Mandurah Pirates find positives despite grand final losses

Pirates president Kevin Williams said there was a bunch of positives to take away from the year, particularly in the A-grade who were forced to fight their way back into contention.

“Obviously we wish the results had gone our way but overall we’re really proud of how the guys went about their entire 2017 seasons,” he said.

“In the A-grade even making the grand final was an outcome we didn’t think was a prospect halfway through the year, but for the guys to turn things around is a huge credit to them.

“We have quite a young side so for them to respond to all the challenges and play on the final day is a real plus.

“In the B-grade we finished the regular season with just one loss, and unfortunately didn’t play that well on grand final day, but we certainly won’t judge our entire year on just one game.”

It was a heart-breaking loss for the Pirates’ B-grade side, who went down by just a single point after rampaging back into the game in the second half.

Southern Lions started with the hot hand but Mandurah launched an assault with just 15 minutes remaining.

The side was able to scramble back into the thick of things, but a miss on a difficult conversion saw them finish a point behind.

The A-grade put in a spirited fight but were unable to topple a prolific Southern Lions outfit, which was undefeated on the season.

But despite the losses, Williams said the grand final appearances reflected the strength of rugby in Mandurah.

“A lot of our players had come through our juniors so I think that shows we have pretty good programs in place,” he said.

“Overall I think the sport is quite strong in the area and we’re always looking to get more juniors involved.”

This year’s grand finals marked the first time they had been held outside of the UWA grounds, with Mandurah hosting the day.

Williams said the club received plenty of strong feedback from both Rugby WA and visiting clubs, specifically about the outstanding facilities in Meadow Springs.