Bulls book home grand final berth

Moree got off to a great start in the major semi-final against the minor premiers.

A well-executed first phase move from Moree saw Ben Carrigan putting Jordan Cosh through a hole who then beat two defenders which opened the scoring under the posts.

Narrabri struck straight back via a penalty.

But Moree was at it again scoring off the back of front foot possession from Sam Bacigalupo.

Matt Wannan scored the Bulls third try in conjunction with some strong forward play with Ben Carrigan converting to extend the lead to 21 – 3 only 30 minutes into the first half.

Moree’s error on the kick off handed possession back to Narrabri.

Moree managed to weather the Narrabri raids for nearly 10 minutes but eventually a crack appeared with Narrabri’s Henry Curtin crashing over with the conversion making it 21 – 10 on half time.

In the second half Narrabri were out of the blocks quickly when Henry Curtain grabbed his second try.

Moree grabbed the momentum back as they applied some sustained pressure in the Narrabri half being awarded a penalty try following a collapsed rolling maul, with

Narrabri receiving a yellow card for repeated infringements. Narrabri struck back shortly after, with their hooker stepping past Sam Bacigalupo and beating him in a foot race to score making it 28-10 only 10 minutes into the second half.

The game see-sawed for periods before Narrabri were able to score again which bought the margin back to 28-27.

Narrabri capitalised on several of Moree’s errors but Moree scrambled well highlighted by a strong Heath Riggs tackle to bundle Narrabri into touch metres from the try line.

Moree worked hard and played smartly in the final minutes with Ben Colley earning a penalty on half way with under minutes on the clock.

Ben Carrigan soaked up the time on the clock and slotted the penalty as the siren sound to seal a 31 – 27 win.

Moree Bulls coach, Simon Hall, said plenty of players put their hands up for the Bulls.

“Ben Carrigan and Jordan Cosh had strong games while the front row of John Adams, Daniel Taunton and Maciu Latabua provided the platform of the win,” Hall said.

“In some ways it was dejavu for Moree with two weeks prior getting out to a big lead in the first 30 minutes before grinding it out for the remaining 50 minutes.”

The reward is a home grand final on August 29 when we will play either Narrabri or Tamworth Pirates.

In second grade Moree went into the major semi-final as minor premiers unsure of the Inverell team who they had not played since May.

The first half was evenly contested with little separation between the sides. 

Moree had the majority of possession but were unable to convert the field position into points.

Moree opened the scoring in the second half to grab the lead when Sylvester Joseph found himself in open space and galloped away to the try line.

Trevor Tighe scored not long after to extend Moree’s lead.

But the game turned and Inverell took control on the score board in a strong finish to win 25 – 15.

“Moree gets a second bite at the cherry next week when they will play Narrabri with the winner to play Inverell in the grand final,” Hall said.