2021 Laurie Daley Cup grand final: Central Coast beat Greater Northern 24-14

After sneaking into fourth place and then upsetting the Western Rams in the first week of the finals, the Tigers went desperately close to shocking the undefeated Roosters in the under-18 encounter at HE Laybutt Field in Blackown

However, the Tigers - who dominated large parts of the contest - paid the price for a host of handling errors - a number of them occurring when the underdogs were in good scoring position.

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Post-match, Roosters captain Wiremu Tibbutt said the Tigers were "definitely the best team we've ever played".

Tigers coach Darryl Rando praised his charges for their "huge effort".

"I'm pretty happy with the way they performed today," he said, adding that he could not have asked "for anything more" from the players commitment wise during the competition.

Greater Northern dominated the opening 15 minutes, and were rewarded just before the first drinks break when No 1 and captain Mitchell Henderson - outstanding throughout the match - produced a big left-foot step close to the Roosters' line and crashed over under the posts. The try came on the back of three consecutive sets.

Henderson converted: 6-0.

The Roosters lifted after the drinks break, with second-rower Jye Boyle crashing over from close range in the 21st minute. The try came after three-straight penalties to the Roosters.

Central Coast No 7 Jessi O'Neill-Pethebridge, who fed Boyle the pass that led to his try, added the extras: 6-6.

The Tigers hit back straight away when centre Blake Johnston finished off a slick backline movement - hitting at speed a bullet-like Henderson pass to cross untouched in the 26th minute. Henderson converted: 12-6 to the Tigers.

Greater Northern were the dominant side in the first half, but were disadvantaged by a high error count - a constant theme for them throughout the competition.

And it was a simple handling error that led to Central Coast getting into a good scoring position late in the half and then capitalising on that opportunity when No 9 Tyler Moriarty - the man of the match - scored from a scrum play in the 34th minute, after throwing a dummy and carrying defenders over the line. O'Neill-Pethebridge converted: 12-12 at half-time.

Greater Northern exploded out the blocks after the break, with Henderson taking his game to another level - an impressive feat given how impressive he was in the opening stanza. In the 42nd minute, he want himself close to the line, but was held up.

The Tigers continued to put the Roosters under pressure, with Henderson pulling the strings in attack. In the 43rd minute, the Newcastle Knights signing booted a penalty goal: 14-12 to the Tigers.

In the 52nd minute, Central Coast made Greater Northern pay for another handling error when Boyle scored his second try - after No 1 Beau Newlands injected himself into the backline close to the Tigers' tryline and threw the final pass to the rampaging back-rower, one of the Roosters' best.

O'Neill-Pethebridge converted: 18-12 to the Roosters.

With just over 12 minutes left, the Tigers were reduced to 12 men when interchange player Hayden Bull was given 10 in the bin.

In the 67th minute of the 70-minute encounter, the Roosters wrapped up the contest when Moriarty crashed over for his second try. O'Neill-Pethebridge added the extras: 24-14.

The Roosters also won the earlier under-16 Andrew Johns Cup grand final - defeating the Illawarra South Coast Dragons 14-2.

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