The Wally Lewis Division has been hyped as the most competitive division this season, and if the halftime scoreline from the all Peter Sterling semi final being played (22-0 to Wagga) is an indication- that's been the case. But first placed East Coast have demolished all comers this season, and take on a fifth placed Fairfield side eager to make one last play for the title in their final year of existence. Can Michael Magro send his side out on a high? Or will East Coast move to Campbelltown next year with a premiership to their name?

East Coast Tigers Fairfield Stallions
1 Chris Hicks 1 Adrian Vowles
2 Chris Walker 2 Stuart Kelly
3 Sid Domic 3 Shane Elford
4 Shane Rodney 4 Seamus O'Grady
5 Gareth Raynor 5 Rupert Matakamikamica
6 Matthew Bowen © 6 Slick Cupples
7 Andrew Dunemann 7 Ryan Lawton
8 Steele Retchless 8 Andy Lynch
9 Nathan Wood 9 Mick Higham
10 Chris Joynt 10 Terry O'Connor
11 Brad Thorn 11 Robert Salvatori
12 Danny Galea 12 Tony Price ©
13 Dallas Johnson 13 Scott Magro
++Interchange
14 Tony Martin 14 Rocky Elsom
15 Tonie Carroll 15 Matt Adamson
16 Rudi Vedelago 16 Sean Ireland
17 Germaine Paulson 17 Chris Tyrie

If Fairfield were expecting East Coast to be softened up by their lack of match preparation heading into this one, they were sadly mistaken, with the Tigers' gifted forward pack battering them from pillar to post in the opening set. Whether it was the youthful exuberance of Galea and Johnson, or the level headed hard hits of Joynt, Thorn, and Retchless- the Tigers stamped their authority on the match early, and it paid dividends when Matty Bowen scored a trademark length of the field try. The livewire fullback tore through some weak defence around the ruck, streaking away to score a try after just ninety seconds of play. Chris Walker adopted the goal-kicking duties, and had no trouble with the routine conversion. The Stallions were shellshocked to be behind 6-0 so early in the game.

The Tigers didn't relieve any pressure in the next few minutes either, with Brad Thorn and then Chris Hicks both embarking on dangerous runs through some feeble Stallions' defence. The Tigers were looking red hot, and Fairfield would need to respond soon or risk being blown off the park.

Enter Scott Magro. The freakishly talented Maltese sensation, realising that another East Coast try so early on would crush Fairfield morale, stepped up to the plate and seized the game by the scruff of it's neck with a barging thirty metre run that inspired the Stallions' offence into some form of order. Three tackles later, Magro was there to finish a powerful seventy metre movement, chasing through a well weighted Slick Cupples grubber to plant the ball just left of the uprights. Converting his own effort, Magro high fived with his team mates as his try made it 6 all after five minutes and lifted Fairfield confidence.

The try had the desired effect on Fairfield's morale, but the Tigers didn't seem at all diminished by Magro's mammoth effort in attack. The raids continued to come thick and fast, but as one of Division Two's better defensive units, the Stallions were able to find that extra tackle on every occasion. In the 18th minute it looked as if Matt Bowen had snared his second when, taking a quick tap forty out from his own line, he was able to dart through the tiniest of gaps in the Fairfield line and go in untouched. The video referee checked it, though, and it was ruled that Bowen had stepped behind Brad Thorn as he approached the line, preventing Ryan Lawton from making a potentially try-saving tackle. The East Coast fans cried foul, but Bowen wasn't put off by the denied try, and chalked up his second of the match just two minutes later when he chimed into the backline to score a brilliant try. Chris Walker again converted, and it was 12-6 in favour of the favourites.

This try sparked something in the Fairfield engine, and while their defence remained solid, their offence doubled in potency. It took just eight minutes for Fairfield to find a replying try, and once again it came from the superb kicking game of Slick Cupples. The Italian sensation weaved an erattically bouncing ball through the legs of defenders, and Robert Salvatori chased beyond the call of duty to score a potentially equalling try. Magro added the extras, and despite the Tigers' immense form early on, it was locked at 12 all with ten minutes of the first half remaining.

The ten minutes leading into half time were frantic and full of attacking football. The Stallions' kicking game continued to be their most powerful asset, whilst the likes of Bowen and Walker never failed to make ground if the markers were the tiniest bit lazy. The 39th minute proved to be a decisive point in the match, when the Tigers looked to have scored a late try to inch themselves ahead. This time it was the rest of some dominant forward play from the pack, followed by a spiralling Nathan Wood bomb which found the arms of Chris Walker. The video referee was again called into play, and once again returned a negative- ruling that Walker had been offside from the kick. Halftime came with scores locked at 12 all, and a crackerjack second half was in the offing.

HALFTIME: East Coast 12 drawn with Fairfield 12

Come on Stallions... fire up

Support Slick! Spread it wide and long... and don't take your eye off your marker.

We can win this boys.... win this half of football and it's yours!

The players file back onto the field for the beginning of the second half, and East Coast's Dallas Johnson sets hearts aflutter when he makes a clean break on the second tackle of the half, only to lose the ball in a heavy tackle from Rupert Matakamikamica. In something of a reversal of the first half, it is the Stallions who look the goods in the early going. Matt Adamson showed why he played for NSW this year with some inspiring runs, but it was East Coast who landed the first blow of the half when Chris Walker nailed a penalty goal. 14-12 after seven minutes of the second half. But with Fairfield on the boil, it would take more than some sharp-shooting to seal a grand final berth.

The game continued on at its frantic pace, but it became increasingly clear that whatever had been said by Michael Magro at halftime was having a marked effect. Every run from Fairfield was that little bit more determined, and every tackle, that little bit more secure. Whilst the likes of Dallas Johnson and Matt Bowen continued to prove hard to contain, their support lacked enthusiasm.

Fairfield claimed the lead for the first time in the match in the 56th minute, and once again it was Slick Cupples showing off his masterful short kicking game to give Terry O'Connor a gift try. The big Irishman wasn't expecting the ball when he chased, but the bounce was miraculous, gifting O'Connor with a crucial try. Magro converted, and the Stallions lead 18-14 with just over twenty minutes of play remaining.

The Stallions went dangerously close on their return set, a forty-twenty from Scott Magro giving them an ideal chance to put the game beyond East Coast's reach. Thankfully for the Tigers' fans, however, the Tigers' defence continued to hold. The 63rd minute saw a major turning point in the game, though. A big run from Seamus O'Grady set up relative unknown, Chris Tyrie, and the diminutive halfback danced his way across the line to go over out wide and put his side up 22-14. To add to salt to the wounds, Magro converted from out wide, and the season looked as good as over for East Coast. Fairfield held a ten point lead, and the Tigers hadn't scored a try since the first half.

Something needed to happen and happen fast, and the Tigers took just five minutes to respond to the Stallions' potentially match-winning try. A penalty put the Tigers on the attack, and a quality ball from Tonie Carroll to Andrew Dunemann put the half in under the sticks. The Tigers' fans were celebrating, and after the conversion, things were looking interesting at 24-20 in favour of the Stallions. With the likes of Bowen in the lineup, East Coast could score and score fast.

The game continued to ebb and flow in both directions, with both sides knowing that one last try would potentially seal victory. The try didn't come, but in the 74th minute Chris Tyrie ensured that the Tigers would need to score and convert when he slotted over a close range field goal. 25-20 isn't a match winning lead by any stretch, but with Chris Walker not a recognised goal-kicker, the Stallions' faithful were beginning to feel a little confident.

The 79th minute. More correctly, 79:58. In typical guts or glory style, Scott Magro chips on the fourth tackle in his own half, giving East Coast one last bite at the cherry. The fans were both terrified and shocked, but as Chris Walker raced onto the eratically bouncing ball it turned over the line- much to Magro's relief. The Stallions had done it, come from fifth to claim a berth in the Division Two grand final!

FULLTIME

East Coast Tigers 20
Matt Bowen 2
Andrew Dunemann
Walker 4/4

lost to

Fairfield Stallions 25
Chris Tyrie
Scott Magro
Terry O'Connor
Robert Salvatori
Magro 4/4
Tyrie 1 fg.

PoM Points
Matt Bowen.............3
Slick Cupples..........2
Dallas Johnson........1

woo go surfers, survives again!

The two greatest words in the England language. De Fault. De Fault! De Fault! De Fault!

:P

Song heard on radio station in Wagga, after this scoreline came across the wire - "Unforgettable", by Nat King Cole...

...followed by REO Speedwagon's "Time for Me to Fly".

As the station manager Wylie Watson noted, "Celebrate? Yeah, a wee bit. But we're not officially in the Premiership until after the Grand Final - and we won't really celebrate until then. Knowing Theo as I do, he may not want the parade, the honours from the Council, and all of that, even then - but we, the fans, want to give Badgers all the honours they deserve after such a wonderful season - and that's the appropriate time in our book..."

EEEEEEUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

*will post a real comment when I don't have a headache*

Hooray, only one team promoting with heaps of cahs to bid with!!!