PORT KEMBLA 15 Def. DAPTO 8
Port Kembla 15 (Joel Court 2, Aaron Troiano Tries, Keith Lulia Goal, Christian Kupenga Field Goal)
defeated
Dapto 8 (Trent Grundy Try, 2 Goals)

The Wollongong Asphalt Port Kembla Under 18's Blacks have taken out the Under 18's premiership today, defeating Dapto by 15-8 in the Grand Final at WIN Stadium.

The game opened with some great defence from both sides punctuated by handling errors which cost the two teams good opportunities to cement field position. Keiran Jack set the scene in the sixth minute of play when he drove Dapto fullback Ian Catania back five metres with a solid one on one tackle. A minute later, Port five-eighth Matthew Michalowski took an intercept on his own thirty metre line and sprinted to within ten metres of Dapto's try line before being brought down. Two tackles later, Aaron Troiana went blind side and swivelled around in a tackle to plant the ball over the line for the opening try of the match. Keith Lulia's conversion attempt from wide out shaved the upright, but missed, leaving Port with a 4-0 lead.

Dapto received a penalty in the 12th minute close to Port's line for a high shot.  They elected to go for the two points, but Trent Grundy's kick went wide. Grundy redeemed himself just a minute later when he broke free from no less than three Black's defenders to run twenty metres and score in the corner. Grundy's sideline conversion gave Dapto the lead by two points.

Port seemed momentarily rattled when the kick off sailed over Dapto's dead ball line on the fly. Dapto received possession on the half way line and immediately re-initiated their attack. But it was Port who broke the shackles when Michalowski took his second intercept in the space of ten minutes, this time progressing play thirty metres up field. Lulia darted quickly from acting half, catching the Canaries defenders off-side. The Blacks took the tap and threw the ball al the way across field, ending in the hands of Joel Court who crossed next to the right corner post.

Keith Lulia matched Grundy's kicking heroics with his own sideline conversion to give Port a four point lead after 16 minutes of play.

Port's momentum faltered from the kick off when they dropped the ball, giving Dapto the opportunity to go on the attack. Any thoughts Dapto had of a reply were quashed when they gave away a penalty while in possession, just ten metres from Port's line.

The game was 23 minutes old when Trent Grundy crossed the try line, only to be called back by referee Andrew Riolo for a forward pass. Port dropped the ball on the next set before Dapto spilt the ball five out from Port's line.

Dapto continued to pressure The Black's try line, throwing everything they had at the Port side, before a Dapto pass found nothing but the touch line. Port showed some enterprising play three minutes from half time, ending with Keith Lulia being bundled into touch just three metres short of Dapto's try line.

The first half ended with Port ahead 10-6 on the back of a great first half by Matthew Michalowski. The Port five-eighth was instrumental in both of Port's first half tries and dictated play from the outset. Keiran Jack was rock solid in defence with some bruising hits on the much larger Dapto forwards. Dapto looked like they had scored shortly after, but they were ruled to be held up over the line on the fifth tackle, surrendering possession to Port.

Port's forward stocks looked to have been depleted for the remainder of the half when in the third minute Keiran Jack (calf) and Jon Koot (mouth) both came off with injuries. Luckily for Port, both players returned later in the game to contribute further to the great win.

Dapto went close to scoring in the fourth minute but were again ruled to have been held up over the line. Both teams exchanged errors in the fifth minute Dapto made a fifty metre break courtesy of some clever play from Ian Catania and Paul Morris. The Canaries received a penalty on the next tackle for Port being ruled off-side, and Grundy made no mistake with the penalty goal attempt, kicking Dapto to within two points of The Blacks.

Dapto pounded the Port line in the 12th minute with repeat sets of tackles, but The Black's defence held firm. Then in the 14th minute, Joel Court and Oscar Ferreira effected a breach of the Dapto defence, taking play to just ten metres from the Dapto try line. Port gained a penalty right in front for off-side play, but elected to run the ball instead of taking the shot at two points. The move paid handsome dividends when man of the match, Matthew Michalowski cut-out two Dapto players to find Joel Court down the right side, the wiry winger crossing for his double. Lulia could not add the extras from the sideline, But Port had jumped out to a six point lead.

Port's defence dictated the remainder of the match. In the 17th minute, Port stymied another Dapto raid before giving away a penalty for off-side. The punishing defensive effort from Port then forced another Dapto turn over. The Blacks repeated the scenario when Keith Lulia hammered a Dapto attacker on the 20th minute Port given possession via a scrum.

With 13 to go on the clock, Christian Kupenga took a shot at drop goal. The kick was one of the ugliest you would ever see, but the ball somehow crawled over the crossbar to give Port a handy seven point buffer.

Port moved the ball to Dapto's ten metre line in the 24th minute before the referee pulled play back to the half way line, giving Port a penalty for a earlier high shot.

Dapto peppered the Port line in the 27th minute, chipping the ball into the in-goal area only to see Scott Crowther escort the ball over the dead ball line. Port immediately took play well inside Dapto territory, only to see a Keiran Jack ball go to ground under pressure form the scrambling Canary defence.

Dapto continued to apply pressure looking for an elusive try that would give them a glimmer of hope going into the final five minutes of play. They looked to make a break with six on the clock, only to see Osman Elmir unceremoniously dump Andrew McQuerter into touch.

Port gave Dapto another opportunity to get back in the game when they turned over possession through a poor pass with just five left. Dapto took the ball 60 metres up field, but Port's defence again held strong forcing Dapto into another error.

Port dominated play in both attack and defence for the final five minutes, in the end sealing a 15-8 Grand Final win with Scott Haynes toeing the ball into Dapto's half. The scenes when the final siren sounded were of euphoric Port players and supporters celebrating the club's first senior title since 1995 when Michael Brown and John Debrito's Third Grade side defeated Collegians in the decider.

Port's defence was the main reason for their win. They definitely saved their best effort for last, putting on a unbelievable defensive display to lock out Dapto for 57 minutes of the game. Matthew Michalowski collected the man of The Match award, but he was ably supported by a cast of Port players who equally shouldered the responsibility for the win. Keith Lulia came to life in the second half while Joel Court and Aaron Troiano had outstanding games out wide. Lulia and Oscar Ferreira contained man mountain Trent Grundy, nullifying his attacking power.

In the forwards, Keiran Jack, Jon Koot, Anthony Harris and Joseph Gander played strongly, the forward pack more than matching the Dapto outfit who weighed in at more than double their Black's opponents.

In the end, it was a satisfying victory for Michael Gander and Paul Purcell, the two credited with moulding this side together. The win is also great news for the Port club with only five of the players moving on to Grade next year, and the Under 16's winning their Grand Final yesterday. The Port club will be strong in the 18's for at least another three years thanks to this, with the thought of the Grade sides in the near future being manned mostly by these youngsters coming through the ranks.

But for now, The Wollongong Asphalt Under 18 Blacks can call themselves 2004 Premiers having come out on top in the battle of the Southern clubs.