Rusty Pipes on top after a nailbiter

The Rusty Pipes proved they were the top team in the Hedland Touch Association after taking out the grand final in a nailbiting contest that went into extra time at the Marie Marland Reserve last Friday.

The grand final saw Rusty Pipes and Kurrsi face off after both teams stormed into the final dance with six wins apiece, with the sides only having lost three games during the season.

A back-and-forth contest saw both sides battle for the lead in the first half, with the two teams looking for redemption after bowing out in the semi-finals last season.

Shakira Levi scored two tries for Kurrsi while Jonah Levi also made a try to give Kurrsi three points in the first half.

Meanwhile, the Rusty Pipes showed why they came into the final as the favourites with three individual try scorers in the first half, with Emma Battelley, Simon Jenkins, and Jasmin Kilmartin all scoring a try each.

With scores tied at three-all going into the final half, both sides battled it out for the lead but were unable to break away from each other.

Both Kurrsi and Rusty’s defence was on display as neither team could break way from the other, Geary Mataika scored a try for Kurrsi while Ben Battelley responded with a try for the Rusty’s.

When the final siren sounded, both teams were tied on four apiece, taking the game into drop off, with sides losing a player every two minutes until someone scored a try.

The epic-clash continued until there were only three players on each team when the Rusty Pipes Kirsty Kubala scored the winning try.

Kubala was awarded the female best on ground while Jenkins was the male best on ground winner.

The match was refereed by Nick Witham, Phil knight, and Josh Kelly.