A close grand final that was always there for the taking.
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That's how the 2022 Woodbridge Cup Youth League grand final will mainly be remembered for, along with a disappointing end that resulted in three send offs.
Molong Bulls, who have been the form side all season, survived a strong start from Grenfell to be crowed premiers in a 30-24 victory.
In a side where the majority of players backed up for first grade each week, coach Mark Thomas was understandably speechless when asked how proud he was of their year.
"I can't say," he said choking back tears.
With a lineup of cars, at least 20 deep, you knew grand final day had arrived in Grenfell.
And with plenty of home town support it's no surprise to guess that Grenfell Goannas were out to a 10-0 lead after 10 minutes.
Molong hit back through crafty hooker Jake Duncan, scooting out of dummy half to make it 10-6.
Strong defence, and big boys in the middle dominating territory was how the next exchanges looked before a beautiful short ball found Grenfell's Caleb Haddin punching through a hole to score.
Right on half-time Molong hit back with halfback Bailey Peschka in support as the score read 16-10 at half-time.
The Bulls were over straight after the break with one of the more extraordinary tries.
A wayward pass on halfway from Molong's dummy half saw the ball go 20 metres backwards, before Carter Kirby picked it up, made a break and found Bailey Webb in support at 16-14.
In the 39th minute, Molong were ahead 20-16 after some Peschka magic with a great kick landing in the hands of Webb again to seal his double.
Both sides then went try for try through Grenfell's Dylan King and Molong's Duncan.
A horrible kick by Molong worked in their favour after 52 minutes when the bounce fell favourably Jett Fraser who ran 30 metres to put his side ahead 30-20.
But the home side weren't going away as Goannas hooker Tyler Byron burrowed over to make it 30-24.
In the space of the next final two minutes, you couldn't ask for more chaos.
Molong's Joey Urban was sin-binned, handing a Grenfell an opportunity to attack.
The Goannas had their opportunities, however Molong's defence was too strong, holding off any attacking raid.
The drama wasn't over though, a fight broke out just before full-time with players and trainers becoming involved.
Molong's Urban was sent off for allegedly entering the field while Grenfell's Rhyley Kennedy and Michael Smith were also sent off for alleged punching and running in.
After the referees managed to control proceedings, full-time was blown for a Molong grand final victory.
Before being overcome by emotion, Thomas couldn't have been more pleased.
"It was excellent, bit embarrassed by the end of it but I'm proud," he said.
"It (first half) was probably the worst half of football we've played all year but I was really confident after it was only 16-10 at half-time."
Post-game, Grenfell's coach Craig Smith was particularly complimentary of Molong's performance.
"It was a great game of footy, we worked hard all year and it's a great effort just to get to the grand final. Molong, you've been the benchmark all year, it's a deserved win," he said.
Two-time try-scorer Jake Duncan was understandably stoked with his side's triumph.
"It feels pretty good, it was a tough game, we did some silly things at the end but that's footy," he said.
"Our defence has been good all year, that got us home in the second half."
As for what the next week will look like in Molong, the hooker is anticipating a good time.
"It'll be pretty wild, some beers will be drunk," he laughed.
- Molong Bulls 30 (Bailey Webb 2, Jacob Duncan 2, Bailey Peschka, Jett Fraser tries; Peschka 3 conversions) defeated Grenfell Goannas 24 (Tyler Byron 2, Caleb Haddin, Ash Tetley, Dylan King tries; Oliver Taylor 2 conversions)