POWER House is through to the semi finals of rugby union’s Dewar Shield after a remarkable 32-5 win over Harlequin on Saturday.
Harlequin finished third on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season while Power House came sixth. The teams met in the final home-and-away round, when Harlequin won 20-17.
The reversal in the finals a week later means Power House will now meet unbeaten minor premiers Melbourne in the next stage.
Against Harlequin, a Tom Gilbert try in the first 10 minutes to give Power House the best possible start and they led 20-5 at half-time.
They then held Harlequin scoreless in the second half as they ran in another two tries. Coach Paul Hamer said it was an outstanding win for Power House.
“Our workrate, our discipline, our desire to work for each other and our support for the ball-carrier was paramount,” he said.
He said the narrow loss to Harlequin the previous week had helped.
“We knew their strengths and weaknesses and we played to our strengths a lot better than they did,” he said.
He said the Melbourne match would be a huge challenge.
“It’ll be a cracking match,” he said.