big crowd was on hand at Carara Stadium to see the Gold Coast Crusade do battle against the New England Ferrets.

The last time these two sides met, Gold Coast were victorious 20-10, but New England's finals form was ominous, and with the absence of key playmakers, the Crusade would have to dig deep if they wished to make their first Grand Final.

GOLD COAST NEW ENGLAND
1: Kris Radlinski 1: David Peachy
2: Brian Carney 2: Albert Torrens
3: Kamaal Lolesi 3: Matt Cooper
4: Brett Mullins 4: Shane Elford
5: Marcus Bai 5: Martin Offiah
6: Laurie Daley 6: Ben Ikin ©
7: Andrew Johns © 7: Adrian Lam
8: David Raelke 8: Kevin Iron
9: Matthew Rodwell 9: Danny Buderus
10: Josh Perry 10: Andrew Hart
11: John Eeles 11: Chris Joynt
12: Jason Croker 12: Bryan Fletcher
13: Chris McKenna 13: Paul Smith

14: Willie Peters 14: Lee Harland
15: Sean Carstens 15: Darrel Trindall
16: Dane Carlaw 16: Peter Jorgensen
17: Quentin Pongia 17: Wairangi Koopu

The Crusade got things underway, and from the opening of the match, it was obvious that New England had come to play. Bryan Fletcher received the ball on his own twenty, making a bust through a feeble Daley tackle and racing fourty metres before being pulled down by Carney. The Crusade rallied after the bust, holding their line until Walker hefted a bomb. Radlinski took the ball magnificently under pressure from Cooper, and the Crusade got their first chance with the ball.

Gold Coast got two sets in a row from some sloppy New England tackling, with Andrew Johns making them pay via his boot. The Crusade held a tenuous 2-0 lead after 2 minutes of play.

New England's sloppy tackling almost came back to hurt them moments later, a high Paul Smith tackle putting Gold Coast back on the attack. Three tackles came achingly close, with some desperation defence holding the line. The Crusade got a two on one overlap, with Eeles steaming onto a Johns pass. Somehow Offiah made a tackle which not only saved a try, but pushed Eeles into touch!

Both sides were guilty of sloppy play in the next few minutes, with the forwards for both sides dropping the ball in some heavy tackling. Even Andrew Johns joined the handling errors column, dropping the ball from dummy half while the Crusade were on the attack.

Ben Walker's penalty found his side five out with a full set of six, but the Crusade forwards stamped some authority on their more experienced opposition, holding the Ferrets out before Radlinski took a threatening Ikin grubber in the field of play. The Ferrets blew another opportunity in the 19th, when Paul Smith broke through the line. A heavy tackle from Bai jolted the ball lose, a crime made worse by the fact that Offiah and Cooper were outside him unmarked.

It seemed a matter of time before New England scored, with the Crusade defence tiring under the weight of repeated sets of six. Gold Coast did themselves no favours, with Andrew Johns in particular making too many mistakes in trying to find the opening try. Once again they were let off the hook, with Peachy dropping the ball in attempting to organise a promising backline movement.

In the 21st the Crusade found themselves in unfamiliar territory, on the attack deep in the opponent's twenty. Perry took little time to assert himself, brushing aside some clumsy defence to bring his side within a metre of the line. Johns received the ball out wide and did a cross-field bomb, taken brilliantly by fullback cum centre Brett Mullins. Mullins made no mistake, casting aside Offiah and scoring a brilliant try. Johns slotted the conversion over, and it was 8-0 in favour of the home side. Amazing considering the possession stood at 65-35 at this time.

The try visibly lifted the home side, but they couldn't find points, with Andrew Johns once again making too many mistakes. The Ferrets, to their credit, did not take their defence down, and seemed fully aware that there was still an entire half of football in which to win the match. Josh Perry continued to threaten, making his second line break in the 30th minute. This time it had less of an effect, as the young forward instead threw an inside pass which was collected by Peachy.

Perry had another line break in the 34th, and it was clear that the Ferrets were having trouble marking the young prop. Koopu came on for Iro, who had so far had a shocking first half in a side which was otherwise defending strongly. Despite Perry's continual strength, the Crusade couldn't capitalise.

In the 38th it was an old dog doing old tricks, with Martin Offiah retrieving an Andrew Johns grubber and breaking the line. His return put New England straight on the attack, and Bryan Fletcher wasted no time in making it know that his return was at the right time. The big second rower ducking under an attempted tackle from Croker to score the visitor's opening try. Walker nailed the conversion, and it was back to 8-6.

From the kick-off, Kevin Iro made the amazing leap into the air for the ball, obviously intent on making ammends for his earlier defensive lapses. The big prop came down poorly, and the grimace on his face showed he had done some serious damage. Iro was stretched from the field with a suspected broken ankle. The injury didn't halt the New England machine, with Torrens scoring another miracle try after a brilliant exchange of passes. Walker got the sideline conversion, and it was suddenly 12-8. The siren went, and Gold Coast were shellshocked as they left the field.

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Gold Coast looked to make a positive start in the second half, and went right on the attack on the back of a Jason Croker line break. The Ferrets weren't out to surrender their lead, and repelled the attack in style. From the twenty metre tap, the Ferrets launched the ideal counter-attack. Fletcher found Hart out wide, and the big prop had little trouble shrugging off Carney. He then found Torrens, who raced sixty metres for his second try! The scoreline at 18-8, things didn't look promising for the minor premiers.

The Crusade continued to whether intense pressure, with the Ferrets tidying up their earlier mistake rate to produce some truly amazing attacking plays. At the centre of these raids was Walker and Ikin, as well as ball playing forward Lee Harland, who was looking to emulate his heroics from the match against Central Coast.

The Crusade resisted the urge to play catch up footy, and as their mistake rate dropped, so their attack lifted. McKenna made a promising line break in the 50th, but Peachy dragged the big forward/centre down. The match wore on, with neither side finding points. Andrew Johns' nightmare game continued, with the Australian halfback again dropping a pass which could've put him into space.

The miracle that Gold Coast were looking for came in the 67th. A driving Rodwell kick found touch only five metres from the New England line, and although it wasn't a forty-twenty, it had the same effect when Bryan Fletcher dropped it on the second tackle. John Eeles hit an Andrew Johns' ball at speed, and there was no denying the big forward, who scored adjacent to the posts despite the attention of Harland and Iro. Johns kicked the conversion, and his side was down 18-14.

In the 72nd the Ferrets looked to seal the match through a set deep in Gold Coast's territory, but the final play on the set was abysmal. The pass from Walker in dummy half failed to find Lam, meaning Smith had to heft a bomb. Radlinski had no trouble taking the ill-placed kick, and his side were in possession with eight to go.

A truly titanic set of tackling restricted Gold Coast, who failed to make a single metre on the set of six. Andrew Johns fired an enormous kick, which Offiah picked up in his in goal. He returned the kick with zeal, and was hit in a bone-rattling tackle by Mullins which jarred the ball lose. Croker swooped on it and raced twenty metres, but was dragged down. The Ferrets' line an shambles, Johns sensed a try out wide, but Bai was taken high by Torrens, giving the Crusade a penalty.

Andrew Johns sent a grubber behind the line, and Josh Perry timed his run to perfection, grounding the ball to level things up in the 75th minute. Johns wasted no time with the kick, and the Crusade were up 20-18 with four to go.

The Ferrets went short, but Mullins took the catch brilliantly. Despite the mistake, New England pinned Gold Coast in their own half again, forcing Johns to surrender possession only fourty out from his own line. The Ferrets played a flawless set before Peachy chipped ahead, but the kick went deep, and Carney took it safely. The set played itself out flawlessly, and Johns sent another kick downfield. Young Shane Elford looked to have the ball, but dropped the bomb cold, giving Gold Coast possession with only twenty seconds remaining. The Crusade played simple one-out stuff, and the siren went. Johns kicked the ball out on the full, and the Crusade were through to their first grand final.

FULL TIME
Gold Coast Crusade 20:
Josh Perry
Brett Mullins
John Eeles
Andrew Johns 4/4
def.
New England Ferrets 18:
Albert Torrens 2
Bryan Fletcher
Ben Walker 3/3

Player of the Match
Brett Mullins 3
Josh Perry 2
Albert Torrens 1

A Proud Day for the Gold Coast
Well, even I had my doubts, but the Crusade have gotten into their first Grand Final. It was a hard fought battle, but the boys meshed and stuck with it, even when we looked down and out.

We started the game in the best way, and the 8-0 lead should've been enough to protect, but we got a little sloppy, and let them back into it just before half time. In the first half I was incredibly happy with Brett Mullins, and I'm sure everyone at the club will miss his positive attitude. His inclusion in the side was largely thanks to the advice of Sydney coach, Roger Bossert, who has been a great help of late.

Our second half performance was strong, and Josh Perry with Jason Croker were our real heroes. Mullins was also great, with Johns' having a less than great game. Still, his kicking game was great, and I think the nervous start will do him the world of good in the leadup to the Grand Final.

We welcome back Buderus this week, and we believe that we'll be able to surprise the Taipans and get away with our first premiership. It'll be tough, but we're confident.

Chris Walker-Bush, Gold Coast Crusade

What can i say other that Do'h. We went out there with the task clearly in our minds and we knew that the Crusade were down a lot of key players, but johns was still present and the team known for being the "one man team" still had the one man and the most important on the field. Once again Fletcher had a pearler but not enough to came away with the game. Albert Torrens was once again the hero for the team, as in the game before scoring a double. In the end it comes down to each side scored three trias and converted them, but the early penalty to the Crusade was the difference. The wat I see it, the Ferrets can take a lot out of this year with great success and we will look to continue it next year.
Well done Chris good luck in the Grand final.
FULL TIME
Gold Coast Crusade 20:
Josh Perry
Brett Mullins
John Eeles
Andrew Johns 4/4
def.
New England Ferrets 18:
Albert Torrens 2
Bryan Fletcher
Ben Walker 3/3

Player of the Match
Brett Mullins 3
Josh Perry 2
Albert Torrens 1

Rowland Kelly, New England Coach