LED by a dominant forward pack, Hamilton overpowered Wanderers 37-28 in a thrilling grand final at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday to become the first team to win back-to-back Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union premierships in 17 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a gripping, see-sawing affair, the Hawks trailed 18-17 at half-time but powered home on the back of a commanding scrum.
After winning the restart, the Hawks controlled possession for 10 phases before giant Fijian lock Seva Roko crashed over from close range to put them ahead 24-18.
Wanderers hit back against the run of play when Daniel Martine bumped off four defenders in a 30 metre run.
But with every minute, the Hawks forwards grew in confidence.
Wanderers, despite having to defend for long periods, threw everything at the minor premiers and could have snatched victory in injury time.
Down 34-28 they created an overlap on the short side, but Bill Coffey’s pass went behind Dillon Rowney and over the sideline.
The Hawks carried the ball back up field and were awarded a penalty 40 metres out which Jason Keelan converted to ice the win.
Maitland were the last team to win consecutive premierships in 1998-99.
The result was a repeat of last year’s grand-final, which Hamilton won 14-7.
“From a club point of view, going back to back is awesome,” Hamilton coach Scott Coleman said. “For these guys it’s just about winning. Full credit to Wanderers, they threw everything at us. Also credit to our boys, they dug in. We wanted to play tight and our tight five were amazing. ”
Wanderers set piece has been solid for most of the campaign, but coach Viv Paasi admitted it was the difference.
“There are a few keys areas you need to be good at in grand finals,” he said. “Our set piece was a little bit off today and they were very good. Even though we lost I’m proud of them. They can look each other in the eye and say they gave it everything.”
Saturday’s game was all action unlike the dour decider 12 months earlier.
Hooker and John Hipwell-medal-winner Steve Lamont led from the front for the Hawks. He was strong at the set piece, got them on the front foot with charges on the fringes and did a power of defence.
He just shaded Pete Maxwell, Seva Rokobaro and Tiueti Asi, who scored a hat-trick of tries.
Wanderers captain Luke Sherwood, playing possibly his final game, was outstanding in defeat.
Lock Ignacio Battilana worked to a standstill and Daniel Martine scored a brilliant solo effort in the second half to give the Two Blues a sniff.
But in the end, the Hawks glut of possession took its toll.
Hamilton had the Wanderers pack under pressure from the first scrum. An arm wrestle early became a torrent in the second half. They pushed Wanderers around at will and won five consecutive tight heads in the second 40 minutes.
The Hawks also had joy at the line-out, stealing and putting constant pressure on the Two Blues.
Asi’s tries, all in the first half, had a total carry of about 15m.
Two were from driving mauls off perfectly-executed lineouts and the other a slam dunk, diving over from the base of a ruck to plant the ball.
In the earlier games, Merewether completed an undefeated second grade campaign with a n18-8 win over Wanderers.
Maitland and Merewether were declared joint premiers in third grade after the scores were locked at 10-all at the end extra time.
The Two Blues opened the the day with a 22-14 triumph over arch rivals Merewether in fourth grade.
Away from the grand finals, Southern Beaches fly-half Michael Delore was awarded the Anderson Medal for player of the year and Johan Lourens (Southern Beaches) was named coach of the year.
