From the same link as above:
GRAND FINAL
WOY WOY OVAL
SATURDAY, 17th SEPTEMBER, 2011
FIRST GRADE
Gosford 26
Peter Miller, Andrew Moseley, Simote Lauti, Josh McGlynn tries; Tim Hill 3 conversions
defeated Avoca Beach 10
Adam Winter try;
Matt Maloney 1 conversion, 1 penalty goal
Gosford won the 2011 First Grade Premiership when they defeated Avoca Beach at Woy Woy Oval by 26 points to 10. Gosford were the better team on the day and the win ended Avoca Beach’s run of six successive First Grade Premierships.
The opening exchanges in the match were very evenly contested with both teams having opportunities to post points. It was a very warm, even hot, day and the conditions were going to make it a tough day for both teams. It was Avoca Beach who opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when Avoca Beach fullback Matt Maloney kicked a penalty goal. After this Gosford did dominant the game territorially but were unable to score points due to some good Avoca defence. Then this period of attack saw Avoca Beach follow up with some determined play and they gained control for quite awhile but they, like Gosford earlier, were unable to post points. The first 20 minutes of the match saw play to and fro from one end of the field to the other and there was plenty of ball movement. Both teams were doing some brilliant things on the paddock but there were also several errors from both teams that stopped the attack. On several occasions kicks went into touch on the full and a 22 metre drop kick once going into touch on the fill. Many of these errors were due to the intensity of match. In the 22nd minute of the match Gosford took the lead when prop Simote Lauti took the ball from the back of a maul and crossed in the corner. The conversion from near touch by centre Tim Hill had taken Gosford to a 7 points to 3 lead in the Grand Final. It was at this stage of the match, in the last 15 minutes of the first half, that Gosford did start to take control and to dominant proceedings. Their forwards were playing brilliantly and were gaining the ascendancy over the Avoca Beach pack in many of the forward exchanges. Hooker Chris Comerford was playing the game of his life. He was everywhere in attack and defence. He was often the first to breakdown, and at times was the main instigator of an attack. Others to play well in the Gosford forwards were No.8 Shanon Hardgrave who made several incisive runs on the edge of the ruck and often got his team over the advantage line. Lock Luke Hennig also was having one of his best games. He was securing good ball in the lineout but was also having a good game in general play. For Avoca Beach, the Sheridan brothers were in everything. Prop Luke was a tower of strength, and flanker Bradd was making his mark on proceedings. For Gosford the backs were also combining well. Winger Dave Von Kotze was playing well and his talk form the back kept his side on edge throughout the match. A great run down the sideline saw centre Josh McGlynn make inroads into Avoca Beach territory. Sustained pressure resulting from this attack saw flanker Andrew Moseley cross in the corner for a try. This try took the score to Gosford 12 Avoca Beach 3 and that remained the score at the halftime break. Gosford were definitely playing good rugby at this stage, but the score line suggested that the match was still very much up for grabs.
The second half opened with a great run by Gosford lock Mitch Cornwell and this run put Gosford deep into Avoca Beach territory. Avoca Beach did respond with a very good run by halfback Dave Horton but it was Gosford, in the 7th minute of this half, who went further ahead. A brilliant individual 35 metre run by Gosford fullback Peter Miller saw him “ghost” through the Avoca Beach backline to score under the posts. The conversion of this try by Tim Hill had taken Gosford to a very handy 19 points to 3 lead. Gosford were certainly on top at this stage. They also missed several other opportunities to score when forward passes on a couple of occasions prevented further tries. At the 19th minute mark Gosford all but had the game secure when Josh McGlynn scored his team’s fourth try and the conversion of this try took Gosford to an almost unassailable 26 points to 3 lead. There was still a quarter of the Grand Final to go and Avoca Beach gave it their all to get back into the game. Avoca Beach No.8 Chad Martin was strong and was making inroads into the Gosford defence. A strong forward surge by Avoca Beach saw lock Adam Winter crash over adjacent to the posts to reduce the lead. This converted try in the 26th minute had reduced the lead to 26 points to 10 but Gosford were able to weather the storm and held on the win the First Grade Grand Final. Gosford had won their first First Grade Premiership since 2004 and the loss for Avoca Beach ended their incredible winning streak of 6 successive Premierships. That achievement will stand the annals of time in local rugby history. Gosford were the better team on the day. Gosford won the battle in the forwards and the Gosford backline was able to take full advantage of the excellent ball provided.
