Under 18s
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IT WAS the battle of the under 18s big guns in the grand final and unfortunately Leeton was on the losing side of the ledger in Sunday's grand final.
The Waratah Tigers came with intent and, on the back of two debilitating injuries and the the resultant stoppage, came away with a 34-24 win over the Greens.
The Greens had been strong all over the park in 2014, but the Tigers made the most ground around the edges to set up the win.
"It was hard to get some momentum, they were up for it," coach Clint Halden said.
"They used the ball a bit and they made a lot of metres around our edges.
"We held our own through the middle and we made a lot of metres through that middle third."
The Tigers scored first after nearly 15 minutes of each side sounding the other out.
Shortly after Leeton kept the ball alive through Billy Gilbert and allowed Rhys Wilesmith to put Jack McDonell into a hole to reply and convert for the lead.
The Greens extended the lead through Gilbert and McDonell's boot for a 12-4 break before Shorne Ngu, who created havoc whenever he got the ball, scored his second to trail 12-10.
It was at this point Leeton fullback Tristin Johnson went down injured and the 25-minute break allowed both sides to regroup.
Waratahs made the most of the time off, scoring twice in the last three minutes of the half - including Ngu's hat-tick - to lead 22-12 at the break.
"When we had a lot of momentum, we could score tries and we got in front," Halden said.
"Then Tristo went down and they got a breather and we lost momentum."
It was a similar case in the second half as Josh Nikoro burst through lax defence in the second minute to bring the scoreto 22-18.
However, Tereapii Nikoro's injury stoppage again provided time to regroup for Tigers and stopped Leeton's flow.
Down two men and players out of position, the Greens could not stop the Tigers as they scored twice to lead 34-18.
Although Leeton was able to get one more try through Gilbert, the Greens could not get run or consistency into their play to roll over their opponent at the death.
Halden praised the Tigers for their speed and the way their backs directed play.
"They just played well, executed a bit better," he said.
"To our boys credit, they didn't leave anything in the tank. "There were two good sides playing and they did enough to win."
The coach said being the best team through the year could all come to nought if one game goes wrong.
"The boys are pretty upset, pretty gutted," Halden said. "They know they deserved better than that.
"They're all 17, 18 and they'll learn from these sorts of things."