Double Delight: Spirit winger Marcel Brache helped himself to quickfire brace in the 1st half to send his team on their way to a surprise victory – Photo: Sonny Harmanto Photography

by Paul Cook –

Historically, the optimum recipe for winning a major competition in any sport involves timing your run to perfection and peaking at the business end in order to triumph. To that end, Perth Spirit could be considered a prime example should they go on to win the inaugural NRC this weekend.

Having won only three games across the regular season to scrape into the last four, Spirit turned up when it mattered to down Minor Premiers and title favourites, Melbourne Rising, 45-29 at AAMI Park on Saturday in the upset of the competition. The win sets up a Grand Final showdown with Brisbane City at Ballymore this Saturday evening.

Buoyed by the inclusion of a host of Western Force regulars, Spirit’s victory was rooted in their defensive effort of the opening quarter. A predictably fast start from Rising laid siege to the visitor’s 22 but a host of desperate tackles on their own line saw Spirit frustrate their hosts, draw their sting and surprise them with a quickfire double on the way to a 16-8 half-time lead.

A third try after the restart was a further setback for the hosts and despite throwing the kitchen sink at a resolute Spirit, every time they appeared to be igniting a comeback, they shot themselves in the foot with another concession. The second half saw seven tries in all as both teams went toe-to-toe in search of glory but a last minute score from Spirit cemented the memorable triumph and ended Rising’s glittering season one week early.

Spirit captain Sam Wykes paid tribute to his side’s defensive efforts in those early exchanges. “We knew they were very direct, they’ve got some big boys like Mitch Inman and we knew that if they got on top in that first fifteen, they were going to run away with the game so our defence was a big key coming into the match,” he told Fox Sports.

“We weathered the storm…built momentum and went from there. I’m very proud of the boys, I didn’t think we were going to get here with only three wins but the boys took it on the chin and gave it a good crack.”

Rising flyhalf Jack Debreczeni contributed another 14pts to his team’s cause but it wasn’t enough to earn a spot in the title decider

Rising skipper Nic Strirzaker agreed that the opening quarter had been pivotal in deciding the outcome. “We’ll probably look back at that first 20 minutes and their defence, we should have scored there,” he said. “Credit to Perth, they came out and were really physical today. They kicked really well and were very good around the breakdown and controlled the game. 

“It wasn’t the result we were after, and I am disappointed that we couldn’t put in our best performance. At the same time, I am proud of the boys; we achieved a lot, played some good Rugby throughout the campaign, and have a lot to be proud of.”

Rising had started the game in the same vein they’ve shown all competition, playing at a furious pace and involving their rapier like backs at every opportunity. Flyhalf Jack Debreczeni is the leading points scorer in the NRC and he showed his skills from the off, testing the Spirit line twice in the opening couple of minutes.

After 10 intense opening minutes, Perth had barely been out of their half, forced back on their heels through a combination of Debreczeni’s invention and execution; the handling skills and intent of Rising’s backline and the dominance of their giant pack. 85% possession was a clear indication of the balance of power but for all their adventure in Spirit’s 22, the visitor’s line held firm.

Throwing minimal numbers into the breakdown, Spirit fanned their artillery across the park and made their tackles with plenty of starch, frustrating a Rising side that had become used to blowing teams apart throughout the regular season.

Having somehow held their line intact, Spirit finally got inside the home 22 after a full 16 minutes and when they did so, they almost took the lead against the run of play, skipper Sam Wykes inches short after good work from his fellow forwards.

Warning served, Spirit decided they quite liked it at the other end of the field and proceeded to set up camp as Rising found themselves having to adjust to a defensive mindset with nothing to show for their attacking elan. But when fullback Dane Haylett-Petty put a clever little grubber in behind Melbourne’s line in the 21st minute, there was a queue of three Spirit players ready to dot down, winger Marcel Brache arriving first to give his side a surprise lead.

If that was a slap in the face for Rising, you can only imagine what was going through their minds when Brache subsequently added a second two minutes later. The home side were on the charge, flinging the ball through the hands as they sought a quick riposte but Sefanaia Naivalu threw a loose one in behind his intended runner, leaving Brache to scoop up and run home unopposed.

Stung into action, Rising got themselves on the board from the restart. A huge penalty kick to touch from Debreczeni gave them the platform from which to strike and after all their early unrequited power and intricacy, it was a simple play that broke down the door. A textbook throw to the tail found scrumhalf Stirzaker who fed his halves partner Debreczeni and one pop pass later, a rampaging Mitch Inman was through the line and over by the posts.

Instead of reigniting a Rising onslaught however, it merely spruiked Spirit into redoubling their efforts and the ‘underdog’ visitors held sway for the rest of the half. The scoreboard remained intact but Spirit’s lead clearly had an impact on the mindset of both sides. While Spirit’s efforts had fostered belief, Rising were suddenly looking in the mirror and thinking the unthinkable.

Smells Like Team Spirit: Zack Holmes and co. find themselves in the inaugural NRC final after a
45-29 upset victory over Melbourne Rising – Photo: John Young Photography

That doubt would only have increased after the break when the Perth side came out and added a third try within two minutes. Yet another lineout drive, fast becoming the ‘go-to’ play in the NRC, got them within range and a couple of pick and drives later, prop Ollie Hoskins forced his way over from a metre to stunned silence from the AAMI Park crowd.

It took a moment of individual brilliance to get Rising back in the frame. Fielding a bomb in the 51st minute, fullback Jonah Placid was faced with a cluster of Spirit jerseys as he set off but a swerve, a step and no little amount of pace took him straight through the heart of the opposition defence, leaving six yellow and black jerseys in his wake before he arced around Haylett-Petty to find the line.

Again, the score didn’t enact the expected Rising tide and just before the hour, Spirit had their fourth. Pick and drives from the forwards and some short interplays got them a metre from the line before they went through the hands to the opposite flank and centre Ammon Matuauto dotted down.

With Rising chasing the game, skipper Stirzaker made way for the experienced Luke Burgess to try and guide them home in the final quarter. With his side averaging 50pts per match prior to kick-off, a comeback was certainly not beyond them but their task was made even harder when Spirit contrived another five pointer in the 65th minute.

This time it was captain Sam Wykes leading by example, scooping up from the back of a ruck five metres out to go himself, swat away the attentions of Rennie Lautolo-Molimau and dive home to the jubilation of his team mates.

Rising then showed their usual selves from the restart, turning up the pace and using their strike runners for replacement Lloyd Johannson to release Naivalu into the corner and Debreczeni’s conversion brought it back to a 13pt ball game with 12 minutes to play.

Mitch Inman, perhaps unfortunate not to find himself on a plane to Europe alongside team mate Tom English given his stellar contributions to the Rising cause, thought he was about to narrow the gap even further when he latched onto a pass from the dangerous Naivalu and gunned it to the posts. But he hadn’t factored on a superb last ditch tackle from Haylett-Petty that upended the giant centre a metre from the line.

A yellow card to Spirit replacement Richard Hardwick with five minutes remaining left the door open for the home team, and they took one step through when Debreczeni stepped his way over to make it 37-29 but the young flyhalf blotted his copybook somewhat when he rushed the potentially crucial conversion and sliced it wide from only 10 metres.

A converted try for Melbourne would have brought extra-time but their fate was finally sealed in the 78th minute, Spirit trucking it up the middle before sending it wide for Matuauto to grab his second. Game and season over for Rising then as their unbeaten run comes to a painful end while Perth, who have only won four of their nine matches, amazingly find themselves heading to Ballymore and a Grand Final date with Brisbane City.

Perth Spirit 45 (Marcel Brache 2, Ammon Matuauto 2, Oliver Hoskins, Sam Wykes tries; Zack Holmes 5 cons) defeated Melbourne Rising 29 (Mitch Inman, Jonah Placid, Sefanaia Naivalu, Jack Debreczeni tries; Jack Debreczeni 3 cons)