In last year's preliminary final, Central ended Capetown's miraculous run towards a debut grand final in a high scoring game, eventually getting up 42-34 in a game that the Ravens just refused to let go of. This year the shoe may well be on the other foot, with the Ravens in hot form whilst Central are limping into the finals after a late season slump. With big guns Keith Senior and Clinton Schifcofske out, the Phoenix could be set for a demoralising first up loss.

Central Phoenix Capetown Ravens
1 Shaun Timmins 1 Lance Rhodes
2 Dom Peters 2 Robbie Ross
3 Tony Martin 3 Martin Gleeson
4 Beau Rivers 4 Brian Lima
5 Scott Donald 5 Luke Rooney
6 Steve Menzies 6 Michael Withers
7 Paul Deacon 7 Derek Gateshead
8 Alex Synn 8 Jeremy Paul
9 Luke Priddis 9 Malcolm Alker
10 Jason Cayless 10 Todd Payten
11 Hunter Tylerson 11 Travis Elken
12 Adrian Morley 12 Mike Forshaw
13 David Shayne © 13 Andy Farrel ©
++Interchange
14 Harley Autitia 14 Jerome Ropati
15 Matthew Jobson 15 Barrie McDermott
16 Matthew Bartlett 16 David Kidwell
17 Clint Newton 17 Brett Stewart

The game couldn't have started any more perfectly for the visiting Ravens, with the first try of the game only taking fifty one seconds to occur. The Ravens' forward pack, not noted as their greatest strength, set an early platform for young Derek Gateshead- who threw a brilliant cut out pass on the fifth to put Todd Payten in adjacent to the posts. Farrell added to the outstanding start, and before a minute of time had elapsed, the Ravens held a handy 6-0 lead.

The Phoenix reply took only a minute, with Martin Gleeson knocking on from the kick-off to give the home side a gift opportunity to get back into the game. When big Adrian Morley cut straight through a staggered defensive line on the third tackle, it was up to retiring fullback Lance Rhodes to make a try-saving tackle, but the Fijian product was left in Morley's wake as he rampaged across the try-line under the sticks. Deacon knocked over the converstion to tie things up at 6 apiece, and already fans were anticipating another high scoring thriller between the two sides.

The frantic start had fans from both sides on the edges of their seats, with both sides throwing caution to the wind in an attacking brand of football. The one difference between the two sides was defence, however. Whilst Capetown managed to restrict the Phoenix to less than ten metres on two separate occasions, the Phoenix struggled to keep the visitors below sixty metres, and it was only a matter of time before the field position proved telling. Inspirational captain, Andy Farrell, was the man to break the deadlock- showing some great footwork to get around Beau Rivers and score out wide. To add salt to the wound, he converted the try to give his side a 12-6 lead after only eight minutes of play.

Fundamental errors and lazy marker defense continued to marr the Phoenix game, whilst the Ravens played a safety first brand of football after acquiring their lead. Safety first doesn't mean they were without attacking brilliance, and in the 14th minute their lead was extended to twelve when Lance Rhodes sped onto a Paul Deacon chip kick and out-paced Dom Peters to score under the posts. The small but vocal contingent of Capetown fans cheered Farrel's conversion over, to make it 18-6.

The lead blew out further only five minutes later when Luke Rooney was allowed to score the simplest of tries. Having gained possession from another Phoenix mistake, the Ravens played simple football before spreading it wide to a flying Luke Rooney. With only Scott Donald in front of him, Rooney was able to step inside him to crash over near the deadball line. Farrell missed his first of the evening, but at 22-6 up, the Ravens looked like good things to continue on with it.

With a sixteen point lead, the Ravens began to look a little cocky, and it was this that allowed the Phoenix to slowly but surely fight back in a game they were well and truly out of after twenty minutes. With a bigger share of possession, the Phoenix put increasing pressure on the Ravens' line, but were continually held off by gutsy scrambling from the South Africans. Indeed, the Phoenix probably played the better football heading into halftime, but a handling error from David Shayne in his twenty. The Ravens crossed right on the halftime siren, Martin Gleeson stepping around his inexperienced opposite number to score a soft try. The absence of veteran centre Keith Senior was proving telling, with Tony Martin and Beau Rivers struggling to cope with the experienced Capetown backs.

HALFTIME: Central Phoenix 6 trail Capetown Ravens 28

It would take a record breaking comeback for the Phoenix to salvage victory from the jaws of heavy defeat, and from the looks of Brian Randell's halftime spray, a miracle was what he demanded. Matthew Bartlett and Beau Rivers, the babies in the Phoenix line, were so moved that they hit the park with what looked like tears in their eyes. The full house rewarded their dedication with plenty of noise.

Despite the inspirational speech from Randell, the second half's opening seemed much like that of the first, with the Ravens scoring inside the first few minutes. Once again it came from a Phoenix knock-on, Paul Deacon dropping it cold when Tony Martin had put him into space. A series of quick play the balls put the home side on the back foot, and Malcolm Alker was able to score a simple try by running from dummy half and planting it under the black dot. Farrell dutifully converted, and it looked ominous as the Ravens took a 34-6 lead.

If the Phoenix were to be a chance of salvaging any dignity, let alone scoring a victory, they would need to score next and score fast from then on. The Central forward pack took it upon themselves to fight their way back into the game, and it gradually paid dividends- with the Ravens losing some of their flare under the pressure of big hits and a short ten kept by referee Paul Simpkins. The first Phoenix try since the second minute came on the back of this, with Paul Deacon fooling his opposite number with a dummy and crashing over despite the attention of Michael Withers. The conversion narrowly missed, but 34-10 in the 47th gave the Phoenix the slimmest hopes of a miracle finish.

From the kick-off they were in again, and the Phoenix fans were right back in the contest. Some fans had already begun to mill around exits, but when Dom Peters streaked onto an awesome Deacon long ball and found himself in open spaces, they were back in their seats. Peters was rushing downfield with Rooney in pursuit and Rhodes rushing across to cut him off. The winger, who has fought himself out of disgrace after drug allegations several seasons ago, showed them both up with a goose-step and ran it around under the posts to give Deacon a gift two points. They came, and the margin was only eighteen, with the Phoenix down 34-16.

What had been dominant defence from Capetown in the first half slowly became overzealous, with several players cautioned for high or dangerous tackles. Simpkins' patience was well and truly pushed to the limit in the 55th, and he sent Malcolm Alker for ten minutes in the bin after the Englishman spear tackled Paul Deacon in sickening style. Many fans called for a send off, but in the meantime, the Phoenix sought to capitalise on the extra man they'd have for the next ten minutes. There are times in a game when a side wins it through defence rather than offence, and the Ravens did just that in the following ten minutes. Despite missing one of their top tacklers and most experienced players, the Ravens showed tremendous patience and composure to keep the Phoenix scoreless in Alker's absence. When he jogged back onto the park to boos from the Phoenix fans, the scoreline still sat at 34-16, and there were just over ten minutes remaining. A Phoenix fightback would need to come fast.

The Phoenix tried desperately, but just didn't have the fuel or the firepower. Where usually the likes of Schifcofske or Senior would have sparked something, the Phoenix were relying on Steve Menzies in five eighth and an inexperienced backline to lift them. Adrian Morley scored his second try of the match in the 75th a truly terrifying run of some thirty metres, but when Deacon missed the conversion any vain hope of a late draw was lost. Even when Hunter Tylerson broke the line cleanly and raced sixty metres to score a try from the kick-off, it was over for the locals. The fulltime siren sounded, with the Ravens celebrating a solid 34-26 win. Coach Chris Walker-Bush will be unimpressed with the second half clock-off, whilst Phoenix coach Brian Randell will be hoping the return of Senior and Schifcofske can turn his side's finals' campaign around.

FULLTIME
Capetown Ravens 34
Martin Gleeson
Luke Rooney
Lance Rhodes
Todd Payten
Andy Farrell
Malcolm Alker
Farrell 5/6
defeated
Central Phoenix 26
Adrian Morley 2
Dom Peters
Hunter Tylerson
Paul Deacon
Deacon 3/5

PoM Points
Andy Farrell............3
Martin Gleeson........2
Derek Gateshead....1

Match Stats
Penalty Count
Central Phoenix- 2 : 6 -Capetown Ravens

Possession (%)
Central Phoenix- 49 : 50 -Capetown Ravens

Time in Opposition Half
Central Phoenix- 36 : 44 -Capetown Ravens

Handling Errors
Central Phoenix- 16 : 11 -Capetown Ravens

Completion Rate (%)
Central Phoenix- 55 : 67 -Capetown Ravens

Tackles
Central Phoenix- 240 : 216 -Capetown Ravens