Sport
14 September, 2026
Lions secure spot in grand final
The Mittagong Lions have secured the final spot in this year’s Macarthur Rugby League reserve grade grand final with a solid win over minor premiers Camden in Saturday’s preliminary final in Campbelltown.
The Mittagong Lions have secured the final spot in this year’s Macarthur Rugby League reserve grade grand final with a solid win over minor premiers Camden in Saturday’s preliminary final in Campbelltown.
The Lions defeated the Rams 28-14 in warm conditions at Campbelltown’s Waminda Oval for a shot at this year’s premiership.
They will come up against the Oakdale Workers on Saturday at Campbelltown Sports Stadium for a shot at this year’s title.
The news wasn’t so good for Oakdale’s first grade side, who went down 30-22 to the Campbelltown Collegians in front of a very vocal Campbelltown home crowd.
Campbelltown will now meet the Camden Rams in this year’s grand final.
Camden ended Narellen’s premiership hopes with a 36-6 win in the Under 18s Gold preliminary final and will now meet The Oaks Tigers in Saturday’s decider.
The Mittagong Lions looked in real trouble in the early stages of Saturday’s game and found themselves trailing 10-0 within the first few minutes.
However, the Lions hit back with some spirited attack to equal the scores at 10-all.
They made the most of some gaps in the Rams’ defence after two Camden players were sin binned and went into the half-time break with an 18-10 lead.
Camden scored early in the second half but the Lions responded with another two tries of their own for the 28-14 win.
Coach Matt Fenn described it as a “great win” but acknowledged the Lions were slow to get started.
It’s not a mistake they can afford to make in Saturday’s grand final or it could destroy their premiership hopes.
“We can’t start slow next week or it (the score) will blow out,” he said.
Fenn attributed Saturday’s win to improved ball control and a decision to speed up the Lions’ game.
He said everyone had played well across the field but named front-rower Brennan Bayliss as the standout.
Fenn said team morale was running high after two come-from-behind wins in a row and he is confident the Lions have a chance of winning their first reserve grade premiership since 2017.
He said there was a good range of ages in the team including a number of “older heads” with first grade and big game experience.
“I don’t think the pressure will get to anyone,” he told The Southern Wire shortly after Saturday’s preliminary final.
The team will hold two training sessions this week and will run through all the usual drills – although Fenn said the intensity would be stepped up.
Oakdale and Campbelltown both scored two tries each in the first half of Saturday’s first grade grand final for the scores to be locked at 10-all at half time.
Campbelltown added two more tries in the opening stages of the second half before The Workers responded with a converted try to keep a victory within reach at 22-14 with approximately 17 minutes left on the clock.
It wasn’t to be.
Campbelltown scored a penalty goal and added another converted try to put the outcome practically beyond doubt at 30-16 with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
The Workers continued to apply pressure until the end and were awarded with a late try with approximately seven minutes to go.
A successful conversion took the final score to 30-22.
The Narellan Under 18s were simply outclassed by Camden on the day and were kept scoreless until the last two minutes of the game.
One Narellan player was overheard after the game saying the Camden line was “like a brick wall”.
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Read More: Mittagong, Camden, Campbelltown