamped the nineteen year old Irishman as the try made the Gold Coast lead seemingly unassailable. Johns' conversion put the reigning premiers ahead 32-22.
Danny Buderus' poor night looked go get worse when the Australian hooker knocked on from dummy half twenty out from his own line. Vinnie Anderson threatened to bring the Phoenix back within four when he skipped out of a Rupeni Caucaunibuca tackle and danced along the sideline. Only a powerful shoulder charge from Billy Slater could avert a potentially disasterous try.
Scott Donald and Vinnie Anderson almost did it again two minutes later, only three out from fulltime, when the two made a ninety metre bust between them after the Crusade had seemingly pinned them in their in goal. Again it was saved by some desperate defence, Andrew Johns coming from nowhere to drag down Vinnie Anderson. No, it was no feat of speed from the aging Johns, as Anderson's hamstring had given out on him as he seemed certain to score.
Fulltime came with the Phoenix refusing to die wondering- and it was Scott Sattler who finished with the ball in hand, the Crusade bound lock losing the ball over the line in attempting to ground it for a consolation try. The hooter sounded, the Crusade players celebrated a rare occurence- consecutive premierships in a period where competition is fiercer than ever before.
FULLTIME
Gold Coast Crusade 32
Shannon O'Reilly
Tommy O'Reilly
Andrew Johns
Danny Nutley
Karl Pratt
Johns 6/7
defeated
Central Phoenix 22
Clinton Schifcofske
Brad Flemming
Keith Senior
Scott Donald
Schifcofske 3/4
Clive Churchill Medalist: Steve Simpson (Gold Coast)
Andrew Johns...................2 (Gold Coast)
Vinnie Anderson...............1 (Central)
congrats to the gold coast for scoring another premiership, they did well to come back from being out of the 8 for a while at the start of the season.
Thanks Chris.
As everyone should know by now, this will be my final year as coach of the Central Phoenix. Having a three in four chance of winning the grand final took a lot of the fun out of it for me, and as of today the side will be under the guidance of Brian Randell.
