Proven finals format

Press, 3 September 1986, Page 36

Proven finals format

The system of rounding off the Canterbury rugby league club season with a championship grand final — the twentieth edition of which will be contested by Halswell and Hornby on Sunday — has stood the test of time. An Australian concept, used in just about every sport on that continent, the progression of semifinals and a preliminary final leading up to grand final day invariably provides a fitting climax. Early misgivings that titles might be snaffled by previously modestly-per-formed sides which managed to finish their programmes with uncharacteristic flourishes have long since been allayed.

Ten of the last 12 championships have been won by clubs which were first or first equal in the premiership round-robin, and Hornby will be seeking to extend that sequence on Sunday. The exceptions to the general rule were Hornby, which qualified fourth in 1983, and Halswell, the runnerup in last season’s premiership.

Yet no-one would dispute the right of either of those teams to the paramount prize, the Pat Smith Challenge Trophy. Ln 1983 Hornby was frequently and severely hit by first-class commitments. Back to full strength for the championship play-offs, it established new record winning margins in the minor

semi-final (35-10 over Addington) and preliminary final (35-4 at Papanui’s expense) before comfortably accounting for Sydenham, 15-2, in the grand final.

Hornby was obviously the best team in Canterbury that winter. The outmoded first-past-the-post competition format would have denied it a deserved title.

There was precious little between Hornby and Halswell last year. They won one match each in the premiership, Halswell nudged Hornby out in a close major semi-final, and it took a field goal by Phil Bancroft from near half-way as the full-time hooter sounded to separate them at 16-16 in the grand final. Halswell was a worthy winner, Hornby a gallant loser.

After two decades it is perhaps surprising that no team which finished third in the premiership subsequently experienced the elation of a lap of honour on grand final afternoon. Hornby’s from-fourth-to-first performance three years ago matched the effort of Linwood in 1968. But Linwood needed extra time (now replaced by a replay) and a penalty goal by John Rosanowski to beat Papanui, 9-7, in what was the second grand final.

On Sunday Halswell has the chance to emulate those deeds; it has al-

ready eliminated Papanui and Addington, two clubs which qualified ahead of it The most regular, and most successful, grand finalist has been Papanui. In nine games it bowed only to Linwood in 1968 and Eastern Suburbs in 1975. Between 1971 and 1978, Papanui won seven of eight consecutive appearances. Eastern and Hornby have identical tallies of four wins and two defeats; Linwood has won twice, and Addington and Halswell once each. 5 ■ Of the nine premier clubs, Marist-Western Suburbs has most cause to regret that the competition format was modernised. Its representatives have had to be content with the silver runners-up medals on five occasions, whereas under the old system MaristWestern would have claimed its first two championships. Sydenham has lost all three of its grand finals without qualifying in top spot Only Kaiapoi has not played in a grand final. The record winning margin is Eastern’s 27-2 defeat of Papanui 11 years ago. Ben Huriwai, then on the wing for Eastern but now with Kaiapoi, scored a record four tries against Sydenham in 1980; two Papanui players, Colin Schwass (in 1971) and Jim Hawthorne (in 1972), kicked most grand final goals, six.