Wollongbar-Alstonville beat Ballina 51–27 on the weekend to book a place in the Far North Caost rugby union grand final.
Ballina had the wind to their backs in the first half at Crozier Park in Lismore and went to the break leading 20–19.
‘We needed a few more points on the board before we turned to run into the wind,’ coach Chris Hickey said.
‘We left some points in the park in the first half,’ he said.
‘Obviously Wollongbar are a good side; all credit to them – they played very well.’
The loss for Ballina Rugby’s top side ends their season, but the reserve team went some way to settling the score by beating their Wollongbar opponents 31–27.
The first-grade results sets up a repeat of last year’s grand final and sees the Wollongbar-Alstonville Pioneers take on Byron Bay at Crozier Park on Saturday 10 in Lismore.
Byron are looking to reverse last year’s result and take out their first premiership in history.
First Grade Card:
Wollongbar-Alstonville 51 (Ben Damen, Matthew Wright, Bill Johnston, Matt Nean, Simon Perkins, Luke Baker, Reece Brown tries, Ben Damen 4, Bill Johnston conversions, Sam Kerry penalty goal, Ben Damen drop goal) d Ballina 27 (Mitch Knight, Joel Staude, Kye Spence, Jake Smith tries, Grant Knight 2 conversions, penalty goal).
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