The Mountain Bulls held off the fast-finishing 54 Bears to a gutsy 16-10 victory during the grand final qualifier showdown of the NCD Governor's Cup on Thursday, January 2nd, 2025, at the Kone Tigers Oval.
With so much at stake for the Bulls and the Bears, the 34 courageous players from both teams launched themselves onto the playing field and put their bodies on the line as they vied for the grand final spot.
Just under two minutes of play, the Bears opened their account with a 4-pointer and the Bulls returned the favor a few minutes later, leaving the halftime score at 8-6, which was in favor of the eventual winners.
The Bulls maintained their rhythm in the second spell, quickly registering the first points and extending their lead to 12-6. However, the Bears bounced back with a try, narrowing the deficit to 12-10.
With the game hanging in the balance, a deft cheap kick by veteran campaigner David Joseph landed perfectly on the hands of the winger to ice the game with a 16-10 grandstand finish.
Interestingly, both teams have remained undefeated in their respective pools and advanced to the finals. While the Bulls continued their perfect winning streak to secure the decider, the Bears bowed out gracefully with their heads held high.
Captain Jeremiah Anderson mentioned that the team's bonding, preparation, discipline, and hard work in the last three weeks had come to fruition, but they still have one final task to complete their mission.
“As the skipper of the team, I’ve emphasized to the boys since day one that through discipline and hard work, we will see success. I’ve seen what discipline has done to successful teams, so I’ve encouraged my teammates to stay disciplined at all times on and off the field,” Anderson stressed.
“Though we’ve won, we still have one final job to complete, which is the grand final. We’ve put in a lot of effort and prepared ourselves for this tournament, so our hard work has paid off. We now look forward to the grand final.”
The Mountain Bulls will meet the winner of Border Storms and 8 Mile Settlers in the 2024-2025 NCD Governor’s Cup Grand Final on Sunday, January 5th, 2025, at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.
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