THIS Sunday, 1 September, the Group 2 Rugby League Grand Finals will be played at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium, the culmination of what has been a season of truly entertaining and quality football.

The curtain raiser on the four game card will be the Under 18s, where the Macksville Sea Eagles and the Nambucca Roosters will meet for the season decider.

Last weekend, with the Sea Eagles already through to the big dance, the Roosters took on the South Grafton Rebels at Sawtell to earn their right to fight for Grand Final glory.

Unexpected rain overnight made the playing surface greasy and the ball slippery, impacting handling during the first half.

The Roosters looked dangerous early, having lots of possession and putting pressure on the defence, however some classy try-saving tackles got the Rebels out of trouble.

Nambucca’s Conner Corbett got across the line for the first points of the game after 22 minutes.

Toby Batten then dispatched a difficult conversion to extend the lead.

A couple of sets later Nambucca showed the full extent of their attacking threat.

Sixty metres from the line Batten ran up the middle, leaving two defenders on the ground in his wake.

With support available on both sides, Batten identified Jaxon White coming through at speed to his left.

Drawing in more defenders, Batten then offloaded cleverly to White, who planted it under the posts after an almost clear run to the line.

Batten then kicked a can’t-miss conversion to extend his side’s lead to 12-0.

With minutes left in the half, a Roosters penalty led to Corbett crossing the line for his second try, and another successful conversion from a difficult position for Batten.

The Rebels answered just two minutes later through a try to second rower Izac McConnell, converted by Sam Petch to take the half time score to 18-6.

The second half began with the Roosters coming hard down the middle with Saunders, Langford and Ogilvy able to make great metres.

Wilson Badde ultimately crossed the line for a try, this time not converted, to take the game to 22-6.

The large Rex Hardaker Oval crowd had so far been treated to a relatively cool-headed game until tensions erupted nine minutes into the half, resulting in both sides playing a man down for the next ten minutes.

A careless Rebels penalty in front of the posts gained the Roosters two more points from a penalty conversion, before a solid try by Rebels star Sam Petch showed that they were still in the chase at 24-10.

These were the last points for the game, however the ability of Nambucca’s Cale Ogilvy to slip from the grasp of defenders had Roosters supporters on their feet until the end.

The Roosters will meet Macksville for an all-Nambucca Valley Grand Final at C.ex Coffs International Stadium at Coffs Harbour at 10:30am on 1 September.

By Mick BIRTLES