SAWTELL Panthers are just one win away from their first grand final in thirteen years, after a hard-fought 24-4 win in the wet against the Woolgoolga Seahorses in their Qualifying Semi Final at Rex Hardaker Oval.

The home side made a great start with Robert Brilley crossing the line to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead after five minutes.

The Panthers ambushed the Seahorses early with brutal defence which would be their trademark all afternoon.

A great long-range run from Jayden O’Shannessy extended the Panthers lead to 12-0.

The Panthers dominated the territory battle with the game played exclusively in their attacking half, and handled the wet weather conditions well with an extremely good completion rate.

Jake Thornton carved up the Seahorses defence with a nifty run to score, and a Tyke Kemp try saw them take a commanding 24-0 lead into half-time.

The rain poured down during the break, making the second half a dour affair with points at a premium.

The Seahorses came out a much-improved side to start the second half, but the Panthers defence continued to remain resolute, snuffing out any chances of a comeback as they continually defended their tryline.

The Seahorses provided the only points of the second half courtesy of a Coen Van Dugteren try.

Panthers captain-coach Sam Johnstone was pleased with his side’s stellar defensive performance which was the cornerstone of their finals victory.

“I think that goes back to how we were at the start of the year, really tough defensively,” he said.

“We spoke about it before the game.

“In finals football a lot of the time it comes down to defence, and we really pride ourselves on defence, and the only try they scored was they slid in on the corner, so I was really happy with that.

“All game we just turned up for each other and attacked with our defence.

“They are a good side with strike power all over the park, and the biggest takeaway from that win was our defence, especially that first half.

“We just turned up for each other and were lucky enough to get out to a lead and just hang on.

“Our first half completion rate was outstanding, I think we were 19 from 21, and I thought our completions and defence, that’s what wins finals football.”

The Panthers now take on the Nambucca Roosters for a spot in this year’s grand final, as they face the minor premiers in the Major Semi Final on Sunday afternoon in Nambucca Heads.

Johnstone welcomed the challenge of facing the minor premiers with a grand final spot on the line.

“Our goal is to win next week and go straight into the grand final,” he said.

“Nambucca are really good but we’ll take some confidence out of beating them here a couple of weeks ago, but they are definitely going to be a different beast down home, they have got players back they rested, but we’re very confident in our team.”

By Aiden BURGESS