Ballina Information Blog

by Michael Claes

Ballina Rugby Union Club has 3 grades going in to the FNC Grand Final on Saturday at Oakes Oval in Lismore.

First Grade…

Under the guidance of coach Andrew Grant-Frost, Ballina has achieved Grand Final contention this year, although through the season Grafton first grade had been undefeated using a strong forward platform and a large strong backline. Ballina performed very well to defeat the Grafton Redmen soundly in the Major Semi Final two weeks ago. For Ballina to prevail on Saturday forwards Dru Baggelly, Dan Lickiss and Michael Lord will again need to perform well in the loose and tight five Brent Horan, Andrew Rowlands, (Rolly) Nathan Wallace and Paul Davies will have to set the stage for an exciting backline which includes dynamic players like Ryan Sattler, Tony Buchanan, Trent Gasnier, Andrew Gordon and Luke Watling.

Ballina’s strength this year has come from competing right across the park and in many games the Ballina team have just come home over the top of traditional rivals such as Lismore and Casino to win in the last quarter, so if the Seahorses are within cooee in the sixtieth minute look for a boilover.

Reserve Grade….

Undefeated throughout the year, the Ballina reserve grade face their sternest test on Saturday. In the make and break of Grand Final football anything can happen and Lismore, their opponents, are the team which has made it hardest for Ballina to complete the year undefeated. Look for a closely fought match with both forward packs playing a similar style. The Ballina backline however, if they receive enough ball, should be able to score points in dynamic style. Look for half back Matt Robinson and centre Ben Bullock and Trent Short in both attack and defence. Forwards Ben Rippon, Mark Thompson and veterans Josh Piercy and Geoff St Clair will stiffen Ballina’s claim to the premiership.

Third Grade…

Undefeated until the last round Ballina’s thirds lost a close game to Wollongbar 3-0 to claim the minor premiership and should be considered the major premiership favourites on a big day for the Ballina Rugby Club. They are opposed again by Lismore, who will need to play a more committed style of rugby than throughout the year, but that’s what grand finals are about at this level and this game could bring about a variety of results. The Ballina team has performed soundly and their back line includes ex NSW Country player Kane Scott at five-eighth and the centre pairing of Verne Ware and Lincoln Raudonikus round out a trio of famous rugby league names represented in the three Ballina teams.

Summary…

It might be remote but there is every chance that Saturday will see a return to the dominance of the 1990s which saw Ballina Premiers for a number of years in a row.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.