SENIOR COMPETITION SPONSORED BY KWIK - SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW
Thursday, 14 August 2008 12:17pm
By Rick Boyd
Minor premiers Kalamunda meet runners-up Nedlands in Saturday’s major semi-final, and third-placed Wanneroo play fourth-placed Perth-Bayswater in Sunday’s minor semi-final, as the pressure builds towards the conclusion of the 2008 Rugby WA club competition, sponsored by KWIK Crane and Transport Hire.
The pressure may be marginally less in the coveted major-semi final and the rewards are greater. The winner of the Kalamunda-Nedlands game gets a free ticket into the grand final at Rugby Park, Floreat, on August 31, with a week of extra preparation and recovery. The loser gets another chance in the preliminary final on August 24.
Kalamunda edged Nedlands 27-26 in round three with a come-from-behind flurry of late scoring but Nedlands had their revenge in style in round 12, dumping the error prone Bulls 35-18 in a counter-attacking frenzy.
However, Nedlands would be the last to claim any sort of favouritism for this game. While the remainder of the competition has been unusually tight and a mid-table log-jam prolonged the jockeying for finals positions until the last round robin match, the Bulls have stood head and shoulders above the rest. They have been competition leaders virtually throughout the season, losing only two games and finishing 16 points clear of Neddies on the table.
Both teams finished the season with a flourish with three big-scoring wins and whoever adapts fastest to the relentless intensity of finals rugby must be in the box seat to claim the semi-final win, land a psychological blow and take the easy route into the grand final.
The teams are well matched on paper, both with mobile, competitive forward packs and smart, fast, attacking back lines. Neddies lost their ace back row of last year but found a dynamic pair of young flankers to support number eight Tyson Takiari; while Kalamunda’s evergreen hooker Matt Peachey and number eight Brent Walker continue to keep the Bulls pack on the front foot.
There is talent to burn in both back lines. Nedlands’ half pairing of Nathan Roberts and Stu Farquharson is complimented by flyers Harry Cogin and Barry Mansfield on the wings, with elusive runner Zane Houia at fullback. Kalamunda’s nuggety halfback Nicky Kaa feeds a backline stuffed with running talent including inside centre Quintin Tufoaua, centre Kane Allen, fullback Dave Kara and wing Deon Berryman – although Berryman is on tour with the Western Force in England.
Both coaches are in their first year at the helm of a Western Australian first grade team. Kalamunda’s Paul King arrived in Perth this year with impressive credentials from Waikato in New Zealand, while Nedlands’ Tony Ball is an experienced campaigner who moved up the ranks at the Royal Blues.
Wanneroo and Perth-Bayswater face a grimmer reality in Sunday’s minor semi-final. The season will be over for the loser of that game while the winner faces the tough task of meeting either Kalamunda or Nedlands in the preliminary final the following week.
The minor semi-final is a rematch of the concluding round of the competition played last week, when 2007 premiers Perth-Bayswater played with enormous intensity to demolish the Roo-dogs 29-12 in a do-or-die effort to leapfrog an unfortunate Rockingham into the finals.
Wanneroo are the great improvers of the 2008 competition, coming from bottom of the table in 2007 to finish third this season under coach Elwee Prinsloo. While they may have lacked motivation in their round 18 match against Perth-Bayswater, their place in the finals already assured, they will be under no illusions in this game. If they allow Perth-Bayswater to dictate at Rugby Park as they did at Pat O’Hara Reserve, Wanneroo’s finals experience will be a very short one.
Boasting the competition’s biggest pack and capable backs, Wanneroo have shown good consistency throughout the season but they have lost all their competition games against the other three finalists and are new boys to the cauldron atmosphere of finals rugby. Whether they have what it takes to stay the pace at the business end of the season will be revealed under intense questioning by Perth-Bayswater on Sunday.
The reigning premiers under master coach John ‘JT’ Taylor have endured a difficult year. Despite fielding a largely new team from their victorious 2007 season, the Morley unit enjoyed a solid first half to their season and sat comfortably in the top four midway through the year. Then a horror run of injuries and a loss of focus dumped them down the table with four consecutive defeats, including a couple of unlikely upsets, and the defending premiers scraped their way into the finals with a last ditch effort.
In their favour, this is exactly the scenario that has tended to bring out the best in the Perth-Bayswater battlers as they showed last week, and the core of the team are experienced finals performers who toughed out nail-biting finishes last year to take the flag. Additionally, the forwards-based team with the bulldozer scrum recently discovered a sparkling back line inspired by halfback-turned-flyhalf Sam Moon, and featuring multi-skilled inside centre Nathan McCort and rocket fast wing Nathan Hunt.
Despite their form slump in the second half of the season, Perth-Bayswater has the best win-loss ratio after Kalamunda but have failed to produce the bonus points that boosted Nedlands and Wanneroo up the table. They have beaten Nedlands once and Wanneroo twice, but have yet to taste victory over the Bulls.
Wanneroo lacked tough preparation until last week’s hard lesson at Pat O’Hara Reserve and may find they are behind the eight ball with no time left to make up lost ground. But Perth-Bayswater will need to maintain their intensity if they are to capitalise on their head start.
The weekend promises a feast of high pressure rugby with major and minor semi-finals on throughout all grades, at Rugby Park, Floreat, and McGillivray Oval, Mount Claremont. See the full schedule here.
