WESTS GRAND FINAL skipper Julian Gardner was a relieved man when told of his team’s premiership win at hospital 

Gardner, 21, managed to raise a healthy smile at St Andrew’s Hospital when he discovered the Bulldogs had won a gripping 10-7 decision over University. 

Gardner was taken for X-rays following his bloodied exit after 23 minutes of last Sunday’s grand final at Ballymore. 

Examinations cleared the Queensland flanker of a cheekbone fracture but his nose was broken and his left eye was a puffy mess with barely a slit for vision. 

Gardner, also suffering mild concussion, rejoined jubilant team-mates briefly at Ballymore before heading home for an early night, well away from the riotous celebrations at the Bulldogs’ kennel at Toowong. 

Gardner was felled in a “get square” after an earlier fracas which erupted from a lineout. 

The grand final was a body-and-soul contest with Uni having every chance to annex the title. 

As it turned out, Wests toasted their first premiership since 1977. 

And all by the margin of a field goal which wasn’t. 

Countless television replays confirmed Wests five-eighth Tim Lane fired a blank after four minutes. 

His drop kick from 25m wobbled under the cross-bar near the left upright. 

Queensland’s Test referee Kerry Fitzgerald whistled a three-pointer while fullback Greg Martin led a chorus of protest from Uni players, Fitzgerald said after the match he would make the same decision again on what be saw as a “very close decision which was six of one or half a dozen of the other.” 

The Uni camp were quick to dismiss the bogus field goal controversy as an excuse for losing the game over the remaining 76 minutes. 

“I was yelling at the time but I’m not whinging now because we lost the game after the field goal,” Martin said in the disconsolate Uni dressing room. 

“l don’t know where we lost it except on the scoreboard.” 

Uni had every chance and from the grandstand it seemed an injustice that they trailled 6-4 at half-time after controlling the play in calmer fashion than Wests. 

In the opening half, four clear try-scoring chances failed to mature for the students and five-eighth Michael Lynagh failed to register with three penalty shots and a field goal attempt from point blank range. 

The most contentious missed try came from a five-metre scrum push Uni unleashed after 11 minutes which marched the Wests pack to their line. 

Wests half Peter Slattery only conceded a penalty – Lynagh missed the shot – when he darted to the Uni side of the scrum to grab the ball. 

Penalty tries have been awarded for lesser professional fouls this season. 

University led for the only time in the match after 24 minutes when young centre Duncan Hughes charged on to a Lynagh cut-out pass to score. 

Lynagh’s pass had cut out inside centre Michael Cook and fullback Martin and the Wests centres misjudged their man for a rare occasion. 

The second half was only three minutes old when a bouncing Lane pass started the backline rolling to Kent Bray on the right wing. 

Former Randwick lower grade centre Michael Hayes despatched the final pass to Bray who strode over amidst wild cheers from a club match record crowd of 13,899. 

Lynagh landed his only penalty of five attempts at the 57-minute mark during an episode where Wests fullback Roger Gould lost his cool. 

Not content to query one penalty, Gould swore at touch judge Jack Ezzy as Lynagh was taking the successful shot and conceded another from half-way. 

That incident in a tension-packed albeit dour match seemed to unsettle Gould. He sprayed several kicks wildly and when he spilt a high ball under no pressure he hoofed the leather into the gum trees behind the hill crowd in exasperation. 

Lynagh also was not the infallible match­winner Uni were hoping for. 

He mixed some exhileraling magic with some loose passes, a dropped ball and erratic goal-kicking. 

Wests coach Alex Evans was surprised Lynagh did not attempt a field goal to try and level the scores late in the game. 

He had the opportunity just three minutes from full-lime when Gould’s fumble from the high ball gave Uni a scrum in Wests’ quarter near touch. 

Uni won the scrum but Uni, as they had for most of the day, spun the ball wide to Hughes. 

“It was so close for a field goal, I could have thrown it over, so Michael could have kicked it,” Evans said. 

Uni’s tactics were different from their previous three semi-final wins over GPS, Easts and Brothers. 

Instead of utilising the strong-running Cook and his punishing gains close to the forwards, they spun the ball wide. 

Such was the Wests defence, especially through centres Hayes and Grant Putre, that there were few gaps. 

As expected Wests commanded the lineouts 26-17 and Uni the scrum, where three strong five-metre pushes nearly resulted in tries. 

Wests put boot to ball on most occasions to play as much as possible in Uni territory. 

Said Uni forward leader Andy McIntyre: “They kicked away from our forwards all day and it was hard for our pack to get any momentum rolling.” 

Evans was ecstatic. 

“The forwards were superb. We had great control to start, loosened it but got it back in the second half,” he said.

“Sure, I’d be whinging about a dubious field goal if I was on a losing side but it’s just one of those things and no fault of the ref. 

“We had to make up a lot with Julian off the field but we did it magnificently. 

“Our defence really drove them back.” 

Evans lauded the strength and mobility of prop Bill Abram, the former NSW player. Wests second-rower Troy Coker, forced to play in the unaccustomed role of breakaway performed admirably after Gardner left the field with a suspected fracture of the cheekbone 23 minutes into the game. 

Walllaby second-rower Bill Campbell was also outstanding with his high input. 

Uni hooker David Nucifora never stopped trying and it is unfortunate the road to higher honors in Queensland is blocked by Wallabies, Tom Lawton and Mark McBain. 

Uni No 8 Brendan Nasser is one for the future. His block-busting running has been a real plus for the Students in 1985. 

Wests 10 (K. Bray try; R. Leslie pen goal, T.Lane fld goal) defeated University 7 (D. Hughes try; M. Lynagh pen goal) at Ballymore.

Crowd: 13,899.