Newcastle Rebels spoke about the importance of legacy before holding on for a determined 32-28 win over the Northern Rivers Titans to claim their third consecutive Men’s Country Championships at GIO Stadium today.
The Rebels looked to be cruising in the second half after surging to a 28-12 lead but the Titans – powered by the Ziebell brothers Caleb and Connor – fought their way back into the contest to level the scores at 28-all and set up a grandstand finish.
In the end it was the cool head of O’Donnell, who launched a bomb for centre Matthew Soper-Lawler – who was later named a deserved Player of the Match – to grab his third try for the afternoon and secure a memorable win for the Rebels.
“It means a lot, particularly this one today,” O’Donnell said.
“I spoke to the boys in the shed beforehand because for a lot of us, this is potentially our last game in a Rebels jumper, we’re getting older and moving on, families and all that stuff. And a lot of the young boys are coming through and are going to hold that future for us.
“So, it meant a lot to send these boys off as winners that have a done a lot for the Rebels and give those young boys a taste of that to leave the jersey in a better place come next year and the years on.”
The Rebels had claimed the past two Men’s Country Championships and still had seven players from the team who won the competition last year, but the Titans entered the match with plenty of confidence after beating Monaro Colts 56-12 in the Semi-final.
The Rebels conceded an early penalty for a shoulder charge and the Titans took full advantage of it when halfback Elliott Speed kicked high and wide for winger Jett Forbes to grab and score in the corner. Speed landed the sideline conversion for a 6-0 lead.
A Titans mistake invited the Rebels back into the contest and O’Donnell – who had a hand in five of his side’s six tries - was quick to capitalise when he picked up back-rower Liam Wiscombe who stepped back infield to score. O’Donnell landed the conversion to make it 6-all.
The Rebels extended their lead with O’Donnell stepping up again to put a deft kick just over the top of the defence for centre Soper-Lawler to regather and score. O’Donnell again landed the conversion from out wide to take a 12-6 lead.
The Titans hit back when hooker Michael Dwane found back-rower Jacob Kernick to power his way through the goal-line defence. Speed missed the conversion but the Titans had reduced the deficit to 12-10.
The Titans levelled the scores up at 12-all through a penalty goal, but Rebels hooker Liam Wilkinson ensured his team would take the momentum into the break when he dummied his way past the defence for a 16-12 lead.
The second half didn’t get off to a great start for the Titans after O’Donnell launched a bomb shortly after play resumed, and Soper-Lawler showed great determination to chase through and out jump the defence to pluck it out of the air and score. O’Donnell landed the conversion to establish some breathing space at 22-12.
O’Donnell continued to torment the Titans with his kicking game and another bomb resulted in more points after the Titans failed to clean it up and Wiscombe grabbed the loose ball to stretch out and grab his second try for the match. O’Donnell converted and the Rebels were well in control at 28-12.
The Titans needed something special and five-eighth Toby Marks responded when he floated a pass over the top for winger Zacharia Roberts to score. Speed couldn’t land the conversion from out wide but the Titans had closed the gap to 28-16.
The Titans then set up a grandstand finish when another break from Roberts put his team on the attack. The Titans shifted the ball wide before replacement Ethan Schultz fired a long ball wide for Forbes to dive over the line for his second try of the game. Speed landed the conversion to make it 28-22.
The comeback continued when a barnstorming run from Connor Ziebell put the Titans on the front foot and Speed took advantage of the situation with a deft grubber kick for Toby Marks to score underneath the posts. Speed converted to lock the scores up at 28-all.
O’Donnell stepped up again with another towering bomb which was plucked out of the air by Soper-Lawler to wheel around and score. O’Donnell’s conversion bounced off the upright and was waved away to give the Titans some hope at 32-28 with four minutes to go but the Rebels held on for the threepeat.
“The Titans are just a quality outfit – the Ziebell brothers in the middle are a handful – but I said to the boys, “They’re running harder than us, and they’re tackling harder than us. We need to get our composure back, stay boring and complete our sets”,” O’Donnell said.
“I just tried to keep calm because we didn’t need to do anything out of the ordinary, we just had to get back in that grind, complete our sets and luckily we got away with it.”
Newcastle Rebels (Matthew Soper-Lawler 3, Liam Wiscombe 2, Liam Wilkinson tries; Chad O’Donnell 4 goals) Northern Rivers Titans 28 (Jett Forbes 2, Jacob Kernick, Zacaharia Roberts, Toby Marks tries; Elliott Speed 4 goals) at GIO Stadium on Saturday 29 March.
