The two Wagga “town” clubs face off in this year’s big dance and both teams represent two different sides of the tracks, the glamour club vs the battlers, Catholics v Protestants, Waratahs v Wagga City – a match of holy proportions.
It’s been 35 years since Wagga City played in a Grand Final and 42 years since they’ve won one. This is a big match for the Boiled Lollies and an enormous emotional challenge for Coach Nathan Honeyman as the club takes the stage in their most successful season since Jesus came off the bench at half back.
There’s no denying that Waratahs have been the form team of the competition this season and have taken on all comers in 2016, having bagged 15 wins from 15 starts and collecting 15 bonus points in the process. They have slain all before them this year, however Wagga City are the club that has come closest to knocking them off in Round 8 when Waratahs got up by a measly 12 points.
Wagga City have come through to the GF from 4th position on the ladder and have earnt their stripes to play in the biggest game of the season. They’ve been playing a really entertaining brand of footy in recent weeks, showing confidence in their outside backs with a strong passing game and will want to make sure this area of their game is on song come Saturday afternoon.
Strong team performances have been the standout for Wagga City in the later stages of the season and is something that they’ll need to stay focussed on this weekend. Defensive pressure will also be an area that they need to get right because any chink in their armour will be exploited by Waratahs.
Waratahs have continued to play their fast paced game which thrives when Angus Le Lievre breaks or bends the defensive line, once this happens, they either pour numbers through that hole or they shift to the edges very quickly. This strategy has worked well for them all season and I expect to see this in action again on Saturday.
The centre pairings will be strong with Tim Corocoran and Angus Le Lievre vs Eddie Lagaali and Keifer Power a highlight. Corcoran and Le Lievre both have Shute Shield experience, while Lagaali and Power are younger up-and-coming types who will not be afraid to take it to their more polished rivals.
There are also two very different fullbacks playing for each team and their impact on the game will be significant; Steve Tracey likes to jink and jive through the line while James Curgenven is revelling in his switch to fullback which is allowing him to play a very direct running line which is opening teams up at the moment. Will Curgenven’s strong boot come into play or will he hold the ball and knock ‘em down?
Depth (and quality of depth) throughout the lower grades has really helped Waratahs during the season and gives them options in the final stages of the match. A key question here is: can Wagga City hang with Waratahs for the full 80 minutes? Many clubs have been there or thereabouts with 20 to go but when Waratahs step up the pace of the game late, players tend to fall off tackles, cover defence lags and holes start to appear more frequently.
An interesting side note to the day is Sam Bunny and Rory Sheard, who have both come to Wagga from the Young Yabbies last season and have slotted in nicely for their respective teams. They will be facing off against each other in the big one at open-side breakaway, these two players have been handy additions to their teams and have a point to prove tomorrow. There is also the Wagga City trio of Jayden Stanton, Pat Cantwell and Oscar Sykes having switched from the Boar to the Lolly this season.
Waratahs have a very experienced front-row with James Daley, Hugh Palmer and Tom Dunstan running the show up front but, while they arguably have the edge in this department, Wagga City do have some considerable size at their disposal in the tight five with a mountain of a man in Sykes. While Sykes is still developing as a tight five player, there is no doubt that when he throws himself about he can cause some carnage.
Expect a sell-out crowd in Wagga for this game, every Boiled Lolly and his dog will be there to see them go round and Waratahs will have a strong representation of chambray shirts there as they’ve made the GF in all three men’s grades. It’ll be a great day for rugby at Conolly Park this weekend and a game that will go down in the history books if Wagga City get up in their 65th Anniversary Season.
#SIRU2016 Grand Final kicks off at 3:15pm at Conolly Park, Wagga Wagga
Referee: Paul Dean
Waratahs: 1. Tom Dunstan, 2. Jock Munro, 3. James Daley, 4. Joe Mullany, 5. Matt Meggison, 6. Sean Kearns, 7. Sam Bunny, 8. Dave Armstrong, 9. Sam Hobbs, 10. Euan Bonner, 11. Justin Shortis, 12. Tim Corcoran ©, 13. Angus Le Lievre, 14. Bart Whiteley, 15. Steve Tracey. Coach: Will Mitchell
Wagga City: 1. Chris Bryant, 2. Michael Tuilau, 3. Nathan Seymour, 4. Corey Werahiko, 5. Oscar Sykes, 6. James Maloney ©, 7. Rory Sheard, 8. Pat Cantwell, 9. Drew Martin, 10. Jayden Stanton, 11. Villimone Cavuca, 12. Eddie Lagaali, 13. Keifer Power, 14. Jesse Uhr, 15. James Curgenven. Coach: Nathan Honeyman
