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Brothers will meet Easts in next Sunday's Trinity Premier Rugby Grand Final at Ballymore after surviving being two men down to beat Sunnybank 36-27 in the Preliminary Final.

Brothers ran out to a 19-0 lead against a disjointed Sunnybank, before losing first wing Anthony Sauer (repeated team infringements) and then fullback Damon Murphy (dangerous tackle) to yellow cards within minutes of each other.

Sunnybank piled on 22 unanswered points from the time Sauer went to the sinbin until he returned, and at one stage led Brothers 27-19, with seemingly unstoppable momentum.

But stop them Brothers did, Sauer making amends by squeezing in for a try in the corner and then a determined run that led to the decider.
 
Sunnybank was a less assured team than last week, after losing inside centre Ben Lucas during the week to a knee injury, and Brothers were more focused and determined than against Easts a week ago.

Brothers were harder on the ball at the breakdown and with good possession were able to fully test the reorganised Sunnybank midfield.

Head Coach Rob Murdoch paid tribute to the way his team came back to win, knowing how close they had come to disaster.

"It was just guts, mate," Murdoch said.

"You don't want to give any points away (to Sunnybank). As soon as they get on a roll they're really dangerous."

Sunnybank coach Roy Sanders refused to use the loss of Lucas as an excuse.

"We didn't play the game plan. We gave them opportunities by turning it over," Saunders said.

"No doubt it (the withdrawal of Lucas) disrupted the team but we had the personnel to overcome that.

"We failed to keep up to the speed of the game and played into their hands."

Brothers' first try came with Sunnybank on attack when Brothers' hooker Adam Bennie snaffled an intercept and made 10m before being run down.

Brothers maintained possession and kept the momentum going until scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin found flyhalf Dallan Murphy with a lobbed overhead pass for the opening try.

McKibbin was in the action again at the 20 minute mark, scooping up a loose ball and staying on his feet long enough until help arrived in the form of Sauer, who ran 55m to score in the corner.

Croft scored Brothers' third try 12 minutes from halftime when a weaving break by fullback Murphy set up a perod of sustained pressure which eventually drained the Dragons of defensive numbers.

Sunnybank finally got into the game with six minutes of the half remaining when, with Sauer in the sinbin for repeated team infringements, the Dragons moved the ball wide for fullback John Dart to score.

Brothers lost Damon Murphy to the bin just three minutes later when a break by sharp stepping replacement centre Richard Kingi resulted in Sunnybank's second try. Murphy dived on Kingi after the try had been scored, apparently out of frustration, sparking a tussle between players.

Referee Geoff Acton conferred with his Assistants before reaching for the yellow card in his pocket to bin Murphy for a dangerous tackle.

Despite being two players down, Brothers managed to avoid any further damage to lead 19-12 at halftime.

However they couldn't hold out the dangerous Sunnybank attack forever, and the second half was less than two minutes old when QR Reds centre Charlie Fetoai crossed for a try under the posts, with Ben Gollings converting to tie the scores.

A Gollings penalty put the Dragons' noses in front for the first time in the match before Brothers returned to full strength.

Brothers passed up a penalty in front of the posts to attack the line but Sunnybank's defence proved up to the task.

QR Reds wing Digby Ioane extended Sunnybank's lead with a try, but Gollings failed to convert, keeping Brothers within striking distance. McKibbin narrowed that further with a penalty, making the scores 27-22 with 16 minutes remaining.

Sauer's second try in the corner was sparked by a solid midfield tackle by Brothers' centre James Harvey that led to a turnover. McKibbin converted with a superb pressure kick to put Brothers back into the lead with 13 minutes to go.

Flyhalf Dallan Murphy scored the decider after a sensational run by Sauer, who carried defenders on his back for almost 20m - aided by Croft - before finally being brought to ground.

Brothers 36 (Anthony Sauer 2, Dallan Murphy 2, David Croft tries Brendan McKibbin 4 con, pen) d Sunnybank 27 (John Dart, Digby Ioane, Charlie Fetoai, Richard Kingi tries, Ben Gollings 2 con, pen)

Additional reporting by Evan Shay