But MacMillan might have nominated the coach, saying as he walked triumphantly from the field the result was a tribute to Sullivan in drawing the side together and keeping players to a twice-weekly training regime, when others clearly struggled.
The competition lost three of its seven teams at an early stage, leaving the other four to jockey only for the semi-final playing order, and MacMillan said: "We were a lot fitter than the other teams. That's down to Wallace's training. Ultimately, the game proved to have been won with tries to hooker Matt Hill and Culshaw in the first half-hour, both converted by lanky standoff David Neilson, creating a 12-0 lead at halftime, in front of a scattered crowd of about 400 people.
The margin was extended when Neilson added another two points to a try by McEntee eight minutes after the break.
Omahu, a stalwart club bolstered with a small number of players from folded Hastings and former regular title contenders Tamatea, and including such Unicorns as Richard Eagle and Richard Gillies, had kept within range with some good defence, and bounced-back with their only try, to centre Shane Tipu, converted by Chas Nuku.
But the hopes ended in the last 10 minutes, Omahu a man-down through a player suspension and the Panthers completing the scoring with a try two minutes from the end to fullback Matt Murtha.
Beaten 40-10 by Outkast in last year's final, Panthers had a bye and a win by default to open the 2014 season, and lost once in their seven played matches, a 32-28 defeat by Omahu in round-robin play.
They substantiated their claims with big wins over Omahu and Outkast in the two matches leading into the final.
Earlier, Kahuranaki had their first grand final win, claiming Reserve grade honours with a 32-26 win over Outkast Sports, who came back after a 26-8 halftime deficit to seriously push for the top prize.
Tamatea scored a fifth consecutive women's title by beating Omahu Huia 40-10, after it had been 16-10 at halftime.
