Best player: Michael “Hammo” Hammond

Most improved: Andy Muir

Special awards: John Fry, Sonny Heremaia, Lindsay Nicol, Dean Butt

PREMIER B:

Most Improved Player: Brayden Peterson

Best Forward: Daniel “Bendon” Clarke

Best Back: Rich “Dags” Little

Player of the Year: Jack “Yo Sista” Egerton

PREMIERS

Most Improved Player: Elliott Mitchell

Best Forward: Willy “With A Y” Kamaru

Best Back: Waaka “With A Double A” Parkinson

Blue of the Year: Mike “Roger” Wilkins

Royds Cup (best team) : Blues second XV

President’s Trophy (Best non-playing member): Reece Williams

Not Just A HalfBack, Not Just A Shield

It was another cracking day at Les George Oval as the Mighty Blue Machine lined up for their first 2nd XV final in over 10 years.  The lads were all pumped up before the game, with everyone knowing exactly what needed to be done to get past a Marist team that had thumped Midlands by 50 points in their semi-final.

It’s fair to say that after 10 minutes some of us on the sideline were starting to think the Marist boys needed to be swabbed after the game, as they tore into the match with a ferocity we only just managed to keep out.  A penalty after six minutes put them ahead 0-3, and only a fantastic tackle a few minutes later stopped them scoring the first try.

Marist did score the first try, getting across after 14 minutes to make it 0-8, but after absorbing 25 minutes of constant pressure, the Blues lads got themselves back into the game.  Nevertheless, our first score came against the run of play.

After 33 minutes, with a two-on-one overlap, Marist chose to pass the ball to Rich “Dags” Little who showed a ton of gas to sprint 80m and score in the corner.  Iain Renwick missed a tough conversion, but the try settled our boys who started to dominate.  A Josh Brown penalty after 39 minutes was also waved away, but going into halftime everyone was a lot more upbeat after weathering the onslaught.

They were even more upbeat seven minutes into the second half, when a good run by Te Arohatai Matiaha saw Jaykib Holland-Collins get put into space just outside the 22.  With the defence coming across, he tried a stab-through kick.  If God was a Catholic, this would have skidded off the Marist defenders and gone into touch.

Instead, it bounced off a Marist hip, back into Jake’s hands, and he was able to sprint the last 20m to score and put us ahead for the first time.  A nice conversion by Renwick made it 12-8, and a penalty by the Scotsman made it 15-8 after 52 minutes.  Marist came back at us, but some clever positional play from the old master Sean Colyer and some excellent mauling and tight play from the forwards kept us away from our goal line.

Marist had a couple of chance, but the outstanding defence seen throughout the game kept them out.  With time approaching, the message went out to Sean to have a crack at a droppie just to make things safe.  In his excitement, he was unable to add correctly and thought we were safe.

On the 75 minute mark, just adjacent to the posts, his addition skills hurriedly came back to him and he snapped a nice droppie to end the scoring and make it 18-8.  The fire went out of Marist a bit then, and the game meandered to a close and a mighty win – the first since 1999 in this grade – and the skipper that day was Mark Sheehan, who made a second-half appearance off the bench to bookend a pretty solid career.

Played 17, won 14, lost three.  Points for 429, points against 250 – a season to be proud of.

Match report to come once my kidneys start functioning properly again.

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Hat tip: El Snitcheroo.

On the Premier side of the coin, another semi-final, another semi-final exit.  Getting over that hoodoo is obviously the aim for 2012.  Having said that, we did have a champion team this year, and all you blokes who turned up week in, week out to give us a pretty solid win-loss record can be proud of yourselves and what you did.

To Stat, well done, you know how to close out those games, and best of luck for the final.  Match report is here, for what it’s worth.

The Big Fella with a proper trophy for drinking out of

It’s pretty cool having two teams in the semis this weekend.  Most years I’ve been involved it’s either been one or the other.  While the focus is on the race for the Galbraith Shield, some honourable mention has to go to the unsung hero of the Mighty Blue Machine Premier B side.

Simon “Potsy” Frisby has an enviable record this season as coach (I was going to mention his Fijian assistant, but given he’s just buggered off for seven weeks in Europe at the business end of the season, he can stay as an asterisk on the programme).  Potsy won the Arrowtown 10s, fashioned a 12 win, 3 loss season (unheard of in Blues Premier Bs for some time), and ensured the team is happy on and off the field.

He’s also stocked the bar every Friday, organised social events, mastered the deep fryer and done lots of other stuff around the club.  At the moment he’s delivering smoko to the Wok, who is smashing up concrete at Blues.

So while the Big Show might get all the attention, there’s another team in the hunt for silverware as well – and a lot of the credit for that can go to Potsy.  Good luck tomorrow Bs boys – giddy up for the club.

Blues Premier Development v Star, Centrepoint 4, 1pm kick off.

Road Safety Southland Blues Premiers v Star, Les George Oval, 2.30pm kick off.

Get your Blue & Black on and get out and support the boys who have given everything to get to this point.

Bs win 21-16 thanks to Superboot front rower Josh “Mehrtens” Brown…seven from seven.

Prems lose 25-37.  But win second half 20-18.   No match report this week.  Already focused on semi-final Saturday…..scorers update here.

And some of this:

and pray to God that the “occasional showers and strong southwesterlies FRO….1.15pm for Prem Bs, 3pm for Prems – Centrepoint 2.  TV game tomorrow lads, do your hair….