Jubilation and pain all in the one shot.Photo Stuart Walmsley.
The Young Yabbies have put the exclamation mark on a near-perfect season, winning the 2023 South West Cup Grand Final at CranfieldOval. Playing the Blayney Rams in the season’s decider, the Yabbies fought tooth and nail, and in an absorbing contest that could have gone either way, Young found enough to edge past their rivals to claim a thrilling 17-15 victory.
“It was huge, and they deserved it; they worked hard for it all year,” Young coach Justin Sampson said.
“The Grand Final brought that typical finals atmosphere. The boys were nervous but confident and huge respect to Blayney before, during, and after the game; they kept coming.”Heading into the game as defending premiers, and with just one loss next to their name, the pressure was on Sampson and his squad to perform.”It was a different type of pressure, being de-fending premiers and on top of the table,
“Sampson said.”We went in there confident, but it was windy, and the weather played its part, and both sides could get to the other end, but neither could score, and it was a typical Grand Final in that there was a lot at stake, and two teams went hammer and tongs, and we were good enough to prevail.
“James Woolford scored a first-half double for Young, but the Yabbies trailed 15-10 at the break. Still, the home side enjoyed a strong breeze at their back in the second half, with Riley Turnercrossing for the game-leveling try before converting to take his side ahead 17-15 early in the second half.
Young dug in for the battle, and despite Blayney having their chances in the final moments, the Yabbies didn’t give away any penalties and held on for a gallant two-point victory.
“We really didn’t give up,” Sampson said.
“Blayney changed some of their gameplan and tactics too, which is a credit to them, but we were able to adjust to that.
“It felt like it was 17-15 for a long time, and the boys were a bit scared of getting their hands on the ball in the final minutes, even thoughBlayney was running into the wind.”They worked towards the middle to see if the opportunity of a penalty would arise, but to our boy’s credit, they were very disciplined, very focused, and their defence was first class.
“When asked what back-to-back Grand Finals meant to the Yabbies, Sampson explained that it was so much more than a win for the club but one for the community of Young.”It’s just fantastic,” Sampson said.
“Being our first home Grand Final made it special, and all the support we got during the week from the decorated shop fronts, local media, and the well-wishes on social media; we could really feel it.
“We’ve had well-wishes and messages of congratulations from a lot of people, and from people that are not necessarily rugby people, and tobe part of that glue of the community is something special, and something the guys will remember for a long time.”
Grand Final Match reportIn a match dictated by momentum swings, Young led 5-nil after 11 minutes, with JamesWoolford scoring to the right of the sticks.
Blayney edged closer after Zack Farr slotted a penalty conversion 20 minutes into the game, with the Rams then trailing 5-3. Blayney then took the front. Following back-to-back penalties, Ben Willis took the quick tap and scored under the posts.
Lachlan Pearce converted, and the Rams were up 10-5 after 27 minutes. Minutes later, Young’s Tom Mullany had a kick charged down by Blayney’s Riley Turner, who regathered the ball and swung it left to DylanMarmion, who ran away for a try, scoring on the left touchline.
Pearce narrowly missed the conversion attempt, and Blayeny trucked along nicely, leading 15-5 after half an hour of play. The Yabbies then had some excellent attacking ball in Blayney’s half, and after what seemed an age on their line, Woolford picked and went, charging over to the right of the posts.
With the missed conversion attempt, Youngtrailed 15-10, which would remain the score until the break. After halftime, the Yabbies were on the ball and quickly scored, with Riley Turner going over and converting his try to take Young ahead 17-15.
Both sides had their chances in the second half, but Young would hold Blayney out to secure the historic two-point win. Tuskerettes win women’s title the Temora Tuskerettes proved a class above the West Wyalong Weevils in the South WestCup women’s decider, winning 26-14.
Lexi Wood scored a double for the home side, and Kate Goesch and Paris Jones crossed for tries as Temora continued their strong presence in the South West Cup women’s competition.
