Heartbreak for Kiama in final

GREAT game " shame there had to be a loser. That was sentiment after Shamrocks and Kiama played a thrilling grand final at WIN Stadium on Saturday.

The Shamrocks scored a nailbiting 27-25 win but had to wait until after the fulltime siren to make sure of their victory.

Kiama set up a rolling maul 25 yards out from Shamrocks' line as fulltime sounded and drove forward, seeking a match-winning try.

Kiama won and lost, an advantage as they drove towards the line, robbing them of the chance to win.

The black and whites trailed 22-13 at halftime before a brawl in the 49th minute saw Adam Weir and Shamrocks' Daniel Porra receive yellow cards.

Shamrocks settled first after the disruption, with a try to lead 27-13.

From there it was all Kiama, with Adam Weir crossing untouched to trim the margin to 27-18.

With three minutes remaining Kiama's Scott Duncan scored out wide to trim the margin to 27-23. Adam Weir made no mistake with the conversion, setting up a grandstand finish.

Kiama coach Peter Asquith said the grand final was a great game, but was miffed by the finish.

"At the end we could have had a penalty but they (Shamrocks) defended like champions," Asquith said.