THEY stuck it to Wallerawang for the entire game, but Villages United fell short of a preliminary final spot after going down 20-10 in their New Era Cup qualifying final on Saturday.
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Villages led the contest at one point, but the Warriors didn’t finish second in the regular season by chance, and came home the stronger of the two sides at Wallerawang Sportsground.
They will now face Blackheath this weekend for a spot in the grand final, while Villages will face CSU Yellow in the minor semi-final in which the loser will bow out for the season.
“It was a close game. We were pretty much in the contest right up until the end, but some silly mistakes and a few 50-50 calls cost us in the end and it is up to us to regroup,” club president Dave Smith said.
“We were in front at one point and started quite well, but they came back at us pretty hard. It stayed close for a long time, but they just got away a bit towards full-time.
“We haven’t been able to get the better of them yet this year, but if we were to meet them again I’ve got no doubt we are good enough to get the win.
“The majority of their points came from our mistakes, so if we can cut that out of our game it will make a big difference.”
Wallerawang are the only team to beat Blackheath this season and based on what he has seen, Smith gives the Warriors a big chance of springing an upset this weekend and earning hosting rights for the grand final.
He stressed that the task of beating the Blackcats on their home turf, though, was no easy thing.
“I think that game is going to be very close. They’re one apiece in the regular season, so the Warriors know they can do it,” he said.
“The last time we played Blackheath we were quite understrength ourselves and they only just got past us.
“But in saying that, the fact that they are playing at home will give them an extra boost and might be enough to get them over the line.”
Villages’ front row of Kris Kennedy and Jason Roche put in typically robust games on Saturday, while fullback Shannon Peters and halves Jarrod Gafa and Eric Hall were strong performers.
They will need to reproduce that kind of form against CSU this weekend, though they can go into that match comfortable in the knowledge that they have beaten the Mungoes twice this year.
“I’m not sure how they will be travelling as far as numbers go – they have had a hard time getting all their players on the field at the one time this year – but whatever happens it should be a close tussle,” Smith said.
WALLERAWANG WARRIORS 20 defeated VILLAGES UNITED 10