Seattle followed up that score with another try when they threw a short lineout to scrum-half J.P. Smith who slipped through the Legion defense and into the in-goal in the 32nd minute. Staller’s conversion put the Legion in a 14-6 hole heading into the half, but San Diego wasn’t done yet.
“The half time message was simple.” said coach Rob Hoadley, “We had played an outstanding first 20 minutes of the game, dominating possession, territory and scoring opportunities. After 20 mins we missed two regulation tackles on 1st phase to allow tries. Although we were behind on the score board, we felt that we had the capacity to choose our response to that. We responded well by winning the second half 17-5 until the last play of the game. All credit to Seattle for the final play.”After the half, it was the Legion that came out on the front foot. After applying pressure early, San Diego was rewarded for their hard work when J.P. du Plessis broke through the Seattle defense and passed to Jasa Veremalua. Veremalua spun the ball out wide to wing Nick Boyer who dotted the ball down in the corner. Pietersen nailed the tough conversion to cut Seattle’s lead to just one point in the 52nd minute and into the 60-minute hydration break.Seattle found a way to regain possession and capitalized on a San Diego penalty late in the match. After kicking to touch down in the Legion’s red zone, the match would ultimately come down to the result of one lineout. The Seawolves secured the lineout and established a 13-man rolling maul that proved to be too much for the Legion defense. Brad Tucker scored the try, Staller hit the conversion, and the Seawolves walked off the pitch as back-to-back MLR champions.
“A final isn’t about where you’re heading, it is about where you are now. We felt we had all the tools to win the final, but ultimately came up short. What this does do for the future is add fuel to our fire of our motivation.” Hoadley said. “Congratulations to Seattle who have done an incredible job over the past two seasons. They have set the standards we must aspire to next season.”
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SCORING
San Diego Legion
Tries: Nick Boyer, Jordan Manihera
Conversions: Joe Pietersen (2/2)
Penalty Goals: Joe Pietersen (2/2)
Drop Goals: Joe Pietersen (1/2)
Seattle Seawolves
Tries: Stephan Coetzee, J.P. Smith, Riekert Hattingh, Brad Tucker
Conversions: Brock Staller (3/4)
Penalty Goals: N/A
Drop Goals: N/A
