Nally or Hall? Who was going to take back Galbraith Shield 2001 back to clubrooms....

Murray Brown - Coach for Eastern Hawkes

I found this newspaper when I was shifting, and thought it was interesting in the fact that Eastern Hawkes had managed to make it to the final - being such a young club.
Eastern Hawkes were the first deciders of the finals by beating Mataura, the fourth qualifier.
Marist then went on to beat the top qualifiers - Woodlands - in extra time.
The Murray Brown coached side of Eastern Hawkes looked to their old campaigners in Brendon Timmins, Steve Jackson and Stu Harvey.  Marist were  depending heavily on their midfield of Tere Ngu and Hayden Martine, who were the best combination in the competition. 

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Looking for 5th Galbraith Shield win....
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Allan Frew - Coach - Marist

Marist was looking for their 5th shield win in 2001 - as it had been 22 years of drought for the club - since 1979.  The club was formed in 1920 and had to wait until 1940 for their first taste of the shield under the coach of Herb Grace.  The team had Southland players in Jack Newell, (Roger Newell's (Woodlands) grandfather).  Pat Grace, Leo Connelly and Jack McRae.
  
A member of the 1940 team and coach of the 1948 team, Noel Forde had one of the most powerful club teams ever.  That year they had ten players that donned the Southland jersey; Bill McCaw, Pat Griffin, Bert Crooks, Jack Newell, Jack Prenderville, Fred Ward, Les Ward and Pat Creedy - along with those previously mentioned.
 
1957 was another great year for Marist with the likes of Hughie O'Neill, Arthur Daly, Jimmy Ward, Brian O'Neill - side coached by Bill McCaw.
Another player from this era to find glory was Bert Crooks with the 1979 side.  It was incredible that this team actually made it all the way to the final - without a goal kicker.  They managed to beat Invercargill 11-7 in a heart stopping game with both sides missing vital opportunities.  Marist used three kickers and landed just one penalty from 11 attempts.  Some of the players from that team were Steve Heffernan, Peter Hughes, Murray Ukich, Garry Bennetts and Paddy O'Brien.

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A long time waiting......

It had been a long road to reach this final after the disappointing relegation to Division one at the end of the 1996 season.  Marist lost their first round to Eastern Hawkes by 7 points.  Allan Frew had been working on ensuring Marist had an exciting and attacking style of play - compared to years ago where Marist were known for the hard graft in the forwards.  Although the tight five of Brendan Nally, Jeremy Winders, Iona Sipa, Hoani McDonald and Kevin Silcock were powerful it was the midfield that got them the most important bonus points.  It was great to the see the hard nosed supporters finally getting something to cheer about.

Marist Rugby Team 2001 - Invercargill