THE might of the Macleay Valley Mustangs proved too much for the Nambucca Roosters, as the first grade Country Rugby League trophy returned to the town of Kempsey for the first time in 50 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Mustangs reversed three defeats at the hands of the Roosters - most recently in the major semi-final - to win the trophy in style, by a 36-12 scoreline at their opponent’s home ground, Coronation Park.
Earlier, the under-18s side won its grand final, while the reserve grade was denied the trophy by the narrowest of margins, to draw the curtain on an outstanding season for the club.
Mustangs president Mike Spalding hailed the historic feat as a deserved outcome of hard work by everyone at the club and outlined how the grand final victory had been achieved.
“It was the result of brilliant coaching, brilliant strategy and brilliant execution,” he said.
Buoyed by a street parade of hundreds through Kempsey’s CBD on Saturday, and the vocal passion of fans at the Macksville ground, the first graders fired up from the first whistle and never relented.
A coat-hanger tackle right at the beginning gave the Roosters early warning of the intensity they would face from their opponents.
Cec Lardner capitalised on a great charge through the centre from Adam McMurray, carrying the ball over the line on the left corner after 15 minutes.
Man of the match Anthony Cowan added his first points of the match with the conversion.
Five minutes later it was his turn to score a try with a magnificently crafted piece of play.
Five-eighth Mal Webster chipped the ball from the Mustangs 40m line, then after Nambucca allowed it to bounce, raced through to latch on to it on the Roosters 40m line, before passing to Cowan, who sprinted 10m down the right flank.
Cowan then cut inside and passed it back to Webster, who threw it to captain/coach Willie Lockwood, who had come off the bench. His pass back to the diminuative hooker ended with Cowan sailing between the posts for the four points, which he booted over for a 12-point lead.
Phillip Thaidy was next to score with 27 minutes on the clock, before the Roosters added a converted try just after the half-hour mark.
In what might he suggested later would be his final appearance as a player, Lockwood all but killed off the hosts’ waning hopes by adding his name to the try-scorers’ list with six minutes to play of the first half.
Cowan converted and kicked a penalty goal before the siren sounded for the break.
The Mustangs’ resolute defending and a disallowed try for the Roosters shortly after the restart added to the hosts’ burden and a steep hill became insurmountable when Gary Jarrett was sin-binned for dissent.
Fullback Jeremy Taylor capped a Mustangs masterclass of inventive attacking with two quick tries midway three-quarters of the way through the match to push out the score to 36-6. Cowan took his kicking tally to five conversions from six attempts, plus the penalty goal.
He finished up with 15 points to his name for the match.
The Roosters concluded the scoring with a converted try five minutes from the final siren, but it did little to detract from the visitors’ dominance.
Half a century of hope and disappointment for rugby league in Kempsey transformed into triumph over the final 80 minutes of the 2012 season.
