It can be daunting, to say the least, when you’re playing against the bigger, more cashed-up towns like Sawtell, Coffs, Grafton, and Russell Crowe’s darlings, Orara Valley, who can afford to pick and choose players at will.

But the Sea Eagles have always maintained their family club ethos, and this year they’ve played to their strengths by focussing on drumming up passion for the game and the club in their players.

For their entire season, the first grade Sea Eagles have flown under the radar; noone in Group 2 expected the fifth-placed team to make it through the semi-finals.

So it must be incredibly gratifying to be sending not just the under 18s (who took out the minor premiership) but also the first grade fellas to the grand finals this Sunday in Coffs to do some damage.

Yesterday afternoon the young Sea Eagles team scared the pants off the Ghosts, knocking the minor premiers into an early Mad Monday with a final scoreline of 19 to 12.

The first 20 minutes proved just how much both teams wanted the win with no score on the board until a Grafton penalty got the game rolling.

While the Ghosts got the first points of the game, it was a testament to Macksville’s devastating defence that Grafton, with a gale at their backs, decided to kick for penalty rather than try to break the Sea Eagles line.

The Ghosts couldn’t hold the advantage for long – not with the might of Macksville’s five-eighth, Cameron Blair, in the mix.

“He carried three or four blokes across the line with him to score the first try of the game,” Paul ‘Fatty’ Ireland said.

Jack Ireland converted, and soon after took an intercept, streaking down the field in a 40 metre sprint which manifested in Damien Carriage scoring the Sea Eagle’s second in between the posts on the next play.

Ireland easily put the conversion away again, putting Macksville in a 12-2 lead at half time.

But the Eagles weren’t counting their chickens yet.

“We went into the second half pretty wary, you could say. The Ghosts have got strike power right across the field, and the likes of Danny Wicks, who played in the NRL a few years ago and has more skill than anyone else across the board,” Fatty said.

And Macksville were right to keep their wits about them after a break from 40 metres out led the Ghosts to their first try and subsequent conversion.

They had momentum, and if it wasn’t for Tyler Blair, who ran down a pair of breakaway Ghosts and pushed the play out towards the sideline, Grafton would have seen their second try of the match converted too.

The game was tied a dozen apiece with eight minutes to go.

Joe Borg made a break down the sideline, but the Ghosts star prop, Danny Wicks, ran down the smaller Macksville player to put an end to that play.

In the dying minutes Kaji Buchanan made a spectacular run, offloading the ball to Daneil Donovan who barged his way through a pack of defenders and secured Macksville’s third try under the posts, which Andrew Blair put away for another two.

Cameron Blair sealed the deal for Macksville, slotting a field goal through before the buzzer.

As one of the youngest teams in the grade, and with a stellar U18s team this year who will start to filter into the opens from next year, it’s pretty clear that our northerly neighbours won’t be underestimating the mighty Macksville Sea Eagles again.

All grand final games will be played this Sunday, August 26, at Geoff King Sports Ground in Coffs Harbour. The U18s will have their shot at victory from around midday.

The Nambucca Roosters Reggies have also had a blinder of a finals run to forge their way into the grand finals this Sunday too, which will be played against Sawtell after the U18s game.

“We’ll be there to support the Roosters, because at the end of the day, we’re all Nambucca Valley,” Fatty said.

And then the big boys will get their run as the Sea Eagles take on the home team in a game you won’t want to miss.

Keep an eye on the Macksville Rugby League Football Club Facebook page for all the details on supporters buses heading up to the game, and any celebrations after.

And swoop you mighty birds, swoop!