13-07-2025
‘Hell of a final': Excelsior champions again
The end of Saturday's Citizens Shield final was dark, gloomy and muddy but that was where Excelsior shone brightest.
They held out one last assault from Valley to claim their second title in a row with a 31-28 win.
"It's hard to put words together at the moment," Blues captain Mat Duff said after the game.
"Just really, really immensely proud of our boys."
The final had seven lead changes as each side landed punches and counter-punches.
It was also the third straight final between Blues and Valley.
"It's a hell of a trilogy battle, I reckon, and hell of a final," Duff said.
Excelsior opened the scoring with a try in the opening 10 minutes before Valley took momentum back.
They relied on the boot of Isaac Clunie to nail two penalty kicks either side of a Jake Greenslade try off a driving maul to jump ahead 13-7.
Blue struck back with a patient attack inside the Valley 22m.
They retained the ball and carried hard before lock Matt Laba spied some space around the tuck and darted through a gap to score.
Clunie added another three points for Valley before Blues were in again.
They won a penalty off the kick-off, switched to attack mode, and after a few strong carries swung the ball out to the left wing, where Seva Druma had room to dance around the defence.
He broke through the final tackle to score and put his side back in front.
However, Valley won the ball back from the ensuing kick-off.
Excelsior's discipline let them down as they conceded three quick penalties, which culminated in a yellow card to Apenisia Tuiba for repeated infringement.
It did not stop there as referee Nick Webster awarded a penalty try off a driving maul.
The free seven points had Valley ahead 23-19 at halftime.
Valley were able to hold out back-to-back sieges on their line in the opening 10 minutes of the second half but could not hold out a third.
A poor clearance put Blues right back on attack.
As they chipped away, an errant pass looked to have spoiled their attack. However, Liam Direen scooped it and calmly stepped past two defenders on his way to score.
That was a turning point in the game as not only did Blues survive being down to 14 men, but they managed to take back the lead.
Then it was Valley's turn to be patient as they spent phase after phase right on the line, and discipline was again an issue for Blues, who conceded three penalties.
Eventually, Valley were able to get back to their strike weapon, the driving maul.
It looked for a moment that Blues had held strong but Greenslade peeled off the back and scored his second try.
With time running out, Blues needed a spark.
They got back into Valley's 22m and Druma was able to break the line and score the eventual match winner.
The winger was outstanding when presented with opportunities to attack and Duff was inspirational in the forwards.
The Blues captain never took a backwards step, both figuratively and literally.
However, the best player on the paddock was Matia Qiolevu. The midfielder was outstanding as he kept the Valley defence on their heels with every touch of the ball and made every tackle asked of him.
For Valley, Greenslade, Anthony Docherty and Ben Paton all delivered impressive performances.
Kurow beat Old Boys 13-5 in the president's grade final. Citizens Shield final
The scores
Excelsior 31
Seva Druma 2, Oli Knopp, Matt Laba, Liam Direen tries; Tyron Davies 3 con
Valley 28
Jake Greenslade 2 tries, penalty try; Isaac Clunie con, 3 pen
Halftime: Valley 23-19.
