The North Sydney Newbloods have become something of a giant-killing side of late. They hammered the Falcons in the quarter finals- and then showed no sign of being daunted by the Manly machine last week. They now faced a side who they've got plenty of history with. A month ago the Newbloods left Carara on the end of a 40-0 thrashing. Two years ago, these two sides played out the longest clash in ASRL history- one hundred and thirty seven minutes which ended in North Sydney's win. Could Walker-Bush keep up his record of having made every ASRL Grand Final since 2001?
Gold Coast Crusade North Sydney Newbloods
1 Dennis Moran 1 Matthew Burke
2 Tommy O'Reilly 2 Nathan McAvoy
3 Matthew Gidley 3 Michael De Vere
4 Ryan Girdler 4 Chev Walker
5 Billy Slater 5 Jonah Lomu
6 Jonny Wilkinson 6 Akido Li
7 Andrew Johns © 7 Mark Muggleton ©
8 Luke Davico 8 Vila Mautatia
9 Danny Buderus 9 Keith Wood
10 Josh Perry 10 Jason Stevens
11 Steve Simpson 11 Matt Rua
12 Tony Puletua 12 Evan Mears
13 George Smith 13 Nathan Wood
++Interchange
14 Scott Logan 14 Paul Bowman
15 Daniel Abraham 15 Jeff Wilson
16 Craig Gower 16 Zander Beukes
17 Scott Sattler 17 Wade Forrester
Intense. It's the only way to describe North Sydney's players as they took the field. Burke's drilled kick-off was intense. Lomu's hauling of big Tony Puletua into touch? That was more than intense. It was downright scary, and the out-numbered Crusade fans didn't look confident. They looked distraught when Keith Wood raced into the Crusade in goal to score moments later. Luckily for the minor premiers, referee Justin Hoy ruled the pass to Wood had been forward, and the Crusade were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Crusade then had their shot at intensity, and matched the Newbloods. What followed was ten evenly fought minutes. Once again it was North Sydney who looked to have snared first points- but this time Capetown bound Zander Beukes was shown to have lost the ball with the line open in front of him. End to end football was the order of the day, and one set later, Andrew Johns put up a bomb which Ryan Girdler was able to snare in the Newbloods' in goal. This time Gold Coast were denied- Walker able to hold Girdler up long enough to force a drop out.
The game continued at this pace- Steve Simpson looking certain to score until he was dragged down by the unlikely pursuit of Jason Stevens. First points came from an unlikely source when you consider the amount of breaks and opportunities the game had presented. Level-headed Matt Burke took the two points on offer, and the Newbloods took a slender 2-0 lead after twenty minutes of great football. First it was Jeff Wilson. Then Ryan Girdler. Then Evan Mears. Then Dennis Moran. Both sides exchanged line-breaks in a blow for blow. But it wasn't poor defence, it was just sheer footballing skill.
The line eventually had to crack, and it was fitting that Steve Simpson was the one to crack it. Playing despite being heavily hit early in the match, Simpson burst the line and put it down with an out-stretched arm to score the opener. Johns was equal to the task, and the Crusade went back up 6-2. It seemed once one try was scored- another was sure to follow- and this time it was Matt Burke who got a try to his name. The fullback capitalised on some good backline work from his side- a Jonah Lomu short pass putting in the former Wallaby. He missed the conversion, and it was six all.
If intense defined the early exchanges- then desperation was the word for the time leading into halftime. Props were batting out grubbers, whilst wingers put their body on the line to drag down big second rowers. This desperation amounted to errors though, and the spectacle devolved as the half drew to a close. Neither side could muster the energy to put more points on the board, and the half finished at 6 all. You'd be hard pressed to find a dissatisfied fan.
HALFTIME: Gold Coast 6 drawn with North Sydney 6
The second half started without the intensity that its predecessor had possessed. That said, it didn't lack in excitement, and it didn't take lg for North Sydney to score their second of the night. Once again the Newbloods' backs outplayed their opposite numbers- and this time Mark Muggleton charged over from ten out to score. Burke converted, and the Newbloods had the lead again at 12-6.
A big run from Matt Rua from the kick-off did not bode well for GC, but the big Kiwi knocked on in Perry's tackle, and it was the relief Gold Coast needed. No strangers to comeback efforts, the Crusade played out a routine set which ended with Tony Puletua going over untouched thanks to a Buderus angled run that bordered on shepherding. Johns converted, and the game was back on level terms. 12 all.
The game went back to the entertaining too and fro that had enthralled the fans for the first half- but neither side seemed to be able to breach the determined defence of their opposites. That said, it had to happen eventually, and it was the natural flare of Billy Slater that did it. The little winger skipped free of a weak attempted tackle and offloaded as he fell for his captain. Johns added another to his record-shattering tally, and the Crusade went up 18-12 leaders with sixteen to go.
North Sydney's desperation soon manifested iteself as penalties- and this gave the Crusade the kick they needed to put their opposition away. A piggy-back got them started, and the Crusade finished when Ryan Girdler went in off a Matt Gidley flick-pass. Johns again converted, ten to go, and the minor premiers were up 24-12. It'd take a massive comeback for North Sydney to steal this one.
Tommy O'Reilly and Billy Slater proved unlikely allies in the next try- with Slater coming across field to provide support for O'Reilly. The Irish captain drew Burke and put Slater into space for the match-winner. The Crusade went up 28-12, and the conversion made it 30-12 and another grand final berth. It could have gotten worse for Norths, but the Crusade seemed content to rest the big guns. Johns, Smith, and Buderus vacated the field for the final eight.
FULLTIME:
Gold Coast 30
Steve Simpson
Andrew Johns
Billy Slater
Ryan Girdler
Tony Puletua
Johns 5/5
def.
North Sydney 12
Mark Muggleton
Matthew Burke
Burke 2/3
PoM Points
Steve Simpson 3
Billy Slater 2
Tommy O'Reilly 1
