In a torrid physical affair with a high attrition rate for both teams Dungog set up the win with a strong first half, and despite a couple of anxious moments in the second stanza sealed the win with a late try to advance to the preliminary final against Swansea next Saturday at Kurri Kurrri Sportsground.

It was a great day for the Warriors with Dungog’s under 13s claiming the premiership with a thrilling 22-18 against Mallabula at Kurri Kurri.

In the seniors, Dungog were called on to do plenty of defensive work early on with Kotara controlling the ball and spending plenty of time up the Warriors’ end of the field.

But the Warriors kept them out and on one of the few occasions they ventured forward Ash Evans went over in the corner for the game’s first try after great lead up work by Luke Rits and Tim Harlow.

Phil Badior landed the sideline conversion for a 6-0 lead and this was extended when on the back of a couple of penalties Jackson Bell finished of a well executed backline movement to cross in the opposite corner for Badior to once again raise the flags with another superb conversion.

The Warriors were on a roll and when James Foot went over for Dungog’s third try things were looking good – up 16-0 after 30 minutes.

There were a number of suspect tackles and Warriors’ lock Zach Thackeray came off and took no further part in the game after a hard hit.

Feelings were running high on both sides and the referee finally had enough sending the Bears lock to the sin bin just before the break.

Dungogs second-half performance was good enough to get the win but it came mainly from the heart and desire of the players rather than what they did with the ball in hand.

The high turnover of players through injury by the Warriors in the second half made it hard for them to get into any rhythm with the wingers and the fullback for Dungog the only members of the backline not coming off for attention.

Kotara were still sailing close to the wind defensively and the Bears lock found himself in the sinbin for the second time midway through the half.

The Bears pressure finally told and they managed to crack the Dungog defence for two unconverted tries in a matter of minutes.

Looking vulnerable with players out of position, Dungog’s commitment to each other and never say die attitude came to the fore.

They forced the Bears into a couple of handling errors which put them on the attack and frontrower Dave Seers, who was the Warriors best on the day , looked to have scored a try to extend the lead only to be judged to have lost the ball.

But the Warriors weren’t to be denied and Daniel Bates crossed soon after to seal the the win.

Another great win by the Warriors who set up what turned out to be a match winning lead in the first half and then had to overcome plenty of adversity in the second to seal the win.

The further into a semi-final series a team progresses the harder each game becomes and the Warriors will need to be at their best against Swansea on Saturday if they want to progress to the grand final

This Warriors take on Swansea at Kurri Kurri Sportsground this Saturday at 11.40am for a spot in the grand final.

Swansea have been the real surprise packet in this year’s semi-final series defeating Kotara in week one and only losing to minor premiers Carrington in the last couple of minutes last week.

The two sides have only met once this year with Dungog getting the points in a hard fought 24–12 win in round 14.

There were plenty of Dungog supporters at last week’s game which all the players appreciated so get along and support the Mighty Warriors this weekend. Congratulations to the Dungog U13s and their coaches parents and supporters on your grand final win on Saturday

Dungog 20 A Evans, J Bell, J Foot, D Bates tries. P Badior 2 goals

KOTARA 8 2 Tries