2010 GF Preview

Final Training Run for 2010

Tooheys New Shute Shield :: Grand Final Preview

The Randwick Rugby club are hoping to make a historic run from sixth position when the two competition heavyweights face off in the 2010 Tooheys New Shute Shield Grand Final on Saturday at Concord Oval.

In the memories of the Students will be the fact they were taken down at the hands of Randwick back in round twelve.

The Galloping Greens are missing Shaun Foley and Nick Cummins to Sevens duty while Junior Maninoa has taken up a professional opportunity in France. Rocky Elsom and Drew Mitchell join Mark Chisholm on the sidelines.

The Wicks however do welcome back HSBC Waratahs loose forward Ben Mowen who will form a strong combination with Tim McGann and Seilala Lam in the backrow. The showdown with Uni trio Tim Davidson, Jono Jenkins and Ben McCalman will be one of the critical areas of the game and if Randwick can achieve dominance in that facet it will allow them the platform to get into the game.

While the make-up of the Randwick tight five is uncertain given the likely withdrawal of Elsom and the movement of Mowen to the backrow, the front row of Sekope Kepu, John Fonokalafi and Lotu Taukeiaho has been one of the reasons they have progressed through the first two weeks of the playoff.

However it is expected that the most influential position on the field in the Grand Final will be Randwick full back with Kurtley Beale who has been in superb form this year, last week against Eastwood every time he touched the ball Randwick threaten – he had a hand in the two tries scored and the spectators are still talking about his penalty goal from his own side of half way. Just when Randwick’s attack looked to have stalled against Eastwood last weekend Beale moved himself into first receiver, and with some quick ball from Brumbies half Patrick Phibbs the Wallaby fullback put his stamp on the game. Should Beale and Barnes face off throughout the match we can expect some exciting play in the midfield.

Randwick currently has 28 first grade premierships to its name, two ahead of Sydney University who are striving to join them at the top of the honour roll. While a Uni title won’t quite bring them level, victory would bring them equal with the Randwick team of 1987 to 1992 which won six straight Shute Shields.

Teams
Randwick: 1. Sekope Kepu, 2. John Fonokalafi, 3. Lotu Taukeiaho; 4. Tim Maxwell, 5. Ben Mowen; 6. Rocky Elsom, 7. Tim McGann, 8. Seilala Lam; 9. Patrick Phibbs [c], 10. Toby Browne; 11. Drew Mitchell, 12. John Tamanika, 13. Tim Wright, 14. Tom Tombleson; 15. Kurtley Beale.
Reserves: 16. Cruze Ah-Nau, 17. Maraki Toa, 18. Matt Mackay, 19. Dave Vizer, 20. Josh Valentine, 21. Bevu Tuqiri, 22. Danny Kroll, 23. Justin Terry.
Sydney University: 1. Jeremy Tilse, 2. Nathan Charles, 3. Paddy Ryan; 4. Dave Dennis, 5. Dean Mumm; 6. Ben McCalman, 7. Jono Jenkins, 8. Tim Davidson [c]; 9. Luke Burgess, 10. Berrick Barnes; 11. Lachie Mitchell, 12. Tom Carter, 13. Mitch Inman, 14. Peter Betham; 15. Julian Huxley.
Reserves: 16. Al King, 17. Ben Roberts, 18. Dave McDuling, 19. Sam Carter, 20. Matt Schwager, 21. Dan Kelly, 22. Greg Jeloudev, 23. Joe Horn-Smith.
Referee: Stuart Dickinson
Assistant Referees: Steve Walsh & Nathan Pearce
Television Match Official: George Ayoub

Lower Grades
Colin Caird Shield Grand Final (2nd Grade)
RANDWICK (1st) v WARRINGAH (2nd)
Kick-off: 1:00pm

Randwick and Warringah were the best two sides by a clear margin in the 2010 Colin Caird Shield so it is fitting that they come together to decide the second grade premiership.

Looking at their season records, little separates these two teams. Both teams took an 18-4 record from the regular season and earned 16 bonus points each to finish on 88 competition points, eleven clear of third-placed Sydney University. And amazingly, both teams won their Preliminary Finals with a 33-26 scoreline to qualify for the Grand Final.

The edge that may be found in this encounter is by Randwick who won both regular season encounters: 23-17 at Pittwater in May and 21-10 at Coogee last month.

The quality of the match is expected to be high with both teams fielding a host of players with regular first grade experience. For the record, Randwick last won the Colin Caird Shield in 2004 which is also the last time they won the first grade premiership. On the other hand it has been 20 years since Warringah last held aloft the trophy which was the last of their five-straight titles in second grade.

Teams
Randwick: 1. Maraki Toa, 2. Anthony Savovski, 3. Justin Terry; 4. Lai Vatadroka, 5. Sam Rutherford; 6. Matt Mackay, 7. Dave Vizer [c], 8. Al McFarland; 9. Tony Luxford, 10. Pat Mekuri; 11. Dave Dillon, 12. Tom Joseph, 13. Zane Mitchell, 14. Paul Hannify; 15. Danny Kroll.
Warringah: 1. Dan Raymond, 2. David Mason [c], 3. Richard Southern; 4. Tristan Stanley, 5. Ben Adams; 6. Paul McGugan, 7. Mitchell Greenway, 8. Kotoni Ale; 9. Andrew Gowling, 10. John Kennedy; 11. Greg White, 12. Adrian Jones, 13. Brock McGarity, 14. Maurice Kennedy; 15. Dave Feltscheer.
Referee: Angus Gardner

2010 Standings
Randwick: Won 18, Lost 4, 88 pts; Ladder Position: 1st; Current Streak: 4 wins
Warringah: Won 18, Lost 4, 88 pts; Ladder Position: 2nd; Current Streak: 3 wins

2010 Head-to-Head
Round 6 – Randwick 23 d Warringah 17 at Pittwater Rugby Park
Round 17 – Randwick 21 d Warringah 10 at Coogee Oval

Last Five Matches
Randwick: Preliminary Final defeated Southern Districts 33-26 (Woollahra); Rd 22 defeated Manly 85-5 (H); Rd 21 defeated Gordon 26-14 (A); Rd 20 defeated Eastwood 50-10 (H); Rd 19 lost to West Harbour 12-38 (H).
Warringah: Preliminary Final defeated Sydney University 33-26 (University); Rd 22 defeated West Harbour 24-22 (H); Rd 21 defeated Northern Suburbs 32-21 (A); Rd 20 lost to Eastern Suburbs 23-31 (A); Rd 19 defeated Southern Districts 29-10 (H).

JR Henderson Shield Grand Final (3rd Grade)
EASTERN SUBURBS (1st) v RANDWICK (2nd)
Kick-off: 11:25am

The third grade Grand Final will see the same two teams go head to head as in the earlier fourth grade decider when Eastern Suburbs meets Randwick.

Randwick last won the third grade title back in 2000 while Easts most recently etched their name on the JR Henderson Shield in 1997.

It is difficult to split these two teams going into the match: both sides have a 17-5 win-loss record in 2010, both sides finished on the same number of competition points and they each have a victory from their two encounters this year.

Easts has the better form going into the decider on the back of a six-game winning streak in which they have conceded just six points per match, while Randwick suffered a last-round defeat at the hands of ninth-placed Manly which cost them the minor premiership.

Points will be at a premium in this match with neither side conceding a try in their Preliminary Final victories last weekend.

Teams
Eastern Suburbs: 1. Manning Doughty, 2. Tom Coolican, 3. Greg Franzel; 4. Charlie Thompson, 5. Ross Hamilton; 6. Dugald MacLeod, 7. Chris Harkins, 8. Dave Allen [c]; 9. Tom Shannon, 10. Henry Hudson; 11. Warwick Percival, 12. James Devlin, 13. Anthony Barbara, 14. Nick Healey; 15. James Rowles.
Randwick: 1. Ben Rowe, 2. Sam Taseni, 3. Dan Spencer; 4. Ben Myers, 5. Adrian Duchini [c]; 6. Tom Jenkins, 7. Steve Bennie, 8. Scott Kennedy; 9. Sam Bartlett, 10. Glen Mekuri; 11. Andrew Wing Kee, 12. Metui Maile, 13. Kiti Vasu, 14. Kemble Leasua; 15. Ben Greentree.
Referee: Richard Goswell

2010 Standings
Eastern Suburbs: Won 17, Lost 5, 81 pts; Ladder Position: 1st; Current Streak: 6 wins
Randwick: Won 17, Lost 5, 81 pts; Ladder Position: 2nd; Current Streak: 1 win

2010 Head-to-Head
Round 3 – Randwick 39 d Eastern Suburbs 22 at Coogee Oval
Round 14 – Eastern Suburbs 31 d Randwick 7 at Woollahra Oval

Last Five Matches
Eastern Suburbs: Preliminary Final defeated Warringah 21-6 (Woollahra); Rd 22 defeated Northern Suburbs 24-0 (H); Rd 21 defeated Sydney University 19-13 (A); Rd 20 defeated Warringah 19-3 (H); Rd 19 defeated Manly 73-7 (A).
Randwick: Preliminary Final defeated Gordon 17-0 (University); Rd 22 lost to Manly 12-17 (H); Rd 21 defeated Gordon 18-8 (A); Rd 20 defeated Eastwood 34-5 (H); Rd 19 defeated West Harbour 22-5 (H).

JR Henderson Cup Grand Final (4th Grade)
EASTERN SUBURBS (1st) v RANDWICK (2nd)
Kick-off: 9:50am

Eastern Suburbs’ fourth grade has been the most dominant team in Sydney grade Rugby this year and will be hoping to finish off a remarkable season when they face Randwick in the JR Henderson Cup Grand Final.

Randwick has won the last two fourth grade premierships on the back of impressive regular season performances, however in 2010 the accolades are all for Eastern Suburbs.

The Beasts last tasted defeat back in round eleven and are currently riding high on the back of a 15-game winning streak. While Randwick has been similarly impressive in dropping just three matches throughout the year, they have lost to Eastern Suburbs in both of their clashes.

Easts have averaged an impressive 33 points per game throughout the regular season however it could be the Beasts defence which proves the difference in this match. The minor premiers conceded less than nine points per match in the regular season while Randwick has struggled to find its spark of late with just 14 pts/game from their last three starts.

If Easts finish on top it will be their first Grand Final victory since 1995, however they did claim the premiership in 2004 despite losing the decider after it was found Parramatta had fielded an unregistered player in their victory.

Teams
Eastern Suburbs: 1. Rhys Ward [c], 2. Daniel Aaron, 3. Lachlan MacBride-White; 4. Matt Willett, 5. Sam Buckthought; 6. Tomas Johnston, 7. Chris Stratton, 8. Ry Stephen; 9. James Burroughs, 10. Blake Doulton; 11. James Dupree, 12. Jack Denning, 13. Nathan Lowe, 14. David Kehoe; 15. Jeremy Raftos.
Randwick: 1. Tait O’Sullivan, 2. Tom Weber, 3. Vlad Savovski; 4. Tom Bennett, 5. Michael Fitton; 6. Ewen Wiley, 7. Andrew Cooney, 8. Simon Tonacia; 9. Matthew Curtis, 10. Lauchlan McKay [c]; 11. Finau Makamaka, 12. Andrew Waite, 13. Steve Casamento, 14. Michael Gibson; 15. Denesh Hewa-Gamage.
Referee: Matt Kellahan

2010 Standings
Eastern Suburbs: Won 19, Lost 1, 92 pts; Ladder Position: 1st; Current Streak: 15 wins
Randwick: Won 16, Drew 1, Lost 3, 77 pts; Ladder Position: 2nd; Current Streak: 7 wins

2010 Head-to-Head
Round 3 – Eastern Suburbs 24 d Randwick 19 at Coogee Oval
Round 14 – Eastern Suburbs 31 d Randwick 19 at Woollahra Oval

Last Five Matches
Eastern Suburbs: Preliminary Final defeated Sydney University 16-13 (Woollahra); Rd 22 defeated Northern Suburbs 35-10 (H); Rd 21 defeated Sydney University 17-12 (A); Rd 20 defeated Warringah 75-5 (H); Rd 19 defeated Manly 31-12 (A).
Randwick: Preliminary Final defeated Northern Suburbs 15-7 (University); Rd 22 defeated Manly 15-12 (H); Rd 21 defeated Gordon 12-5 (A); Rd 20 defeated Eastwood 29-0 (H); Rd 19 defeated West Harbour 19-7 (H).

Brett Moore | Media Manager | NSW Rugby Union & HSBC Waratahs
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