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By RugbyWA Media
Contributors: Josh Zimmerman
University is through to the KWIK Premier Grade grand final after Alan Kingsley held his nerve to nail a 79th minute penalty that gave his side a 19–18 win over Cottesloe.
Kingsley's goal kicking was shaky on the day but he converted the one that mattered to end Cottesloe's incredible winning streak at nine and give University its first final's win in over 20 years.
University had an abundance of territory and possession in the first half and flyhalf Kingsley had two shots at goal and a drop kick attempt before he finally managed to make one count in the 28th minute.
Cottesloe's Dave Cloete struck back immediately however after a rare foray in to University territory resulted in a penalty.
Two minutes later University jumped back in to the lead after a Cottesloe player was penalised for holding on to the ball and Kingsley struck true from 25m out.
The flyhalf had another chance to extend his side's lead to six before the break after Cott were caught entering a ruck from the side but was once again off target. Instead it was the Seagulls who ended the half in front after speedster Nathan Hunt found himself in a bit of space on the wing and managed to zip over in the corner for the game's first try.
Cloete missed the conversion but Cottesloe began the second half with the wind at its back and ahead by 8 – 6.
Tempers began to flare across the park as both sides struggled to turn pressure in to points and in the 50th minute found themselves down to 14 men when Uni's Tim Carslaw and Cott's Dave Kirton were sent to the sideline after a scuffle during a ruck.
Shortly afterwards Cottesloe were awarded a penalty when the touch judge spotted another melee behind play although this time no cards were shown.
Cloete's 45m effort fell just short and instead it was University who scored the next points of the game and reclaimed the lead when centre Andy Finn burst through the Gull's defensive line before cutting back inside and running around to score under the posts.
Kingsley added the extras and University took a five point lead but that advantage was immediately cut back to two when Cloete added a long range penalty.
Kingsley restored the lead to five with ten minutes to play when Cottesloe were again pinged for holding on to the ball.
In the 75th minute Uni again found themselves with 14 on the field after the referee lost patience with their slowing the ball down at the ruck and Cott set up a lineout deep inside Uni's 22.
From that set piece Seagulls flyhalf Sam Parker managed to find one of the few gaps in Uni's defence to dive under the posts for what appeared to be the match winning try.
The conversion was added sending the Cottesloe fans in to hysterics but their celebrations came a moment too soon as Uni won a penalty from the restart and Kingsley held his nerve to convert from 35 metres out kicking directly in to the sun and the wind.
“It was a game that could of gone either way but I'm very relieved that we bounced back well from last week, which we were certainly thinking about, and came away with the win,” said University Coach Steve McFarland.
“We had a lot more energy and a lot more focus today but obviously there is still a lot of work to do.
“We had a few good patches throughout this game but we also gave away a number of penalties and obviously that's a concern.
“We allowed them to go ahead just before half time and we knew it was going to be a tough 40 minutes but we stuck it out and I'm very proud of the improved effort in this game.
“We've got Nedlands at home in the Grand Final next weekend and we couldn't have really asked for much more.
“Now we've got to refocus our energies and make sure that we're ready for next week.”
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