EVERY Moree try was scored in a corner – and gun goal-kicker Adrian Smith converted four from six from the sideline as the Boars powered to a 32-16 win over Gunnedah Bulldogs in the Group 4 rugby league grand-final at Boughton Oval on Sunday.
Smith, the group’s highest point-scorer this season, was also kicking for his uncle, Andrew Hammond, who tragically passed away on Saturday.
“My uncle worked hard all his life and would’ve been here watching, with dad,” Smith said.
“It hits really hard, knowing he should’ve been here. That win was for him.
“As a junior player in the club, all I’ve wanted to do was win a first-grade premiership, and now I’ve done that for my uncle,” he said.
Smith was on fire on Sunday as he executed goals from seemingly impossible positions.
The trend was established in the opening minutes of the game when full-back Steve McIntosh scored in the north-eastern corner– a four-pointer perfectly converted by Smith.
A try 10 minutes later to Gunnedah fullback Dylan Lake – converted by five-eighth Ezra Gibson – levelled the score at six-all and fleetingly, it was “game on”.
But about 10 minutes later, Moree winger Jake Tighe scored the first of three tries, and centre Alex Barker celebrated his 30th birthday with a try out wide, seconds before the half-time siren rang.
Smith converted Barker’s try from the eastern sideline to take Moree into the break with an 18-6 lead.
Barker co-coached Moree Boars last year with Michael Watton. This year, they handed the clipboard and jerseys to Jack Durheim and Jamie Sampson.
“It’s a great feeling, pretty special, especially after the way we started the year when we lost our first two games,” Barker said.
“But we chipped away all season, and everything fell into place for us the last few rounds – we won a few in a row, and got the major done today.”
Tighe scored his second try few minutes into the second half, and again two minutes from full-time. Wedged between Tighe’s double was a try to centre Kaedyn Smith, Adrian Smith’s cousin.
Late tries to Gunnedah’s hooker Callum Hayne – converted by Ezra Gibson – and winger Jared Heinrich edged the Bulldogs a little closer, but Moree Boars sealed a defining 32-16 win when Jake Tighe rounded out his hat-trick in the south-western corner two minutes from full-time.
Moree Boars captain-coach Jamie Sampson was emotionally stunned afterwards.
“It hasn’t really sunk in, yet,” Sampson said.
“Once we get away from the crowd, and have a talk amongst ourselves, I think that’s when it will sink in, especially about what we’ve been able to achieve over the year – from those first two losses to where we are now.
“It’s a credit to all our players, and a credit to our club. We’ve got so much depth. It’s not just the 17 boys on the team, but everyone who contributed to our season and getting that win,” he said.
“We had a big emphasis on discipline and defence coming into the grand-final. We know we can score points, and if we turn them away, and turn them away, eventually they’ve got to break, and it’s a credit to what we’ve done along that line.
“The boys put in 110 per cent. To only let in three tries from this Gunnedah side is a big effort – look what they did to Werris Creek last week and Boggabri a couple of weeks before that,” Sampson said.
“They’ve been smashing sides, so for us to keep them to 16 points in a grand-final is massive.
“I think it’s one of the things we’ll look back on in 10 years’ time and think, it wasn’t only our attack that won that game, but definitely our defence,” he said.
Co-coach Jack Durheim agreed the Boars’ defence was key to giving the club back-to-back grand-finals.
“It doesn’t get any better than that,” Durheim said.
“Very early on, when I was sitting on the bench, they had a couple of sets against us and I said, if we turn them away here, that will break them. We just kept turning them away, and each time I think they just lost a little bit of confidence.
“Towards the end, when the game was sealed, we let in a couple of tries, but we defended our butts off, and we won the game on the back of that defence,” he said.
“I’ve preached that all year, and we proved it today in the grand-final.”
Durheim applauded goal-kicker Adrian Smith’s effort to convert four from six, all from the sideline.
“We didn’t make it easy for Adrian but he nailed them – absolutely nailed them,” Durheim said.
“He was kicking in front of the Gunnedah crowd, too, which probably made it all that little bit sweeter for him,” he grinned.
“They were into him, but it didn’t matter. Adrian played out of his skin, and to show up and play like that was unbelievable.”
Bulldogs coach Sean Hayne said his players made too many mistakes against a tried-and-true Moree side.
“We made a few too many mistakes, and we didn’t capitalise on the chances we had,” Hayne said.
“We’ve made the same, stupid mistakes all year, too. We didn’t seem to learn from them, and we did the same thing today.
“Full credit to Moree – they were by far the better team. You can’t afford to give a team like Moree that much possession or field position and hope to get away with the game,” he said.
“They are coached too well and are well-drilled. Moree spreads the ball well, and they all play their roles.
“The Boars stick to what works for them, and they executed that really well today,” Hayne said.
