GNFL qualifying final: Chapman Valley off to first grand final since 1992 with win over Northampton

Chapman Valley have put one hand on the crown by booking a trip to their first grand final in 32 years after a qualifying win over Northampton. The arch-rivals clashed on Saturday with the winner earning a one-way trip to the big dance and it was the Royals who prevailed over the Rams 13.8 (86) to 6.15 (51) on Saturday. The inclusions of Kim Schofield and Ringo McKenna proved pivotal for Chapman Valley, who had been missing the cornerstones of their midfield, while Northampton was missing captain Braden Jupp off an injury from their round 17 win. Despite giving up the first goal, Valley’s offence started humming with Tyrone Papertalk Jr driving them forward, kicking three goals in the opening term. The ruck match-up between Ram Flynn Dillon and Royal Daniel Borgogno was a key one heading into the match. Borgogno stood tall all day against one of the league’s top big men in Dillon, taking the win in a centre clearance to find McKenna at the top of the 50, with the Valley captain kicking the goal to close out the quarter. The Royals took a 5.3 (33) to 1.2 (8) advantage into the second quarter and looked to attack early, with McKenna taking the ball on the wing but was smothered by Blake Luxton. Jack McQuie had the ball on the sideline and sent it forward to find Jamie Williams, setting up Northampton’s second major. The Chapman Valley ball use was fluid throughout the second quarter, with the mids putting their eyes down to hit up targets inside 50. Papertalk took a mark in the Valley attack and dished it off to James Mavrick, who went back and finished the job for the Royals. Coming out of the half-time break, Northampton’s match-winners had been limited early but Harry Taylor was able to quickly put on a goal in the third. Kane Simpson booted the ball to the front of the goal and Jayden Schofield was able to soccer the pill and finish the job. Out of the centre stoppage, Kim Schofield laid a big tackle and booted the ball forward to Papertalk, who went back and kicked the Royals’ fourth goal in the term. In the closing term, Northampton found some fight, but the damage had been done and the deficit was too great to come back from. They managed to hold the Royals to just one behind in the final term but couldn’t hit the scoreboard enough to erase the margin. Even with the ball living inside the Northampton forward line, both Kobe Simpson and Jaiden Thompson were big in limiting the pressure from the Rams intimidating forwards. Northampton closed the gap to 35-points, but as the siren blew, Valley took the win and earned their spot in the big dance. Papertalk finished with the game with five majors while veteran and longtime Royal Paul Sorensen had two goals in the win. After the match it was big man Borgogno for the Royals who was named man of the match. The win continues a historic season for Chapman Valley, capping off their minor premiership and now with a shot at breaking their premiership drought. Northampton, who broke their premiership drought last season, get another chance at going back-to-back next week in the preliminary final. The Royals have not seen the final game of the season since they won the flag in 1992, the longest drought in the league by a big margin.