The penultimate game of football in the 2004/2005 season is upon us, and with two New South Wales sides contesting the decider, a world record crowd of some 120,000 was on hand at a refurbished Telstra Stadium to see who would claim the mantle as 2004/2005’s finest team. Whilst the Northern Cannons earned a lot of support following their upset 24-12 victory over the premiership favourites, Central Coast looked slick in a 28-10 thumping of the Wellington Cougars. The sides were unchanged, and the battle lines were drawn. Who would claim victory in the 2004/2005 Premier League premiership?

Northern Cannons Central Coast Falcons
1 Mat Rogers 1 Luke Patten
2 Trent Pariah 2 Matt Utai
3 Michael De Vere 3 Matthew Burke
4 Chev Walker 4 Nigel Vagana
5 Brett Dallas 5 Hazem El Masri
6 Jason Hooper 6 Braith Anasta
7 Frederick Michalak © 7 Brent Sherwin
8 Mark O'Meley 8 Stuart Fielden
9 Brody Raines 9 Justin Marshall
10 Edward Hoartshire 10 Luke Davico
11 George Smith 11 Imanol Harinordoquy
12 Dean Young 12 James Manson
13 Ashley Harrison 13 Paul Sculthorpe ©
++Interchange
14 Brent Kite 14 Michael Korkidas
15 Awen Guttenbeil 15 Chris Flannery
16 David Lyons 16 Reni Maitua
17 Paul Wellens 17 Graham Anlezark

It couldn’t have been a much more inauspicious start for the Cannons, who after just twenty five seconds of play, lost Jason Hooper with a suspected fractured jaw. Losing their starting five eighth before the game had even started, the Cannons were forced to call Paul Wellens off the bench- unleashing their strike player far earlier than they’d have liked. The big games bring out the big players, and in the case of Trent Pariah, the big game showcased just how nervous the Premier League winger of the year was. Making a clean bust down Matt Utai’s wing, the usually level headed youngster came up with a kick ahead that succeeded in doing little more than rolling out touch in goal. Brett Dallas showed him how it was done just two minutes later with a mesmerising forty metre wing play of his own, but the Falcons’ defence proved strong, with Luke Patten making a grassing tackle on the Queensland flyer.

The first points of the match came after almost six minutes of play, and in a continuation of the Rising Star Conference grand final (taken out by Sunshine Coast 14-8), the first points of the game came through a penalty kick to Hazem El Masri after Brody Raines lingered a little too long in the tackle. Penalties are like goal in grand final football, and when that gold turns into platinum and two points, something needs to change.

Change it did, and some intense but legal defence from the Cannons over the coming few minutes ensured that the Falcons would not get a roll on. Indeed, the Cannons took the honour of being the first to score a try in the 2004/2005 grand final when Dean Young ran onto a brilliant Frederick Michalak cut out pass, fended off Braith Anasta, and planted the ball cleanly. Trent Pariah continued to battle his big game jitters, missing what would usually have been a sitter. Still, at 4-2, the Cannons were looking like the stronger side, and would just need to settle themselves down to continue on with it.

The Falcons aren’t a team to be written off however, and responded with a try of their own in the fourteenth to ensure that the scoring continued to push the clock. After a big bust from departing hooker Justin Marshall, the Falcons put immense pressure on the Cannons’ line and when Braith Anasta produced a textbook grubber into the in goal, Michael Korkidas was on the spot to collect a memorable grand final try. El Masri showed Pariah how it was done, landing the difficult conversion to put his side ahead 8-4. The try boosted the Falcons’ morale, and whilst the Cannons began to self destruct with needlessly risky blind-side plays, the Falcons continued to rely on their tactical kicking game and their dangerous backline. Another penalty in the 20th minute, this time for Dean Young lifting Brent Sherwin above the horizontal, saw the Falcons’ lead extended to six points, up 10-4 after a quarter of the game.

The pressure continued to mount in the second quarter, with the Falcons’ relying heavily on their kicking game to keep the Cannons penned down in their own and. It worked a treat, with field position and possession heavily favouring Anthony Magro’s chargers as the halftime break approached. If the Cannons couldn’t come up with something soon, they were in danger of burning out. Video referee Chris Ward wasn’t doing them any favours either, denying them after a promising backline play saw Chev Walker streak away to score an apparent try. Walker, however, was ruled to have stepped onto the sideline in a contentious call. Their one opportunity gone, the Cannons defended their line grimly until the halftime siren sounded, Central Coast leading ten points to four.

HALFTIME: Northern Cannons 4 trail Central Coast Falcons 10

More to follow....

Anthony Magro's half time comments

"Look, we've won the first half but that doesn't mean we've won the match. There is still another 40 minutes to be played.

Northern aren't going to slacken off, no, they'll come out from the break tougher, stronger and more composed. We shook them early in the match and we need to do it again, I'm not saying to look to injury another player but play a 150% game. Rattle them in defence and dazzle them in attack... but do it safely.

Boy, you are 40 minutes away of making Central Coast history. Weither you win, or lose... is up to you, but either way it's going down in the record books. How do YOU want to be remembered?"

go magro

Magro will choke.

Keep that in mind, guys. The master of choking has labelled Magro as one of his own. :P

Watching the game from their dressing room in Telstra Stadium, Wagga Badgers' coach Theo Kamis was impressed.

"Both sides are doing fairly well, although Cannons are going to have some adjustments to make at the half, whilst Falcons aren't going to stand pat, either. This is going to be a cracker of a second half to come..."

Asked whom he favoured, Kamis demurred, "I'm watching this game with the idea that we're going to have to play both sides twice next season - it's like being a tuna fish, and getting to choose which shark is going to eat you, as well as which gull that's crying "Mine!" is going to eat your leftovers..."

Godammit guys. Pick up the pace.

Dr. Kermit Krockett Q.C. emerged from the sheds after halftime with a grim look of determination on his face.

It seemed Jason Hooper would not be returning after his jaw injury was aggravated by Krockett's backhand of dissapointment in Hooper's softness.

Thanks for your vote of confidence Roger.... hopefully it's just reverse physicology

The second half got underway with the crowd expecting an exciting half of football, and they certainly got that when, from the kick-off, Imanol Harinordoquy dropped the spiralling ball to give the Cannons a gift opportunity to even the ledger. It took the Cannons just one tackle to get across the whitewash, with Mat Rogers dancing through some soft defence only to lose the ball across the line! The Falcons were given a reprieve, but the fans weren't - with both sides showing they'd be more than happy to throw the ball around in the quest for grand final points. Whilst the attack was exciting, it was the defence that made this a grand final to remember - with neither side willing to give an inch when it came to defending their own line.

In fact, the first twenty minutes of the second half were completely scoreless, a testament to just how enthusiastic the defence of both clubs was. There were changes aplenty, however. In the 52nd minute Rogers somewhat compensated for his early mistake when he leapt above Matt Utai to collect a well weighted Brent Sherwin bomb which could have proven volatile. In the 56th it was Brett Dallas not only collecting a grubber behind his line, but then embarking on a dangerous twenty six metre return that inspired the Cannons to their most promising attacking raid of the half.

Points had to come eventually and, perhaps unfairly, they came to the Falcons. The Cannons had had to do a mountain of defence and, when Brent Sherwin skipped out of a Michael DeVere tackle and grubbered ahead for himself, it was more luck than skill that got him across the line. Chasing his own effort in an attempt to make the tackle, Sherwin was instead gifted with a try when Rogers' misinterpreted the bounce and the ball eluded his grasp. Sherwin regathered, racing away untouched to score a potentially match winning try! Hazem El Masri had no trouble with the conversion, and the game looked in Central Coast's control at 16-4. Nineteen minutes remained to snatch a victory, but with defence as good as it had been, the Cannons would need to find an extra gear.

The game hung in the balance, and the Cannons showed their awareness of the situation with a little extra in attack. But with Jason Hooper out for the game, the attack seemed to lack the same fluency with which it had accounted for Gold Coast, Wollongong, and Brisbane in the games so far this year. True, all of those games had been won on defence, but 16-4 down, defence wasn't what the Cannons needed to snatch a victory.

The 67th minute proved crucial in the deciding of the game. Ten metres out from their line following a well directed Braith Anasta kick, the Cannons would need to work hard to get into good position for a clearing kick. A nightmarishly bad pass from young Trent Pariah drifted a good metre forward, gifting the Falcons with possession on the Cannons' line. Even if they couldn't cross for a sealing try, a field goal would almost certainly guarantee victory. But the cracks were there, with Cannons' morale clearly low following Pariah's mistake. Just three tackles in, Braith Anasta dummied once, and then wrestled his way across the line to plant the ball beneath the sticks. The conversion was a formality, and the Falcons' 22-4 lead ensured them of lifting the Premier League Trophy at the end of the evening.

To the Cannons' credit, they didn't surrender. Knowing full well that victory was no longer a possibility, the proud men from Sydney still fought hard, crossing in the 72nd minute from a powerful Awen Guttenbiel bust. As had been the trend in the game, however, the video referee denied the try after Paul Wellens failed to ground the ball. The 76th minute gave the Cannons a consolation try, with big Awen Guttenbiel the man crossing after another solid forward movement. Pariah converted, but 22-10 was not the scoreline the Cannons' would have liked. As fulltime approached, the game become understandly messy, with the Cannons trying to add a little more to their tally, whilst the Falcons were content to simply wind down the clock. The siren sounded, and Falcons' fans stormed the field to celebrate their club's first every victory. After just seven years in existence, the Falcons had graduated from glorified also-rans to full blown premiership winners.

FULLTIME

Central Coast Falcons 22
Brent Sherwin
Braith Anasta
Michael Korkidas
El Masri 5/5

defeated

Northern Cannons 10
Awen Guttenbiel
Dean Young
Pariah 1/2

CLIVE CHURCHILL MEDALIST: Brent Sherwin
Matt Utai.................2 points
Hazem El Masri........1 point

Penalty Count
Northern Cannons- 4 : 4 -Central Coast Falcons

Possession (%)
Northern Cannons- 45 : 54 -Central Coast Falcons

Time in Opposition Half
Northern Cannons- 38 : 42 -Central Coast Falcons

Handling Errors
Northern Cannons- 15 : 13 -Central Coast Falcons

Completion Rate (%)
Northern Cannons- 59 : 72 -Central Coast Falcons

Tackles
Northern Cannons- 234 : 213 -Central Coast Falcons

OMG

What a feeling!

First up, well done to Northern Cannons. They were unfortunate to lose a player in the early stages of the game but unfortunately these things happen. Credit to their boys, they hung in and almost snared the victory at points of the game. While they didn't win this year, I can assure you they will be here next year.

To my boys, it's about time, woooooh!

We've worked so hard for many years to get this side of its feet. It's hard to think that less then 10 years ago we were nothing more then a local competiton.

The guys have played an awesome season. Many of them are going their own way at the end of the season so we said this one was going to be remembered in history, and it will. This isn't a victory for these 17 guys, no. It's a victory for any player who's played for the Central Coast Falcons. Your help through the years has abled us to be here right now.

But for now, I'm going to live the moments. YEAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH