Sea Eagles break premiership drought

THE former kings have returned to take the throne.

After a 19-year premiership drought, the Macksville Sea Eagles reign once again after winning this year’s Group 2 Rugby League first-grade premiership.

Having enjoyed a period of dominance in the 2000s, which saw them win five premierships in six years, the Sea Eagles broke through to win their first title since 2007.

A 24-14 grand final victory against the Woolgoolga Seahorses saw them reclaim the trophy for the first time in nearly 20 years, in front of a frenzied Sea Eagles contingent at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium.

Up 20-4 at the half, the Sea Eagles held off a spirited second-half fightback from the Seahorses to claim the big prize.

Macksville struck first in the season decider with a Brodie Bartlett intercept against the run of play in the 12th minute.

The Sea Eagles started to get a roll on and were in again shortly after, with slick ball movement and support play leading to a Frank Winterstein try in the 19th minute.

The Seahorses hit back with their much-needed first try after a line break from Dane O’Hehir.

The Sea Eagles responded in kind, Bailey Pickvance crossing out wide after a great run and ball from Joseph Borg, extending the lead to 14-4 with 10 minutes left in the half.

Pierre Monteil then scored off his chip-and-chase to give his side a commanding 20-4 lead at the half.

The Seahorses needed to be the first team to score in the second half, and they did exactly that with Emanuel Sutton barging over in the 49th minute.

The comeback was well and truly on when Dane O’Hehir crossed for his double a few minutes later after a great solo run, cutting the lead to 20-14.

The Sea Eagles’ defence was under the pump for the rest of the half, as the Seahorses desperately searched for the crucial try and potential equaliser.

Like a horror movie villain, the Woolgoolga side kept coming after the Sea Eagles after looking almost dead and buried at half-time.

But Macksville’s frantic, scrambling defence remained resolute in the face of a relentless Seahorses onslaught.

Joseph Borg scored the sealer with three minutes to go, sending the Sea Eagles faithful into a frenzy.

Sea Eagles coach Aaron Wood praised the performance of his club’s latest premiership winners.

“We’ve been close a couple of times in finals but couldn’t convert, but today we dug deep,” he said.

“We showed a lot of heart, we had four blokes that probably shouldn’t have played today, as they were injured last week.

“We hung in there with our defence, and the last five weeks that’s what we’ve been winning games on.”

Having started the year 0-4, the proud coach revealed the turning point of their season.

“We had a video session and an honesty session, and I let the players be honest, and they put their hand up,” he said.

“That was 100 per cent the turning point, and it was tough as people don’t like criticism, but they took it on the chin and turned up the next day and we won, and we kept winning.

“We always knew we had a good team, it was just about putting it together, and we did in the end.”

By Aiden BURGESS