Inside the moment Brothers clinched FNQRL grand final berth

The defending premiers Brothers led 22-18, but the Knights were pushing to find a late try to seal a famous come-from-behind preliminary finals win - or, at least, force extra time.

But an attacking kick from Brothers five-eighth Dantoray Lui which was well-covered by Ivanhoes’ marquee signing and fullback Josh Dugan turned into a nightmare for the former Blues and Australia star.

Dugan looked to have it covered, and with flyer Aggie Gibuma - among the fastest men in the FNQRL - lurking nearby, there was a genuine chance Ivanhoes could go coast to coast to lock it up late.

But the ball just didn’t agree.

In a cruel twist, it rolled between Dugan’s legs, and Lui, who stayed alive on the chase, pounced for his second try of the night to seal a famous win for his beloved club.

“I don’t know how to explain, it’s surreal,” Lui said.

“It’s a good feeling right now to get the win.

“It feels good, but we still have one more to go so I don’t want to get too cocky or complacent.

“One more game to go.”

A clearly disappointed Styles lamented the twist the fate, which put the final nail in his side’s hopes of celebrating a premiership in the club’s centenary season.

“There were a few moments the bounce of the ball didn’t go our way at crucial times, and sometimes in finals it’s all that takes,” Styles said.

For Lui, it capped a night in which he made a key contribution to success.

A seemingly late inclusion to suit up in the No. 6, a move known to both clubs and plenty in the league community before the clash, Lui played his hand perfectly for the defending premiers.

His halves partner and captain-coach Jordan Biondi-Odo said Lui was superb, both with and without the ball.

“He was outstanding in the way he didn’t overplay his hand.

“I spoke to him earlier and said when you get your moments, take them, and he definitely did.

“Defensively he was good, and that’s what I was most impressed by.

“He showed a lot of energy at the right time to ice the game, he was physical to get at them.”

Styles, while disappointed to see his side’s campaign come to a close short of their grand final goal, said the game could have gone either way.

The Ivanhoes coach praised Brothers for their success.

“Brothers deserved that, they were tough, they defended their line four times in the second half,” Styles said.

“They showed true grit.

“They earned it, they go on to Innisfail and good luck to them.”

BROTHERS KEEP DREAM ALIVE

Battered, bruised, but not beaten and now Brothers will prepare for a premiership defence in the FNQRL grand final.

It’s been a wild few weeks for the Brethren who have navigated numerous injuries and suspensions on their way to and through the finals series.

They fought their way past Kangaroos in a tight 22-18 win last week, then faced a minor premiership-winning Ivanhoes side smarting after a major semi final loss to Innisfail.

The Knights have spent this year celebrating their centenary season and were hungry to mark their milestone 100th year with a premiership.

Brothers were hungrier in the face of the challenge, even when a man down for 10 minutes when Ernest Suavai was sent to the sin bin.

Captain-coach Jordan Biondi-Odo, whose kicking game allowed his side to wrest control of the contest in a crucial period, said his side dug deep when it mattered most.

“It’s good, we’ve been asked the past couple of weeks to dig deep in defence and we’re just not making any excuses, we’re getting it done,” Biondi-Odo said. “We were clinical for the first half then the second, we moved away from what was working for us.

“We were a bit too physical and weren’t technically good.”

The defending premiers defended their line for the opening 10 minutes before hooker Adam Hepworth dived over from close range.

Then came one of the tries of the season, with the ball touching 11 different sets of hands before fullback Liam O’Brien crossed in the corner to extend Brothers’ lead.

They jumped out to a 22-6 lead at halftime, and while Ivanhoes started the second stanza well it wasn’t until Suavai was sin-binned that the Knights reduced the deficit.

Wingers Matthew and Aggie Gibuma both crossed in that 10-minute period to get back to 22-18, but it was as close as Ivanhoes got.

Coach Lindsay Styles was a disappointed man after full-time.

“It’s disappointing. We worked hard to get back in to it and just couldn’t get there in the end,” Styles said.

“We didn’t make the most of our opportunities, and they did.

“It was a close game in the end, it could have gone either way. Brothers were better in the little moments and that’s what wins them the game.

“It was frustrating because we weren’t … it was the same story as last week, we were dropping ball at the wrong times, we weren’t building pressure.

“Going into halftime the boys were still up beat. I wouldn’t say confident but we still thought we were in the game.

“We got back within four but couldn’t get the last hurdle. That’s footy, someone’s gotta lose.”

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Brothers will face Innisfail in the grand final on Saturday.

BROTHERS 26 (Lui 2, Hepworth, O’Brien, Suavai tries; Peni 3 goals) def IVANHOES 16 (M Gibuma 2, A Gibuma tries; Dugan 3 goals) at Barlow Park.

matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au

Originally published as Inside the moment Brothers clinched FNQRL grand final berth