The hosts held a far from safe 12-6 half-time lead before scoring two unanswered tries in a somewhat scrappy second half.

Inverell's triumph was all the more meritorious considering captain Brad Hickman was forced to sit out the grand final with a dislocated shoulder.

Hawks five-eighth Nikolas House was named player-of-the-match after a very involved display, although several of his team-mates must also have come into consideration.

The Hawks were on the back foot in the opening stages as the Roosters made a break before Damon Harrison was held up over the tryline. Having withstood the early pressure, Inverell capitalised on an Ashford mistake.

Will McAuliffe fed Luke Hodgson whose superb cut-out pass sent winger Jack Stafford heading for the right corner.

The Hawks paid for scrappy play, and Ashford hit the lead with a converted try as front-rower Layne Fitzgerald scored between the posts as he was swarmed in a tackle.

Inverell hit back quickly as House crossed for a four-pointer, but the conversion attempt bounced off the left upright.

The Roosters turned over possession after they chose not to accept a gift penalty goal, before the Hawks profited from a penalty as Joel Humphreys ran a great line and broke through to score.

Another failed conversion attempt restricted the margin to a converted try, before both sides showed some erratic play leading up to half-time. The Hawks crucially struck first in the second half as Sam Ballinger scored at the posts. A knock-on ruling and a forward pass ruling thwarted the Roosters in the last five minutes, and then back-to-back penalties were followed by Ashford's Brennan Cosgrove being ordered to the sin bin.

Billy Stewart promptly iced the cake as he evaded a last-gasp tackle to score a try before landing a great conversion.