Cottesloe went three for three last Saturday as they sealed their third Fortescue Premiership Division title, defeating Palmyra 19-22 in a nail-biting game of rugby.
Both teams had prepared for the game down to the very last detail. As Cottesloe hoped to take another flag home, Palmyra used their advantage of being the young underdogs to start the game strong.
Losing to Cottesloe in the 2020 semi-final, Palmyra last won a Premiership in 1991 and had hoped to disrupt the rhythm of the 2020 winners.
Palmyra displayed excellent defence as they showed a clear physical match up in the mid-field however it had no real gain from either side in the game of play.
Cottesloe player Panashe Kamhara sliced through the Palmyra defence, shedding two defenders to put his team within the 22-meter line, only thirty minutes into the first half.
As fans roared with excitement and cheered on from the grandstand, the heat on field was rising and rugby supporters saw the Palmyra No.7, Tyron Law yellow carded for deliberately slowing play, a hard hit for the team so early in the game.
PG Hampshire award winner, Manihera Eden was an essential asset to the Palmyra team as the backline strook from the opposite end of the field through to Eden who created space for winger Chris Miller to give a hard 70 meter run to score, whilst beating two defenders in the process.
The game soon hit half time and as the sun began to fade and the cool breeze sifted through the field, it was time to take to the field yet again.
Cottesloe began the second half on the front foot using the boot the fain field position, with Jack McDermott winning a penalty putting the team 6-7 in the first few minutes.
Palmyra continued to use the counterattack yet again to put themselves back in their own half, allowing them to drive over for their second try of the game and scoring off the back of a powerful driving, Tuhoe Mahaki.
Cottesloe continued to milk penalties out of Palmyra in an attempt to limit their possession as they went into the 55-minute mark of the game with Jack McDermott gaining another penalty, 9-14.
The 2020 winners continued to dominate possession as they tried to break through a strong Palmyra defence, the sustained phases by Cottesloe caused Palmyra’s defence to finally crack as Ben Meredith went over, giving Cottesloe the lead.
Cottesloe were able to keep the possession for the majority of the second half, reaping the benefits of the penalties at the breakdown, holding that possession in their own half. With 75 minutes passed, it was still anyone’s game at this point.
Palmyra continued to make a final push into Cottesloe, with a win still potentially insight with only a few minutes left.
Cottesloe’s Greg Jackson went on to win a turnover giving his team possession in the last few dying seconds of the game.
After a truly amazing game of community rugby, Cottesloe went on to win their third Premiership.
Result
Cottesloe 19
Palmyra 14
