Coffs tried to hold the Port Pirates back, but couldn’t keep them from claiming premiership titles in both first grade and under 18s.
The Mid North Coast Rugby Competition came to its conclusion on Saturday with the Port Macquarie Pirates claiming premiership titles in both First Grade and Under 18 competitions.
The Reserve Grade Pirates were unlucky to go down in a close encounter.
The Westport Club sponsored Port Macquarie Pirates first grade team went into the match as underdogs against the strong Coffs Harbour Crabs team in what was a thrilling encounter between the two front running teams.
Throughout the season the teams were evenly matched with Port Macquarie seemingly getting closer to their goal of unsettling the team which had led the competition for nearly the entire competition.
The Pirates bounded from the block with tries to Sam Atkinson and Tim Platt supported by the conversions by Sam McNeill.
Lachlan “Hound” Bassett also added a try for the Pirates which saw them go to the break with a handy 19-12 lead. The Pirates had been benefited by a strong southerly wind at the backs for the first half.
Whilst Coffs Harbour did use their forward power to great advantage at one stage having a rolling maul travel over 25 metres before the Pirates defence could counter it, when the Pirates came to terms with the size and power of the Crabs pack the superiority of the home team was diminished.
After the break Coffs Harbour replied with two quick tries which gave them the lead in the early stages of the final stanza.
In the remaining time of the half the play moved from one end of the field to the other with the attacking team being encamped in the defending teams quarter for lengthy period.
Both teams were held up over the opposing line on more than one occasion by resolute defence.
As the full time whistle loomed closer and Coffs Harbour appeared confident that they would hold out the Pirates, Sam McNeill combined with John Talamaivao for the strong running centre to cross the line and with the conversion give the Pirates the lead by a whisker of 26-22 which remained the final score.
Sam Mc Neill was voted the best player in the grand final and also received the award for the best player in the zone over the season.
Pirates President Steve Shields said after the match that he wished to express his sincere thanks to the large contingent of Pirates supporters who traveled on the two supporter buses as well as private cars.
It was expressed by several at the ground that the Pirates supporters outnumbered the home team supporters in numbers.
The Reserve Grade team were unlucky to not be part of the Pirates winning combination when they went down in a tight match by 12 points to 6 to a strong Coffs Harbour combinations.
The half time score of 12-6 remained the full time score with no points scored in the second term by either team.
The feature of the match was the solid defence by both teams in what was a dour struggle.
The Port Macquarie team went from only one win last season to just being beaten to the Reserve Grade title.
Captain Joel Riddle was voted the Mid North Coast Zone Reserve Grade player of the season.
Peter Sales, Dan Blackman, Daniel Byrnes also had strong games.
In the Under 18 Grand Final the Port Macquarie Pirates team were not led by Kempsey for the entire match.
Ably led by Kyle Gavrily, the Pirates stamped their authority on the match.
A Rhys Martin penalty goal from a difficult position opened the scoring.
Kempsey replied shortly after with a penalty goal of their own to level the score at 3 all.
Ryan Kenny-Wilson who has had a tremendous season, scored the first two Pirates tries. Rhys Martin converted the second of these tries to have the Pirates ahead by 15-3.
Lachie Wilson also crossed the Kempsey line for the Pirates and with the conversion by Martin, the Pirates had extended their lead to 22-10.
Rhys Martin added a further penalty goal to the Pirates tally with Kempsey managing another converted try to go to the break with the score at 25-10 in favour of the Pirates.
The second half saw each team score a converted try with the Kempsey effort coming from the charge down of a Pirates kick and Peter Coertzer finishing the season for the Pirates with a try late in the second half to take the score to 30-17, which gave the Pirates the premiership title.
In all it was a very successful day for the Pirates who came home with two premiership titles for the season.
The Pirates Presentation Night will be held on Friday the 14th September, 2012 at the Westport Club, Port Macquarie.
