INVERELL will have their fingers in two finals pies this weekend, with the Highlanders’ firsts and seconds both striving for grand final berths.
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The seconds tackle reigning champions Moree in the Tier 1 major semi-final at Narrabri tomorrow while, on Sunday, the firsts will be endeavouring to win through to the Tier 2 decider.
They head to Gunnedah after toppling Barraba 29-22 in the minor semi-final last Sunday.
The win was highlighted by a hat-trick to winger Michael Schneider.
The 22-year-old was electric out wide.
When he wasn’t scoring tries he was setting them up, with the Rams struggling to counter his pace and fleet-footedness.
For his second try he broke through from about half-way and weaved through at least four or five attempted tackles in a scything run.
Sunday was his first taste of finals footy.
“I’ve never played in a final before – it’s all new for me,” he said.
So too is rugby – relatively.
This is only his second year of rugby.
“I played seven years of league (for the Tingha Tigers),” he said.
Craving a bit of a change, he decided to give rugby a crack.
“I just wanted something different, to change it up,” he said.
The Highlanders head into Sunday with momentum after a strong second half to the season.
“It feels like it’s clicking,” Schneider said.
“The team is all gelling well.”
A bit more consistency of personnel has helped that.
The game he felt turned it around for them was, incidentally, their second-round clash against the Rams.
“That was a key game for us,” he said.
“We really wanted to win and that was a big win for us.”
Not so much on the scoreboard but the manner of it.
They had to really dig in and scored with about five minutes to go to win it.
On Sunday they controlled the game pretty well, Schneider said, with the forwards setting a great platform for the backs to attack from.
They found some good space out wide, which is something they’ve been working on – giving the wingers space.
It was Schneider’s first hat-trick for the season and he was pretty happy with his day’s work.
He said they won’t change too much for Sunday, although the Red Devils will present a bit of a different challenge to the Rams.
From their earlier game against them, they are a bit bigger in the forwards. The key will be stopping their forwards getting a roll-on.
The first grade Tier 1 major semi will see long-time rivals Narrabri and Moree matching up for the right to host the grand final.
