Comets win women’s premiership

THE COFFS Harbour Comets have capped off a fairytale first season in the women’s tackle competition with a premiership win.

A magical run after starting the season 0-5 saw them go from last to first in a turnaround for the ages.

An eight-game winning streak to finish the season culminated in a 20-12 grand final victory against defending premiers the Nambucca Roosters.

The two sides headed into half-time locked at 8-8 in the season decider at C.ex Coffs International Stadium.

Leading 14-12, a Kiha Yuke try with three minutes remaining proved to be the sealer.

Previously competing in the League Tag competition, the Comets had a dream debut season in the women’s tackle competition.

After dragging themselves up from the bottom to the very top, Comets captain/coach Sharon McGrady explained the motivations which helped turn their season around.

“I think it was our team culture, and just coming together and the sisterhood, but I think one thing that really struck us was our losses, and we just wanted to do better each game, and we built on that,” she said.

“We had people in the crowd doubting us, and it just made us want it even more.

“We just work hard for ourselves and for our team, and each week we set new goals and we completed them.”

McGrady said their improvement in defence was pivotal.

“In the first few games everyone got a lot of points on us, and I think our big goal was our defence,” she said.

“I had really great confidence in our team from the start because we have a lot of attacking players that know how to score a try.

“It was just our defence, learning how to defend as a team, and we started getting that line and no one was able to break our line towards the end, and defence was our main goal to stop the tries.

“I think it was the main reason we won the premiership.”

By Aiden BURGESS