August 31, 2015
You couldn’t wipe the smiles off Kingaroy supporters’ faces after the Red Ants achieved the seemingly impossible on Saturday afternoon by knocking the Cherbourg Hornets out of the 2015 South Burnett rugby league competition.
The Preliminary Final was played in intermittent heavy rain at T.J. O’Neill Oval in Kingaroy before a vocal crowd of spectators from both sides, most huddled in the clubhouse out of the rain.
Cherbourg have won the South Burnett premiership for the past three years and should have been favourites going into the sudden-death final to decide who would face Wondai in the Grand Final next weekend.
But for the third weekend in a row, Cherbourg started slowly only to come back with a vengeance in the second half.
Kingaroy, by comparison, started strongly only to fade again during the second term.
Siopau Taufa put the first points on the board for the Red Ants as the rain came tumbling down just after the start of the game.
A few minutes later Kingaroy crossed again, only to be held up over the line.
Defence was tough from both sides with no quarter given, but handling in the wet conditions let down both teams.
At the midway point of the first half, some quick passing up the middle of the field positioned Jayden Jarvis to score for Kingaroy. The conversion attempt by Chris Holmes was on target and Kingaroy was leading 10-0.
With four minutes left in the half, Tuafa scored his double. The conversion attempt was no good but right on half-time Ashley Smallwood successfully kicked a penalty to take the score at the break to 16-0.
The second half began with both sides bombing what looked like certain tries.
But then the Hornets assumed their “second half” persona, and put on three tries in 11 minutes – one by Gordon Fisher and two by Gary Wilmot.
Alex Speedy converted two of them, and suddenly it was 16-all with 16 minutes left on the clock.
In the difficult conditions, whoever scored next would most likely take the game. Given Cherbourg’s new-found enthusiasm, they looked the part.
But then a Kingaroy set of six which seemed to be going nowhere was suddenly transformed when a kick ahead was taken cleanly in the air by Mitch Crossley who scored in the corner.
Kingaroy had nosed in front 20-16 with 14 minutes left.
Cherbourg were determined not to let the chance of 2015 glory slip out of their fingers and threw everything at Kingaroy, but their hopes were dashed when Crossley scored again six minutes from the final siren.
The full-time score was Kingaroy 24, Cherbourg 16.
Kingaroy will now face Wondai in the Grand Final which will be played at Murgon Sportsground next Saturday.
