Souths backing youth to overcome experience in quest for first title

Souths backing youth to overcome experience in quest for first title

By Jack McIlroy Reid

Southern Districts skipper Jed Holloway is backing his team to secure its first ever Premiership title this weekend, despite being pitted against experienced Eastwood leader Hugh Perrett, who is 10 years his senior.

Both teams’ leaders will have one eye on each other this Saturday afternoon as Southern Districts and Eastwood battle for the ultimate prize in Sydney club rugby. 

This year’s Grand Finals Day will take place at Concord Oval this Saturday, August 16. Free shuttle buses will take fans from the venue to ANZ Stadium for the Bledisloe Cup match at 8pm and a free family fun day will run from 12pm. The game will also be broadcast LIVE on ABC TV and streamed LIVE online internationally at www.abc.net.au/news/livevideo from 2.50pm on Saturday.

With each identifying the other as their greatest threat on the day, the rivalry between four-time champions Eastwood and title-hopefuls Souths will be intense come Saturday afternoon, when the 2014 Magners Shute Shield culminates in the Grand Final at 3pm at Concord Oval.

After leading his team to two last-gasp sudden death victories in successive weeks, Souths captain Jed Holloway will welcome the inclusion in the pack of his Tahs’ teammate and Super Rugby veteran Kane Douglas for this weekend’s big one. “Kane brings real leadership to the side and experience of the big games having played the entire Super Rugby finals series with the Waratahs,” said Holloway.

And Holloway will be banking on that nous to help combat the experience of his opposite number.  “Hugh has played in finals before and knows how to win them,” admitted Holloway. “The whole Eastwood forward pack is dangerous but Hugh in particular could be the difference in the final we are going to have to keep him quiet.”

Last weekend the Rebels left it to the 80^th minute to secure their place in the final with a dramatic long range Ben Volavola penalty dispatching current champs Sydney University.  Eastwood skipper Perrett is fully aware of the threat from the ‘underdog’ Rebels.

“Jed is so influential for them and if he plays well the whole team plays well,” said Perrett. “Ben Volavola leads a backline that is full of speed and class and last week he showed how dangerous he can be with the boot.  We know we can’t give away any penalties in our own half. We’ll just have to make sure that the game is played in their half and not ours.”

Holloway was also singing the praises of his sides star flyhalf who’s performance last week inspired the Rebels to victory over the reigning champions.

“I was getting a bit anxious towards the end of the game, we knew at half time that Uni would come back into it because of their strength in depth and their experience but as soon as Ben pointed to the posts his confidence in his own ability gave me confidence, he didn’t second guess himself.  Watching it sail over was such a good feeling!”

Last week saw Eastwood became the first team all season to win away at Manly Oval, as they knocked out minor premier Manly in the semi-finals for the second consecutive year. Despite his side controlling the game and only being behind for a short period in the first half, Perrett is modest about his side’s victory.

“The ball certainly fell our way a lot, everything seemed to go right. They boys put in 100% effort as they always do but we certainly got the bounce of the ball and sometimes it is important to have a little bit of luck on your side.”

Souths coach Matt Barr last week admitted he would prefer to face Eastwood over Manly in the final and a glance at the sides’ head to head record in 2014 explains why. This Saturday’s Grand Final will be the fourth time the two sides have met this year, with Souths winning two of the three previous encounters and losing by only a three-point margin on the other occasion. Like his coach, captain Holloway believes this weekend is the club’s best shot at a first ever Premiership title.

“Our performances and our results against Eastwood this season do give me confidence going into the final,” said Holloway, “especially because we have beaten them twice already.

“The best thing about these games is that there are never run away winners, they are good genuine battles against two sides that respect each other. Don’t get me wrong, there will be no love lost on Saturday but the fact that we know what to expect from Eastwood and the fact we have managed to come up trumps against them twice this year fills us with confidence.”

By contrast, Perrett says past results will not weigh heavy on the Woodies’ minds.

“We don’t feel more pressure because we’ve won the competition before or because Souths have edged us twice this year,” said last year’s Shute Shield Player of the Year.  “We need to defend well and make sure we execute when we have the ball but we’re extremely confident of success going into this one.”

A Southern Districts victory would see the Sylvania-based side lift the Shute Shield for the first time in its history and Holloway admits that becoming the winning captain would be a dream come true.

“To be the first Southern Districts captain to lift the Shute Shield would be a huge honour for me but this season everyone has stood up and been a leader, and I would simply be accepting it on behalf of the team and this fantastic club.”

Lifting the Shute Shield is something Hugh Perrett has already achieved and playing in Eastwood’s third final in four years he hopes his side may be able to build the kind of dominance previously exerted by Randwick and Sydney University.

“I’d like to think this is the start of something,” said Perrett. “I won’t be around in 10 years’ time but if I can finish my playing time consistently reaching and winning finals and in 10 years’ time, can watch my successor playing in and winning finals, that would be fantastic.

“However it all starts this Saturday and it is going to be a great day for both clubs and I’m expecting a noisy atmosphere from both sets of passionate supporters.”

Ben Shorter replacing the injured Nick Batger is the only change to the Eastwood starting XV, and its one that Perrett believes could be a blessing in disguise.

“Both Nick and John Grant have scored a lot of tries this year and it is a shame that they aren’t fit to play but we have players in the shape of Ben Shorter and Brad Curtis who are more than capable of stepping up. The opposition won’t have watched them play as much and won’t know how dangerous they are so these injuries could just end up working in our favour.”

The Rebels only make one change to the side that denied Sydney University a place in the finals for the first time in a decade, with Kane Douglas starting ahead of his younger brother Jake at lock.

“His aggression in defence will also give us the edge but it is important that as a team we keep doing what we have been doing over the past few weeks,” said Holloway.  “We have hit form at the right time and to be the best you have to beat the best. It’s great to have Kane playing but it is important we do not change too many routines or winning formulas on the pitch.”

This year’s Grand Finals Day will take place at Concord Oval this Saturday, August 16. Free shuttle buses will take fans from the venue to ANZ Stadium for the Bledisloe Cup match at 8pm and a free family fun day will run from 12pm.

Make a day of it and cheer on the next generation of NSW Waratahs and Wallabies in the biggest and best day of club rugby this season, just hours before the Wallabies take on the All Blacks. Fourth grade kicks things off at 9am, followed by the third and second grade finals, with the headline first grade Magners Shute Shield Final taking place at 3pm. The 2014 Ken Catchpole medal winner and Rookie of the year winner will be announced at different points throughout the afternoon.

From 5.15pm, free shuttle buses will then transport fans from Concord Oval to ANZ Stadium, just 6 kilometres away, in plenty of time for the massive opening match of The Rugby Championship which kicks off at 8pm.

As well as the spectacular on-field action, there’s also a free family day running from 12pm and featuring kids’ inflatables as well as appearances from Wallabies and Waratahs mascots Wally and Tah Man. 

Tickets are priced from under $3 for juniors and $23 for adults and are available now from Ticketek. Waratahs Life Members can watch the Grand Final for free simply by showing their Life Members card.

The full match Concord Oval schedule (Saturday August 16) is as follows:
9.05am - Henderson Cup (fourth grade) - Eastwood v Sydney University 
10.50am - Henderson Shield (third grade) - Sydney University v Warringah 
12.50pm - Colin Caird Shield Shield (second grade) - Sydney University v Manly 
3.00pm - Magners Shute Shield (first grade) - Eastwood v Southern Districts

The Shute Shield Grand Final will be broadcast LIVE on ABC TV throughout NSW and the ACT. Regional and international fans can also watch LIVE online by following the link www.abc.net.au/news/livevideo from 2:50pm on Saturday.

For up to the minute scores of all grades throughout the afternoon to follow the competition on Facebook at Shute Shield and twitter at @ShuteShield. Highlights and previews of every round are also available on the Shute Shield YouTube channel.

Magners Shute Shield Grand Final: Saturday 16 August

Eastwood v Southern Districts, Concord Oval (3pm)

Eastwood: 1. Jed Gillespie, 2. Hugh Roach, 3. Guy Millar, 4. Jared Barry, 5. Andrew Clyne, 6. Michael Kovacic, 7. Hugh Perrett (c), 8. Pat Sio, 9. Mick Snowden, 10. Jai Ayoub, 11. Ben Shorter, 12. Tom Hill, 13. Michael McDougall, 14. Brad Curtis, 15. Ben Batger.

Southern Districts: 1. Duncan Chubb, 2. Maile Nguamo, 3. Cameron Betham, 4. Andrew Leota, 5. Kane Douglas, 6. Marcus Carbone, 7. Kieran Black, 8. Jed Holloway (c), 9. Chris O'Reilly, 10. Ben Volavola, 11. Alex Gibbon, 12. Apo Latunipulu, 13. Paul Asquith, 14. Afa Pakalani, 15. Ben Connelly.

Referee: Angus Gardner

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