Junior Warriors 42
Junior Rabbitohs 28
Two-try hero Elijah Taylor wasn't supposed to be playing for the Junior Warriors yesterday.
After rupturing knee ligaments during pre-season training Taylor, a rising star in the junior ranks, was told by the club's medical staff to forget all about 2010.
Luckily for the Warriors, backed by coach John Ackland's unstinting optimism, he set out to prove that advice wrong, allowing him to step in for injured captain Ben Henry and guide the club to its first grand final success.
"I had other plans," Taylor said. "I knew I was going to come back. Every day this whole year John Ackland said I'd be back for the grand final - no lies.
"I set a lot of goals at the start of the season and then I got hit with the injury and I hadn't achieved any of them. So to do this when they said I wasn't going to play again this season is just awesome."
Taylor is no stranger to misfortune, seeing an NRL debut slip away last season when he was named to face the Titans only to suffer an injury in training.
But yesterday, Taylor was the one offering the words of solace to Henry, who led the side admirably all season only to miss the final with an ankle sprain.
Taylor insisted Henry join him on the stage to accept the trophy after a scintillating victory sealed with three tries in five minutes shortly after halftime.
"Ben did all the hard work for the last 25 rounds. I just felt really gutted for him, especially on Saturday night. He was down. But [yesterday] you could see it meant so much to him. We got that win for him."
Taylor pounced on a pinpoint Shaun Johnson kick to open the scoring in the eighth minute. Siuatonga Likiliki finished strongly to double the lead three minutes later but the Rabbitohs pegged things back with two tries before the break, the first of which was an audacious first tackle kick over wing Elijah Niko.
Taylor struck first in the second half, this time from a Carlos Tuimavave kick. It was the first of a burst of tries that settled the contest.
Newcastle-bound Likiliki, who dedicated his performance to his father, who was unwell in Auckland Hospital, produced the play of the match, beating six tacklers and offloading to fullback Glen Fisiiahi for a spectacular try.
When Johnson chipped and regathered to set up the giant Sam Lousi for his first try of the season, the Warriors had a match-winning 30-10 lead with 20 minutes remaining.
Niko extended the margin with a strong finish and Nafe Seluini also crossed to take the sting out of the strong-finishing Rabbitohs.
Five-eighth Tuimavave, an 18-year-old who still has two more years of eligibility in the junior competition, headed a list of man-of-the-match contenders that would have included Taylor, Johnson and Likiliki.
"I'm speechless," Tuimavave said. "I didn't really expect this award. I thought there were a lot of guys out there who played better than me but I am honoured to accept the award."
Ackland, who coached the club's U19 team to a grand final defeat in 1997, was delighted the club had finally broken through to claim its first title at its fifth attempt.
"It has been a long time coming," Ackland said.
"We've come close a few times in the past but [yesterday] the gods were with us."
