IT was tough, it was physical and the Orange United Warriors lived up to their name, but the Oberon Tigers held on for a 20-14 win in Saturday's Mid West League Cup preliminary final.
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It was a victory which brought with it a spot in the grand final alongside CSU as well as plenty of relief given the minor premiership winning Tigers had missed their first chance to qualify for the decider.
"Relived? Very," Oberon coach Dallas Booth said after the win at Oberon Sportsground.
"Us being at home and having a loss last week too threw some extra pressure on us and how we were going to handle it, so it was very pleasing to get that win."
Just as Oberon, who had gone through the regular season undefeated, were motivated to win the preliminary final, so too were the Warriors.
For the Orange side it was about making the grand final in their debut Mid West season and they gave it a mighty shot.
The battle between the two big packs was a highlight and while it was something Booth had anticipated, the degree of physicality was still a surprise.
"It was so tough in the middle, they've got some big boys and started their sets really well, getting a roll on. It took a lot of energy for us to contain them in the middle - it was just a tough, physical game," he said.
"It was a slug-fest, we knew it was going to be. It was the kind of game where there was always going to be some big shots and a bit of niggle here and there which can throw you off your game plan a bit and it did."
It was the Warriors who scored the first try of the preliminary final off the back of their work up the middle and it unsettled the Tigers.
But with a vocal home crowd willing them on, Booth's men lifted and by the third quarter they had pushed their lead beyond a converted try.
"They had us a bit ratted in the middle but once we stuck to our game plan, controlled the ball and started completing our sets, then they started to knock up," Booth said.
"We used our backs pretty well in the second half, we scored three quick tries and that ended up being enough to get us the win, that was the difference."
While the Tigers went into the final quarter with the lead, it was by no means job done. The Warriors came again and Oberon had to defend grimly.
"They didn't give up, they scored another two tries late and it was a nervous couple of minutes at the end as they got within six - if they score one more in the last few minutes there's every chance we are going to extra-time," Booth said.
"But we were able to hang on. They had their tails up, they were playing confident footy and they were playing for their season, but to our credit we were able to hang on and get the job done.
"The last 10 minutes they felt like they were 10-foot tall and bullet proof and that's what it felt like trying to stop them. Look it was just a great game of footy.
"You know they started the season slowly but the longer it went, the better they got. They've got a great squad and a lot of them hadn't played together before and it does take time to gel.
"We were lucky enough to get the win, but a bounce of the ball and it could have gone the other way."
