It was a grand final for the ages, but it was never meant to be that way.

The Blues were heavy favourites heading in against an inexperienced Robb side.

But Robb battled till the death and looked like they might steal an unlikely grand final win at times in the second half.

Blues coach Anthony McMillan said he never believed the talk his side would blow Robb away in the grand final.

“The students always come out full of energy,” he said.

“They didn’t finish second on the table by luck.

“It got a little bit nervy there for a while.

“I’d rather win that way than win by 40.”

Robb fell to the Blues all three times they met during the home and away season, but were battling injuries and player availabilities heading into those matches.

“Both sides were at full strength this time,” McMillan said.

“It made for a great grand final.”

Blues fly-half Josh Croft missed a golden opportunity to give his side s 3-nil lead early on when he missed an easy penalty attempt in the second minute.

It only took another five minutes for the Blues to register the points when John Roberts crossed after fullback Dan Ah See broke through the line and Croft added the extras to give his side a 7-nil lead.

That became 10-nil in the 26th minute when Croft made no mistake of a penalty attempt.

Robb had a close range penalty opportunity two minutes later, but declined it and were rewarded with a try to Will Archer in the 31st minute.

Croft nutted one more penalty before half time to give his side a 13-5 lead going into the break. The second half was a brutal affair with bruising defence from both sides.

Paddy Ward broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when he swooped on a loose ball, but the conversion from almost in front was waved away to leave Robb trailing 13-10.

Blues number eight Mike Te Moana sealed the win inside the final three minutes when he dived over from close range.

Te Moana was excellent for the Blues with ball in hand and troubled the students all day.

“He was playing with a bit of a niggle too,” McMillan said. 

“He’s that sort of footballer that he knows what he has to do and when he has to do it.”

Roberts was the other standout for the Blues.

“He is one of the most damaging ball runners in the comp,” McMillan said of Roberts.

“You’ve got to get the ball in his hands.”