I remember that 2006 grand final being shown on tv in NZ as part of grand final day! Akuila Uate try here:Our first Jersey Flegg grandfinal since 2006, when our team featuring Kade Snowden, Scott Dureau, Luke Walsh, Aku uate, Cory Paterson, Tim Natusch, Terrence SeuSeu etc started as favourites and went down to Penrith.
We have won two minor premierships in under 20s - once with guys like Sione Mata'utia, Luke Yates, Jake Mamo, Joe Tapine, Danny Levi, Josh King, Lauclan Fitzgibbon etc an most recently in 2018 with Star To'a, Tex Hoy, Brad Best, Pheonix Crossland, Matt Croker, Musgrove, Fermor, Talty, Momoisea etc, when we lost in the last seconds 30-28 to Penrith in the qualifying final.
Having said that, most of our players this week will have been in our Mathews side when we played 4 Grandfinals in 5 years and won 3 of them.
We have beaten Penrith twice in the regular season and once in the first final this year, but that means nothing, because Penrith is a team we find it impossible to beat in knock-out games. I don't think we've beaten them in a knockout game since they beat us is the 2006 Flegg GF.
What's wrong with Chris Vae'lia?TEAM LIST
1. Fletcher Sharpe
2. Luke Pietzner
3. Krystian Mapapalangi
4. James Johnson
5. Ethan Ferguson
6. Kurt Donoghoe
7. Mitch Henderson
8. Max Bradbury
9. Riley Jones
10. Callan Burgess
11. Brock Greacen
12. Tom Cant
13. Jaron Purcell
Interchange:
14. Noah Nailagoliva
15. Paul Bryan
16. Lachlan Williams
17. Tevita Toloi
Extended Bench:
18. Lachlan O'Brien
19. Myles Martin
20. Jyris Glamuzina
21. Keanu Wainohu-Kemp
23. Harry Croker
As far as I can work out he has what used to be called "growing pains" when I was a kid, or "shin splints" in runners. Tiny fractures in your shin bones - the only cure is a long rest with no running.What's wrong with Chris Vae'lia?
The NRL site yesterday had a compilation of highlights from Penrith's 2015 NYC premiership side. Worth a watch, doesn't look a great deal different to today's first grade side. Being highlights, plenty of flamboyant tries. But as I was watching it, I was kind of thinking that this Flegg side of ours will bring the defensive steel we need as they start filtering in to grade. They have some players who can attack for sure, but defence is what they have based their successful season on, and I think that will be massive going forward.Why Knights rookie Krystian Mapapalangi chose to skip Newcastle's last NRL game
The 19-year-old centre made two NRL appearances for the Knights.www.newcastleherald.com.au
Article about Mapapalangi choosing to play Flegg over firstgrade and what he brings to the Flegg side. Coach Gleeson praises his defence and says he brings confidence to the whole side.
Talking of defence, when this agegroup won the Mathews title in 2019 they set records for their defence and produced a massive defensive effort to win the grandfinal, despite only holding the ball for about 40% of the time. The forwards like Keeley and Bradbury were very good in defence, but half Mitch Henderson is a tenacious little guy who tackles everything that moves and hooker Noah Naigolivia is a former secondrow forward and lock who tackles as well as any forward - better than most in fact. He isn't tall, but he's a chunky guy who hits low and hard. I also noticed in the last game that James Johnson is not only hard to stop in attack, but a really strong defender.