The Wanneroo Districts Rugby Club premier grade side have claimed the king of the north title, scraping by to beat powerhouse the Joondalup Brothers by only a point.
The long-standing rivalry between the two Northern clubs spans across all grades with the title going to the club with the most wins throughout the weekend with the final Premier Grade win sealing it for the 'Roo Dogs'.
Wanneroo took the win in community grade and the Joondalup reserves were able to get up by ten points with the result being a draw in third grade it was all down to the prems side to take home the bragging rights.
The match was tightly contested to start the first half with both sides making their first up tackles and holding back each others attempts to break the line.
20 minutes into the match Joondalup put themselves in position to take an early lead, directed by captain and fly-half Sheldon Tawara Joondalup were able to find space in the corner in the form of consistent winger James Wepener touching down to give the Brothers the first try of the game.
It was the captains for each side that seemed to be putting on a show with Wanneroo centre Andrew King leading his team to a reply 20 minutes later, producing talent similar to that Sonny Bill Wiliams with a beautiful flick pass putting Grayson Makara in space to break the ice for the men in green.
Like every Joondalup and Wanneroo clash the match was an utter arm wrestle with both clubs fighting nail and tooth to gain momentum, as the first half closed Joondalup took to the sheds with just a one-point lead.
Intensity was high in the second half with both squads trading possession a number of times with Wanneroo eventually gaining enough territory to pose a threat.
Close to the try line Wanneroo attacks with a little chip kick only to be charged down by Joondalup's Tawara only to be collected by Wepner who runs the field eventually feeding his halfback Brendan Vorster for the Brothers second try of the game.
Wanneroo didn't stand on ceremoney injecting Future Force halfback Reece Anapu into the fight entering into his first game of the season, with this no more than ten minutes later Wanneroo were on the attack looking to score.
After running over a number of phases holes started to appear in the Joondalup defence before you know it Wanneroo are through and under the posts again closing the gap as the match entered crunch time.
Taking advantage of the tired legs from Joondalup, Wanneroo hit back flinging the ball out wide to pick up quick back to back tries giving them the advantage.
Desperately needing to get back in the matchup Joondalup got hold of possession and went on the attack, again it was superstar winger James Wepener blasting through the mid-field enabling him to find enough space to send him down in the corner for his second try, breathing life into the Joondalup attack.
With Wanneroo only a point up The Brothers had a chance to steal the match, gifted possession after the siren by a midfield bomb as they charged towards their own line.
Showing great face-up defense Wanneroo held them on the five-metre line, with a chance to seal it Joondalup flanker Patrick Tuialii found space only to be taken down by a beautiful try-saving tackle from the Wanneroo fullback.
Taking advantage of the scrambling defense Joondalup halfback Vorster went for the scoot only for the space to be shut down forcing an unlucky knock on giving Wanneroo a lucky win.
With one of the biggest matches to start the 2019 Fortescue Premier Grade season over, Wanneroo walked away victors by a singular point.
Starring in the match captain Andrew King lead his team to the first King of the North victory for Wanneroo in two years.
