A great win for the Boars.
A great win for the Boars.
They claimed the premiership title in the club’s inaugural season in the C-Grade competition.
The match began at a frenetic pace with both sets of forwards charging into each other like men possessed as they sought to gain ascendancy in the all important ruck area.
During one such brutal encounter, a Dalby attacker ran headlong into the waiting arms of the feared Morris Brothers, Wayne and Damien, and such was the impact of the tackle that the Dalby forward entered an advanced state of discombobulation that warranted urgent attention from the medical staff.
The big, mobile Gundy forwards soon had a roll-on and created several scoring opportunities for their backs in the opening exchanges but to the dismay of the large contingent of Boars supporters at the ground, these chances went begging as final passes went to ground instead of over the try-line.
In the 10th minute Goondiwindi received a penalty close to the Diehards line and after great charging runs by firstly Brendan “Jasmine” Rice and then Peter Vukovich, the ball was spun wide to their on-field general, or in this case Sergeant, Scott Schultz, who drew the defence and gave a magnificent pass to a rampaging Wayne Morris who dived (a dive that would not have been out of place on the 10-metre spring board at the London Olympics) over to score, and with the ensuing conversion successful, the Boars had a 6-0 lead.
The Boars were starting to look like premiership material with a great kick and chase game forcing the Diehards to defend for long periods of time on their own line.
Weight of possession soon converted into points for Goondiwindi when Scott Schultz scored in the 15th minute after a glorious run from Brad Frost from a kick return and with the conversion once again successful, the Boars led 12-0 at the quarter way mark of the game.
The Dalby side are called Diehards for good reason and as the quick pace of the game, and the scorching midday sun, began to take its toll on the bigger Gundy forwards, the momentum of the match started to turn in their favour and Dalby were rewarded with a fine try in the 20th minute to peg back the score to 12-6.
Football is a funny game and where passes once stuck, the Boars were now guilty of dropped ball and loose carries that gifted the opposition plenty of possession and the Diehards took full advantage and levelled the scores at 12-12 in the 25th minute in what was becoming an epic grand final battle.
Controversy reared its ugly head in the 28th minute when, inexplicably, the halftime siren blared with Dalby on the attack on the last tackle close to the Boars line and they threw the ball around with gay abandon in a last ditch effort to score before halftime, but were held out by the Boars’ defence.
After a prolonged discussion by the TRL officialdom, it was decreed that Dalby should have a scrum feed 5 meters from the Boars line as the antiquated ground clock was reset for the final two minutes of the half, and it took some resolute Boars defence to keep their line intact in the final minutes of the half and both teams headed to the sheds locked a 12 all in a gripping grand final.
A refreshed Boars outfit hit the paddock in the second half, and livewire hooker, Matty “The Galivinator” Galvin, soon made a break from dummy half, and after a clever kick and regather, passed to the supporting Damien Morris who in turn off-loaded a sublime pass to his brother Wayne who dashed twenty metres to score adjacent to the uprights to have the Boars leading 18-12 in the 38th minute.
True to their nature, the Diehards hit back immediately and once again the match was tied with the scores at 18 all in the 45th minute.
Every grand final has its defining moment, and for the Boars that came in the 50th minute when Donald “Topsy” Turvey made a mid-field break and chanced his arm with a deft kick and regather before passing into the waiting arms of Matty Galvin who passed out wide to Brodie Macdonald onto the ever-present Matt Boarchier who drew two defenders before throwing the final pass to the flying Ben “Crusher” Smith who scored the try of the season in the corner to give the Boars a 22-18 lead.
The final 10 minutes of play saw Dalby throw everything at the Boars but it was fait accompli when star fullback Brad Frost crossed for a try in the 55th minute to give the Boars a match winning 28-18 lead and the rollicking tunes of “Yeahhhh Boarzzzzz” began to emanate from the grand stands as the army of Boars’ supporters began to celebrate a hard fought, hard earned win.
Emotional scenes ensued as the final siren went (on time this half) and best on field Scott Schultz collected the TRL player of the match award and this would have been a closely contested award with Jason “The Big Marn” Quinnell and Damien “The English” Rose both having outstanding games.
In the backs, wingers Jamie “The Meen Machine” Meenin and Ben “Crusher” Smith, looking somewhat gaunt after his honeymoon, had great wingers games and their defensive play saved certain tries at crucial times during the game.
Cult hero and club legend, Greg “Boaris” Billing played his usual high standard game and was involved in all facets of attack and defence as was his fellow hirsute team-mate, the Wild Man from Borneo, Henry Boarchard, who played the only way he knows how – straight and hard.
In an all-round team effort, the contributions from the bench players played a vital role in the victory with coach Robbie “Na-Na” Hanna inspirational during his time on the paddock as were workaholic forwards Josh “Tubby” Collins and Jamie “The Quiet Achiever” Quinnell and Jono Lloyd completed an outstanding season by collecting himself a premiership ring.
Goondiwindi 28 (Wayne Morris 2, Scott Schultz, Ben Smith, Brad Frost tries; Brad Frost 4 goals) defeated Dalby 18 (Dwayne Woodbridge, Luke Cubby, Jayme Logan tries; Luke Cubby 3 goals),
Other TRL results:
A-Grade: Brothers 22 defeated Souths 18
Reserve Grade: Valleys 30 defeated Souths 12
Under 18: Valleys 28 defeated Brothers 22
Local Boggabilla boy, Dwayne Duncan, also experienced premiership success on the weekend playing a major role in Redcliffe’s 32-26 defeat of Wynnum Manly in the FOGS Colts Challenge Grand Final played at Suncorp Stadium. Dewayne scored two tries and kicked a late conversion in a performance that will no doubt bring him under close scrutiny from NRL talent scouts.