Crushers into the decider
HERBERT River and Brothers are set for yet another TDRL grand final showdown after the Crushers came from behind to knock out Western Lions 30-16 in yesterday’s preliminary final.
Crushers winger Dylan Gaggiano scored a double and nailed a perfect 5/5 goals as his side fought back from 16-6 down late in the first half to book their spot in the premiership decider.
The Lions were chasing a maiden grand final berth and they came out firing to score the opening try through backrower William Duncombe after just two minutes for a 6-0 lead.
Herbert River was camped in the opposition 20, but couldn’t find a way to crack the defence before Lions centre Des Anderson grabbed a try to push his side’s lead out to 10-0.
The Crushers finally scored through Gaggiano who converted his own try from the sideline before Lions halfback Jacob Bourke capitalised on a mistake to reclaim a 16-6 margin.
Herbert River had another attacking chance from a penalty with just 40 seconds left before halftime and Gaggiano took advantage with his second try to get back to 16-12 at the break.
The Crushers kept rolling in the second half as backrower Thomas Hanson burst through to score a great individual try as they hit the front for the first time at 18-16.
Captain-coach Mitch Seri scored two quick tries as Herbert River opened up a 30-16 lead heading into the last 10 minutes and the Lions couldn’t find a way to stop their charge.
“We played pretty well in the second half there and probably even the back end of the first half. I thought we got back in the game after a poor start,” Seri said.
“We had to patient. We knew they had a big forward pack and we thought they’d probably get a little bit tired towards the back end of both halves, but to their credit they defended really well.
“They didn’t give us any cheap tries but we had to stay patient. We knew we had the team to come over them in the back end of the second half.”
The past 15 grand finals have featured either Brothers or Herbert River while they have also battled it out four times in the past decade setting the stage for an epic contest this weekend.
Brothers finished minor premiers and thumped Herbert River 40-10 in the semifinal, but Seri was confident the Crushers would lift in the grand final against their traditional rivals.
“They’re the team to beat. If you look at their team on paper there’s just quality all over, but grand finals aren’t won on paper and we’re going to give it our best,” he said.
TDRL Preliminary Final: HERBERT RIVER CRUSHERS 30 (Dylan Gaggiano 2, Mitchell Seri 2, Thomas Hanson tries; Dylan Gaggiano 5/5 goals) def WESTERN LIONS 16 (William Duncombe, Des Anderson, Jacob Bourke tries; Jacob Bourke 2/3 goals)