Moree Boomerangs defeat Narwan Eels 34-20 to advance to Group 19 grand final

In a game that included three sin bins and a send off, the Booemrangs proved too strong in a 34-20 victory.

"I'm really happy with the result, considering the effort they've put in up to date," Boomerangs coach Chris Binge said.

"Obviously to get through to another grand final for our club is a major achievement."

After a loss to the Magpies in the major semi final, the Boomerangs returned home to take on the Eels for a spot in next week's decider.

It was a horror start for the Boomerangs went captain Tyrell Smith was sin binned in the second minute.

A penalty was awarded to the Eels, and Smith asked the question of the referee as to why it was given and with the referee unaware that Smith was captain and allowed to do so, he was sent to the bin.

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A try to Jarryd Ritchie followed and the Eels took an early 6-0 lead.

Neither side was able to gain the momentum, with a lot of dropped ball early on, until Bruce Smith broke the deadlock in the 21^st minute.

A strong kick return from fullback Jamie Sampson set the Boomerangs up in good field position and they were able to capitalise through Smith on the left edge.

Smith was in again just three minutes later when Will Fernando regathered his own kick and hand it off on the inside for Smith to score in the corner to give his side an 8-6 lead.

There was plenty of fire in the do-or-die clash, and Narwan were down to 10 men in the latter stages of the first half when a player was sent off for late contact to the head, followed by two sin bins in the ensuing set.

The Boomerangs took advantage, extending their lead through Tyrell Smith who scored under the posts to give the hosts a 14-6 lead at the break.

Moree got off to the perfect start in the second half when Stanley Smith made a break down the right edge to make it 18-6.

Narwan would not go down without a fight, however, and after getting back to 12 men on the field they were in through Gary Quinlan to reduce the deficit to just eight points.

It was Quinlan again who set up the next try, making a break through the middle before offloading to John Roberts who crossed the line under the posts to make it 18-16 in the 54^th minute.

The Boomerangs were in again through Fernando just four minutes later before the Eels hit back through Jack Wythes, with the score sitting at 22-20 with just over 15 minutes remaining.

Two late tries to Ethan Pegus and Tyrell Smith sealed the result and booked the Boomerangs a spot in the decider next weekend in Glen Innes.

Binge said the early sin bin to Smith wasn't a major factor in the game but believed Narwan having three players off at one time was a big turning point.

"They seemed to run out of legs with 20 minutes to go and we knew that would probably happen," he said.

"In saying that, they came back at us early in the second half and got it to an 18-16 position. I'm not saying we weren't still confident, but at that stage we knew we had to be better."

"At that point defensively we became a lot better, but more importantly our ball control became better."

Binge said a strong week of preparation laid the platform for their performance on Sunday.

"Yesterday was the first week in five or six weeks where we had no, I suppose, interruptions in relation to preparation," he said.

"We had a really good week at training and particularly in that first 40 minutes, the things we worked at we went out and did it."

Binge said Sampson at fullback was "outstanding".

"His impact in that game was special," he said.

"I think our two halves in Will Fernando and Chris Binge Jr took control of the game when we needed to and they were well supported by our forward pack."

Binge also gave a lot of credit to the club's youngest player in Mark Pegus who had a real impact in the game.

In a further boost for the club, reserve grade are also into the grand final, after defeating the Armidale Rams in a tight 30-20 win.

A-grade now prepare to take on a tough Glen Innes Magpies outfit in the decider next weekend while reserve grade will face the Narwan Eels.