DORCOL CLINCHED TENTH CHAMPIONS TITLE

18 Sep 2011

Adam Nedic’s five-try performance earned him the man-of-the-match award in Serbian Rugby League Grand Final on Saturday. Dorcol defeated Car Lazar 74-6 (halftime: 28-0) to complete a  decade-long title winning streak. Dorcol, the only ever-present side since the re-establishment of the code in Serbia, won their tenth grand final, while Kruševac-based Car Lazar failed to win their first one. The Belgrade club finished another perfect season in front of their home crowd of around 400 at FK Dorcol Stadium.

Fullback Vladan Kikanovic collected 26 points (2 tries and 9 goals), but Adam Nedic made the greatest impression. The 19-year-old stand-off was the mastermind behind everything the champions created from the moment injury meant that the game was over for Dorcol’s influental captain Dalibor Vukanovic (pictured) in 20th minute. However, Vukanovic had scored a try and a goal during his short presence. Petar Pavlovic and Nikša Unkovic, Goran Jankuloski and Stefan Nikoliic all scored tries before Vuk Tvrdišic closed the scoring in the seconds before the final whistle. The visitors were threatening and almost touched down on several occasions, but only winger Aleksandar Jovanovic crossed over the line in mid-second half.

Serbian national head coach and Dorcol boss Marko Jankovic said: "We had some issues with player unavailabity before the match, but the final score reveals that we were not affected. I’m satisfied how the team reacted to the fact that we couldn’t count on some important players and without our captain during major part of the game. From our supporters’ point of view, we were always big favourites, no matter if we were at full strength or not, and we had an obligation to perform at our usual level. We will have a short celebration tonight and then turn to the defence of another trophy, Serbian Cup. "