The gods of rugby league must have been wearing Cambridge Blue after all three Northlanders involved in Sunday's finals left Telstra Stadium as winners. Dargaville's Sam McKendry started the ball rolling when his Penrith Panthers side overcame Parramatta 19-14 in the Jersey Flegg final. McKendry scored his side's second try and wasrewarded yesterday with the news that he has been selected for the Junior Kiwis for their upcoming test series against an under-19 Australian side. In Sunday's second match, Whangarei's Iwi Hauraki took the field for what may have been his last game for Parramatta, as they inflicted a painful defeat on David Peachey's North Sydney in the Premier League Grand Final. Peachey's side went ahead 15-14 with four minutes remaining after a Joe Williams' drop-goal. But Parramatta's Weller Hauraki crashed over for a try with a minute to go, rescuing the game and a winner's medal for the Eels. Iwi Hauraki is about to enter final negotiations with the Canberra Raiders for a fulltime NRL contract for the 2008 season. When Melbourne Storm massacred Manly in the NRL grand final, Whangarei's Adam Blair was forced to watch the match from the stands. Blair, who has out for much of the back-end of the season with an ankle injury, was named in Storm coach Craig Bellamy's final squad as cover for Ben Cross, but the big prop wasn't needed after Cross was cleared for the game. Still, the win for Melbourne was a fillip for last year's grand final defeat by the Broncos, but Blair will have to wait another year for his next chance to take the field in the final.
