The young squad were underdogs in the game against the reigning premiers, Forster-Tuncurry, at the Port Macquarie Regional Stadium.

The Hawks went on the attack from the start and camped in Wingham territory for the first quarter of an hour.

But the Tigers’ defence held firm.

Wingham got some field position and Nick Beacham was able to score near the posts.

Trent Grofos added the extra points for a 6-0 lead.

Ten minutes before halftime, a chip and chase led to a try by the Hawks, levelling the score 6-6.

Just before the break, it looked as if Wingham went ahead when Jesse Pietrzak put the ball down in the corner, but the final pass was ruled forward.

Forster-Tuncurry went on the attack early in the second stanza after a penalty. The dummy half dived over to score a soft try to put the Hawks ahead 10-6.

Again the Tigers came back. At the 10-minute mark, Tim Watson scored from dummy half to level the scores at 10-10. The conversion attempt by Grofos hit the post and bounced back.

Midway through the section, the Hawks were awarded a controversial penalty 30 metres out, after a Forster player was called to play the ball, then continued to run forward and was tackled by a Tigers’ defender. It could easily have been a Wingham penalty.

But the kick for goal was successful and the premiers led by 12-10.

With 12 minutes left on the clock, a penalty was given to the Tigers 30 metres out, and a Forster player sent to the sin-bin. Wingham took the tap, hoping to capitalise on their numeric advantage. The Hawks repelled the Tigers and held on to score a 12-10 victory and move into the grand final against Port City.

The young Tigers were the better team on the day and were unlucky not to be in the season decider.