By Tallon Smith

Collegians have booked their spot in the Illawarra Rugby League Grand Final after recording a 24-6 win over De La Salle in the Major Semi Final at Collegians Sports Stadium on Saturday.

The win is an exact reversal of the result of the last time the two sides played in Caringbah two weeks ago, where De La Salle took the leadership of the competition and eventually the Minor Premiership. 

However, unlike last time, Collegians’ defence held firm under strong pressure from the De La Salle side, setting up the victory and a shot at a rare three-peat, a feat only achieved nine times in the competition’s 112-year history.

Collegians Centre and former Dragons star Charly Runciman said that it felt “good” to progress through to the decider.

“There’s nothing like playing in a Grand Final,” he said.

“They don’t come around often, no matter what level you play at.

“We’ve got a pretty strong bond between the boys and I think that showed last weekend.”

Speaking on the topic of a potential Grand Final opponent, Runciman was equally wary of the threats posed by both De La Salle and Thirroul.

“De La Salle, they’re a good footy side, we’ve played four times, and we’re two all this year,” he said.

“They have a lot of ins and outs each week depending on who they get fed from Newtown and Cronulla.

“They’re all young and full of energy.

“Same thing with Thirroul, they’ve got a few older heads around but it’s always tough coming up against them.”

As a former professional star in both the NRL and Super League, where he played with the Widnes Vikings, Runciman said that he believes the Illawarra Rugby League is one of the strongest local footy competitions going round.

“It has taken a step in the right direction,” he said.

“It’s good to see the competitiveness.

“Everyone’s [each team] in pretty good nick.”

In the Minor Semi Final played earlier in the afternoon, the Thirroul Butchers eliminated last season’s runners-up Western Suburbs with an 18-16 upset win.

Tarje Whitford was the standout performer for the blue and whites, crossing for a double in the victory, whilst Jy Hitchcox scored all three tries for Wests in their losing effort.

The Butchers will now face De La Salle in the Preliminary Final next weekend for the remaining spot in the Grand Final to be held at WIN Stadium on September 2.

Cover Image Credit: Craig Worthington (Collegians Facebook)