A big crowd turned out at the North Ipswich Reserve to see the local rivals battle it out for city supremacy and the on field entertainment did not disappoint.
Norths set the tone for an entertaining game when they opened the scoring through Anava Fesolai in the eight minute of the match.
Only five minutes later Norths five-eighth Josh Roberts sliced through Brothers defence before setting up his fullback Andrew Campbell for a brilliant try.
An early 12-nil lead on a hot day was a dream start for the Tigers but Brothers were not going to go down without a fight.
A grubber kick into Norths in-goal led to a try to Brothers winger Shane Picker in the 19thminute and only four minutes later Elijah Umu ran a perfect line to get Brothers within two points of Norths.
The Brethren went close to scoring again in the 31st minute but desperate Norths defence forced a Brothers error just short of the try-line.
Brothers were penalised in the 34th minute and in the next set Tigers’ halfback Ritchie Lowe threw a perfect pass to Brent Newton who scored to extend Norths’ lead to 18-10.
Just four minutes into the second-half Brad Oddi crashed over for Norths as things started to look good for the Tigers.
A short-side play in the 52nd minute saw Tigers centre Tonga Mounga grab a great offload to score again for Norths.
Brothers looked to be in real trouble in the 55th minute when Norths five-eighth Josh Roberts got the ball 15 metres from Brothers’ try line before he dummied, stepped, ran to the blindside before straightening up and scoring to extend Norths’ lead to 36-10.
When Norths were penalised in the 65th minute it gave Brothers prime attacking position.
The Brethren made the most of it when Damien West scored under the posts as the Brothers fans at the southern end of the ground were given hope of a comeback.
Norths were quick to end the hopes of the Brothers faithful when a perfect pass from Ritchie Lowe found Jarrod Biggs who sprinted through a hole in the Brothers defensive line to score and give Norths a match-winning 42-16 lead.
When the final whistle was blown to signal the end of the season the northern end of the North Ipswich Reserve erupted with celebration from the Norths fans who had occupied the area for most of the day.
The Tigers fans who had been waiting since 1995 for an A-grade premiership jumped the fence to celebrate with their players.
It had been a long wait but with a 42-16 win over Brothers, the Tigers were finally taking the Ipswich Rugby League premiership trophy back to North Ipswich.
Grand Final Results
Mayor Paul Pisasale A-Grade Cup – Norths defeated Brothers 42-16
Whitehead Studios Reserve Grade Cup – Goodna defeated Brothers 28-20
Boettcher Realty Under 19 Cup – Swifts defeated Goodna 44-20
