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A second half resurgence took Cottesloe through to a gritty 18-13 win over Nedlands at McGillivray Oval today in the Rugby WA club rugby competition first grade preliminary final, sponsored by KWIK Crane and Transport Hire.
Nedlands had the better of a tight, nervous first half and led 13-3 early in the second spell, but the Seagulls saved their best for the final half hour to take control with two tries.
It was a far cry from the free-flowing scoring that marked both semi-finals. Tough defence and a war of attrition up front made for a dour, no-frills preliminary final with Cottesloe grinding out a late win with power and patience.
Finals nerves were the order of the day for both teams early as they jostled for position between the 22s, Neddies enjoying the better of the territory.
Neddies came within centimetres of scoring in the corner from a kick through after 12 minutes but it was wasted effort. Referee Julian Pritchard took play back to the 22 for a Cottesloe penalty on the assistant referee's report following a disagreement amongst the forwards in the previous play.
Nedlands continued dominating territory and when Cott was penalised for not rolling away on the 22 after 21 minutes, inside centre Mike Denton slotted an angled goal for the first lead of the game, 3-0.
Cottesloe rebounded for a period of attack in Neddies' half, in a tight preliminary final where an old rugby rivalry was increasingly marked with ill-disciplined outbursts. In one, Nedlands lost Denton after a head high tackle on Cottesloe fullback Sam Parker, and flyhalf David Cloete slotted the angled 30 metre penalty to draw the game at 3-3 after 36 minutes.
Nedlands had an unsuccessful penalty goal attempt for coming in the side of the ruck on the stroke of half time but the sides went into the break at three points apiece, reflecting a tight , edgy game.
Neddies opened the second spell strongly and hammered away in Cottesloe's 22, the forwards charging through a lineout for a try to hooker Joe Ritchie half way between the posts and the sideline. Denton converted the angled goal and Nedlands grabbed a vital 10-3 lead after seven minutes.
The lead increased four minutes later when Denton landed another difficult kick for offside and Neddies started to take control at 13-3.
But 13 minutes in, the Seagulls came back onto attack and a perfectly judged grubber kick to the corner on the blind by Cloete was touched down by wing Ben Mitchell just short of the dead ball line. Cloete added a superb sideline conversion and Cottesloe were right back in it at 13-10.
Cloete was unsuccessful with a long range sideline penalty after 18 minutes, then Nedlands pressured Cott in their 22 but the Seagulls kicked clear and gained a lineout ten metres out from the Royal Blues’ line. The ball went wide where Neddies conceded a sitter penalty and Cloete knocked it over to return the game to a knife edge at 13-13 after 24 minutes.
Cottesloe made further headway after 27 minutes when they gained a free kick, and referee Pritchard added another ten metres after Nedlands were guilty of back-chat. The Seagulls forwards assaulted Nedlands’ line with thumping pick and drives until powerful number 8 Matt Aitken thundered over on the blind for a try in the corner. The sideline conversion missed but Cottesloe went ahead 18-13 with ten minutes to play.
Oddly, Nedlands opted for a 45 metre penalty kick with six minutes to play after Cottesloe lifted the front row of the scrum, but Denton pushed it wide. Nedlands had other chances as time ran out but made errors, and several times kicked vital possession away.
Cottesloe tied up the ball with heavy forward work in the closing stages to run out winners in a close, sometimes bitter preliminary final, and will face Palmyra in the grand final at Members Equity Stadium next Sunday.
http://rugbywa.com.au/news/article,56395.html