Star were top qualifiers after the round-robin phase and had beaten POB comfortably twice during the season, but the defending champions were peaking at the right end of the season and went very close to earning back-to-back titles in front of a big crowd.
Pirates Old Boys had the better of the first five minutes, and first five Greg Dyer kicked an early penalty.
Star then began to look the more formidable team through the power of loose forwards Semisi Tupou-Ta’aeiloa and captain Jordan Stewart, while winger Ritchie Kuresa was hitting hard in defence and busting through tackles with the ball in hand.
Star loosehead prop Jack Sexton scored the game’s first try after 12 minutes but POB were far from intimidated and worked themselves back into territory. After multiple attempts at getting across the line, POB had to settle for another penalty after 23 minutes.
Hooker Josh Harwood and loose forwards Dusty Coveney and Hayden Hegarty continued to carry the ball fearlessly into some solid defence, and POB were rewarded just before halftime when lock forward Anton Schroder scored beside the posts. The try went unconverted and the lead was 11-5.
Star coaches Brayden Mitchell, Greg Pleasants-Tate, Mark McHugh and Callum Rutledge gave their players the right instructions on how to dominate the start of the second half, and after a relentless seven minutes, centre Jonny Vaili scored in the corner.
Stags captain Josh Bekhuis had the Star lineout and scrum operating well, while fullback Cole Spinks was also proving a handful for the defence.
With 25 minutes remaining, Japanese fullback Kouta Oyabu made an elusive run towards the line, which led to replacement Ben Keenan scoring a converted try to put POB in front 18-10.
Star hit back with a try to replacement hooker Kaya Symon on the back of a lineout drive. They marched straight back on to attack and their impressive ball retention enabled Vaili to put winger Hughan Sharp over in the corner.
Star held their 22-18 lead for the remaining 18 minutes in front of a thoroughly entertained crowd.
Hard-hitting captain Jordan Stewart was a standout in his 100th game for Star, as was No 8 Tupou-Ta’aeiloa, who never stopped working through the 80 minutes. Hooker Jayden Henderson also added plenty of energy.
Pirates Old Boys’ forwards were up for the fight and well led by Jakob Harrex and Hayden Hegarty. The halves pairing of Josh Murell and Dyer always looked skilful and dangerous on attack, and centre Jaye Thompson was another constant threat.
The Star women’s team also won their final on Saturday, beating Albion 27-17 in the curtain-raiser.
— John Langford
