Illawarra Rugby
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Grand final, Saturday at WIN Stadium
- First grade: University 20 d Camden 11
- Second grade: University 17 d Avondale 14
- Colts: University 15 d Shamrocks 11
- Third grade: Tech-Waratahs 33 d Avondale 10
University have all the makings of a dynasty after completing a perfect grand final day on Saturday at WIN Stadium.
The Mallee Bulls claimed their third premiership in club history with a hard-earned 20-11 victory over 2013 champions Camden, adding to the success of Uni's under 20 and second grade grand final teams earlier in the day.
Trailing 8-0 after 20 minutes in the main game, Uni fought back to lead 12-8 at half-time.
Camden cut the margin to one point with a 50th-minute penalty goal, but Uni showed no signs of buckling when the Rams hammered the Bulls' try-line late in the game.
Don Nepia scored a try in the corner to put Uni up by six before Leon Mason, who had engineered the Bulls' first-half fightback, kicked a field goal as the siren sounded.
"They had us under the pump for that first five minutes and scored off a 'nothing kick', but the boys held their composure and played the rest of the half down at their end," University coach Shaun McCreedy said.
"We couldn't convert a few opportunities but we were still up at half-time and we ground it out in the second half.
"We found a lot about ourselves with 10 [minutes] to go when we were under the pump for three or four minutes. We held our discipline and the boys just kept knocking them over, and eventually they gave away a penalty and relieved pressure and we were able to kick on."
The Mallee Bulls have been knocking on the door for the past few years under McCreedy.
After finishing second in the regular season, they raised the bar in the playoffs, ousting minor premiers Avondale before conquering Camden in the premiership decider.
Uni's win in second grade can't be under-estimated, given that Avondale had lost just once in second grade in the past three years.
The Bulls' win in the under 20 grand final strengthened the notion the club might be on the verge of a golden era.
"It's a tight group. We had a squad of about 30 this year and implemented the system across the grades, and we've been rewarded with three premierships today," McCreedy said.
"Hopefully a lot of them will want to come back and defend that title. I think we can get better. It'd be a great challenge to come back next season and face the pressure of being the hunted rather than the hunter."
Camden reached the grand final after sudden death wins over Vikings and Avondale.
"Uni were the better team on the day," Rams coach Brendon Schoupp said.
"We just kept on going right to the death. A couple of decisions didn't go our way when we were attacking which was pretty strange, but that's life, that's the way it goes. I can't be prouder of our boys."