RUGBY UNION
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Livewire five-eighth Leon Mason was never going to let University lose Saturday's grand final against Camden.
The Rams built an 8-0 lead and generally outplayed their rivals for the first 20 minutes.
But Mason provided the spark for Uni's rapid revival, chasing his own kicks behind the Camden defence to set up two tries in five minutes for a lead they never relinquished.
Lock Andrew Lindsay was the official man of the match, but Mason had the most influence on the result.
"We knew that we'd have to work for the whole 80 minutes and it showed straight away when Camden came out and put points on us," Mason said.
"We knew that was going to happen and we just had to keep our composure and go through our plays.
"I tried to lead from the back to make sure we knew we were still in the game and that there was a long way to go. It was just a matter of keeping the boys relaxed and putting the pressure back on Camden."
Uni captured their first premiership since 2006. Their only other grand final triumph was in 1972 when the club was known as Teachers College.
September 20, 2014, will go down as the greatest day in the Mallee Bulls' history after the club's second grade and under-20 teams also won grand finals.
"To have three teams in and come away with three wins, you couldn't ask for anything better," Mason said.
"It's going to be a long night."
Lindsay has plugged away with the Bulls for six years.
"I've always fallen short, so finally ... but winning all three grades is probably the best thing about today," Lindsay said.
"I didn't expect to get man of the match. I just went out there and did what I could.
"The first half was a little shaky because our lineout was falling apart, but we're always confident in our defence because it was one of our strong parts this year. It was just a matter of getting the set-piece right, the line-out and scrum."
Uni achieved their win without NSW Country Eagles rep Paul Tuala.
"There's been plenty of depth this year, especially in the forwards," Lindsay said.
"We always knew Paulie wasn't going to play and we prepared without him, so it wasn't too much of a problem."