Two tries in three minutes before half time set up Gilgandra under 16s for a magnificent 16-6 victory over St John's in front of a big crowd at Apex Oval on Saturday night. The young Panthers did everything they needed to do to claim the honours with fewer mistakes than St John's. They tackled with more enthusiasm and put St John's on the deck and then when the home side had the ball a big tally of mistakes proved costly. A try by each side in the opening 20 minutes shared the spoils and at both ends of the field promising chances came and went. But when Gilgandra second-rower Luke Browne surged over the line for a great individual try at the 22 minute mark and Sam Mullholland converted, the Panthers led 12-6. Panthers lost the ball on the restart but St John's lost a lot of their impact when one of their best players, prop Cameron Winters dislocated a finger and when he was taken to hospital, his side's chances all but disappeared. To make the situation worse, immediately after the Panthers made easy ground and with the defence struggling to regroup with Winters absent, fullback Jake Coxsedge scored. The conversion had them looking good at 18-6. The second half was a real test of courage for all players and the tension was obvious when St John's five-eighth play maker and captain Lawrence Fogg was banished to the sin bin for arguing with the referee. To make matters worse St John's fullback Chris Jones lost the ball over the try line under the posts and another chance went missing. A feature for Gilgandra was their scrambling defence. They had three and four players in most of their tackles and that barrage of commitment stopped short a number of promising raids by St John's. Simply, the Panthers did the simple things right and it paid dividends for them. Man of the match prop Aiden Day had a great game and he was assisted by all the forwards. In the backs centres Nathan Toole and Jesse Burrell finished ahead of their opposites. The Saints were courageous in defeat with halves Fogg and Ryan Marlin dangerous and forwards Zach Bohan and Cameron Winters their best. Both coaches, Steve Easman (Gilgandra) and Sean Barker (St John's) have done a great job with these boys who showed outstanding skills and commitment. o In the under 15s grand final, minor premiers St John's won 26-14 with two of their five tries coming when Wellington lock Jordan Stanley spent 10 minutes in the sin bin midway through the second half. Stanley came back and scored a try to bring Wellington back to 20-14 with 10 minutes left but Travis Wheatley's try wrapped up the premiership for the Mick Bird coached St John's. Lock Lionel O'Malley's strong running was a feature for the winners and a deserved man of the match award. Half-back Adam Coote and second-rower Grant Kemp were terrific for St John's while centre Ethan Ryan, five-eighth Paul Cornish and Aiden Ryan in the forwards were best for Wellington. Under 16s: Gilgandra 18 (Nathan Toole, Luke Browne, Jake Coxsedge tries, Sam Mulholland 3 goals) def St John's 6 (Lawrence Fogg try, goal).