By Jamie Parsons

Rankins Springs and Ivanhoe played out a unique game in the Proten Cup men’s preliminary final last Saturday, finishing level after 20 minutes of golden point.

Under current NSWRL rules, Rankins Springs qualify for the Grand Final as they finished higher on the ladder, ending the season in second position compared to Ivanhoe’s fourth.

In the women’s game Barellan bounced back after their first ever competition loss against Ivanhoe last week.

The Narrandera Lizards won in golden point against Rankins Springs the week before to qualify for their third prelim final straight.

It was a tough day out for the Lizards girls though, with Barellan jumping out to an 18-0 lead, eager to set the ship straight and go into next week’s Grand Final in form.

A couple more tries in the second half left the score at 28-0, the same score the two played out in Round 4.

Barellan now qualify for a repeat of the 2023 Grand Final against Ivanhoe, the only team that has beaten them in sixteen games since the start of 2023.

Narrandera drop out after another successful season.

The men’s game was another physical test as is always the case between Ivanhoe and Rankins Springs.

The two teams battled out a 16-all draw in Round 1 this season and fate would have that neither team can score higher than 16 against the other, as eighty minutes of football this time round kept the score the same.

Rankins Springs started on fire, a try to Josh Richards off a dropped Damian Walker bomb had them up 6-0 after their first set, but the Roosters had the better of the rest of the first half, a try from a scrum to Lochyer Brennan and then a short side play by Ethan Harris having them up 10-6 at halftime.

A try shortly after halftime to Jake Whyman had Ivanhoe looking at their third straight Grand Final, but the Dragons fought back with a couple of barge over tries to Jason Cronin and Tom Judd locking the scores.

With 20 minutes of golden point to come, both clubs understood the eventuality if scores were still locked, after rules were confirmed to be the same as current NSWRL rules after the grand final controversy in 2023.

Neither team could get a field goal over and a couple of Ivanhoe breaks near the end had Rankins Springs scrambling to protect the line, but their defence held until the final siren.

With the game unable to go longer it was a bit of an anticlimax, with Ivanhoe understandably a bit hard done by given they are now eliminated without losing.

For both teams it was their fourth draw of the season, with Ivanhoe playing two during the regular season and their minor semi v Barellan going into golden point last week, while Rankins Springs had three during the season and now with 3 wins and four draws, create a very unique stat of qualifying for the Grand Final with more draws than wins.

The competition itself has had a year for draws, with four of the eighteen regular season games ending in draws and now two of the three finals games entering golden point.

Ivanhoe have also had their last three finals games end in golden point, including the grand final last season.

Final Scores

Barellan 28 (Tommy Booth 2, Madison Morris, Monique Higgins, Sophia Kelsey tries; Monique Higgins 4 goals) defeated Narrandera 0

Rankins Springs 16 (Josh Richards, Jason Cronin, Tom Judd tries; Damian Walker 2 goals) defeated Ivanhoe 16 (Lochyer Brennan, Ethan Harris, Jake Whyman tries; Cassidy Evans 1, Tarelle Jones 1 goals)

Grand Final Previews

Narrandera host the Proten Cup Grand Final Day for the first time, with five games played on the day including their Group 20 U16s team playing before their senior team for the first time since 2004. The early games will be Yanco v DPC Leaguetag at 9.30am, Yanco v DPC reserve grade 10.30am & Narrandera v DPC U16s at 12.30pm. The presentation of the Proten Cup annual awards will also begin at 11.40am before the U16s game.

Women’s Grand Final – Ivanhoe v Barellan,  1.30pm

Barellan fired up and were back to their best last week, after the loss they might have needed the week before against the grand final opponents. The Ivanhoe Hens will have their heads high though, full of confidence knowing the Rams are not undefeatable after coming from 12-0 down in the major semi final. Ivanhoe have a long trip ahead to the other side of the competition, while Barellan is just down the road, but belief in one’s self can do wonders. Anyone’s game here.

Previous Grand Finals:

2021 – Goolgowi 20-6 Rankins Springs

2022 – Narrandera 16-0 Goolgowi

2023 – Barellan 16-14 Ivanhoe

Men’s Grand Final – Narrandera v Rankins Springs, 2.30pm

Narrandera have the honour of playing in a home grand final, their third straight since 2022 and fourth Proten Cup grand final overall. Rankins Springs make their third grand final since the competition began, winning both their previous appearances in 2018 & 2021. The Lizards & Dragons have two premierships apiece. In their regular season clash at Ivanhoe, both teams came away with 1 point in one of those pesky draws that have scattered the 2024 season. Narrandera got the better in the major semi though, coming over the top of the Dragons to win 22-12 after being down at halftime. Definite favourites to begin the game, after a long undefeated streak, home ground advantage and two straight competition wins, Narrandera will be odds-on to get the grand final win here. The Dragons may be underdogs but are experienced in grand finals themselves. Either way come down to Narrandera Sportsground on Saturday for a fantastic day of rugby league!

Previous Grand Finals:

2018 – Rankins Springs 16-10 Goolgowi

2019 – Goolgowi 22-6 Narrandera

2021 – Rankins Springs 10-8 Goolgowi

2022 – Narrandera 20-14 Ivanhoe

2023 – Narrandera 20-14 Ivanhoe