After 6 months of close competition in the NSW Super League the 2010 Grand Final in the end went clearly to Northern Tigers 4-0 over a 10-man St George Saints, with a hatrick to 17 year old Max Glanville.

With Premiers and clear competition winners Parramatta Eagles bundled out by the Tigers last weekend it was down to the 2nd and 3rd teams to get their hands on the trophy.

The Saints started well enough with Peter Crevani drawing Stuart Page out under pressure from Rhys Williams to smother a chance in the 3rd minute.

In the 12th minute disaster for the Saints when from a corner from the right by the Tigers the ball was not cleared and Max Glanville lept at it and steered it to the left of Saints 'keeper Daniel Nash for the first goal. 0-1

In the 19th minute it got worse for the Saints when from a Saints attack the ball was played out of defence by the impressive Travis Oughtred and it was won and picked up by Tom Spencer who ran with it down the right and cut inside beating Aram Derakzala. He crossed past the defensive line to the left where Max Glanville was free and the livewire midfielder was in quickly to steer the ball home at the left post. 0-2

Six minutes later Saints' Michael Smith was forced to clear sky-high out of their own box when Glanville's floating cross just evaded a lunging Paul Davies.

In the 38th minute Saints again got forward and this time it was only the timely intervention of Travis Oughtred that blocked a shot from Juan Chavez which was then hit wide by Denis Cutura.

Two minutes later David Smith struck a loose ball 35m from the Tigers goal and it was sailing dangerously to the left of Tigers 'keeper Stuart Page when the custodian got one hand to it and parried it then quickly cleaned up.

Saints had gone down to ten-men just before the break when Adrian Heath was involved in an off-the-ball incident with Park Sung-yun (2nd time in two weeks the big Korean was so impacted) and red cared, so as they re-entered the pitch they needed to find a way through rather quickly.

The Tigers were not content to let them but in the 52nd minute Christian Cevenini headed onto the crossbar after some good pressure from the Saints.

It all turned pear-shaped for the team from the south when in the 63rd minute that man Glanville was unimpeded in the area and was able to bring down a high ball before 'keeper Nash could collect it. The Central Coast Mariners bound youngster turned and slotted it between Nash and the left upright. 0-3

Substitute for Glanville, big striker Luke Tomich broke the off-side trap in the 74th minute, coming from his own half to easily beat a defender to the ball. Alas for the Saints 'keeper Daniel Nash had come well out of his penalty area

Really the Saints were just not looking like scoring let alone bringing the trophy back to Rockdale but at the 80th minute Denis Cutura and Christian Cevanini combined to at least penetrate, however the shot at the end of it went wide.

Just before the end Nash was forced to punch a ball in from Tomich away from his goal-line

The Saints had made both the 1st grade and grade 20 grand finals but had to go away runenrs-up in both. The settled Northern Tigers had won their first Super League Championship (after coming close in 2007) and celebrated with the trophy and lots of fizzing champagne.

(The Northern Tigers squad - Archive photo by Chris Dunkerley for BOTN)