The Elks have returned home from Armidale as NERU Second Grade Premiers after a dominant performance in the grand final on Saturday.
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The Glen side came out of the blocks firing, piling on 29 unanswered points in the first 25 minutes with the first try coming after only three minutes with fly half Lachlan Perkins taking advantage of a scrambling Blues defensive line. The lead was extended to 10 after a penalty goal to Perkins and the scoreboard continued to tick over.
Another three points were on offer shortly after however the kick for goal was turned down in favour of a try as confidence was building. Within two phases of the ensuing lineout they were over again, this time it was Tom Benton, however the try was disallowed due to the referee obstructing a Blues defensive player.
From the scrum that followed, the Elks forwards dominated the Blues pack and walked them the five metres to score a scrum push over try, awarded to number 8 Lachie Stewart. This is the first try of this nature for the Elks this year and was an outstanding display of determination.
Todd Burgess scored the next two tries, one off a well-executed backs move, the other stemming from some quick hands in the backs putting Burgess away on a long range run, who beat the fullback one-on-one and scored under the posts.
The Blues managed a try in the last five minutes of the first half, off the back of a couple of Glen infringements. The first half was easily the best rugby the team had played all year, with both forwards and backs dominating in every facet of the game.
The second half saw a resurgence from the Blues side, coupled with a number of frustrating penalties from the ELKs. The Glen defence was very strong, holding them out on a number of occasions with the Blues dominating possession for most of the half. They did manage one try through weight of possession and territory, crashing over from a maul off a lineout.
The Elks were able to finish the game off on a high though with Ranald Burridge making a long range break, only halted by the fullback just meters short of the try line. Sid Brummell finished off the movement, backing up well, grabbing the ball and diving over for a five pointer. The final whistle blew and the Elks were victorious 34-10 to take out the second grade competition.
Co-coach Henry Burridge applauded the team’s performance.
“It was a real team effort by a group of mates playing for one another,” he said.
“ I’d have to make mention of Tom Benton and Tom Coldham getting through a lot of hard work, typifying the culture of the team this year.”
Co-coach Lachlan Perkins commented on the year for the Elks.
“We were very lucky to have a number of blokes both new to town and back in town who were established rugby players,” he said.
“The stars aligned for us this year and hopefully they (the Elks) can build on this platform in the next few years.
“As for the final, the first half was a display of how good this team really is. It’s hard to pick a stand-out but if I had to I’d say Cameron Amos and Todd Burgess were key figures in the win.”