In Round 2 of the TRL Hutchies A Grade Cup, if you backed all of the home sides in your footy tips, you would’ve been pretty close to picking a full card.
Four teams remain undefeated at the top with Valleys, Highfields and Pittsworth winning both games in the opening two rounds and Dalby winning on the weekend following their Round 1 bye.
Dalby Diehards v Gatton Hawks
Dalby started their season campaign with a win over Gatton in front of a huge home crowd at Dalby Leagues Club on Saturday night.
Straight from the kick off, the Diehards capitalised from a dropped ball to have Jason Wardrop score near the posts. It was 6-0 in the blink of an eye.
The game settled down throughout the first half and Gatton probably had the better of Dalby, but approaching halftime, the turning point was when Mitchell Taylor scored a soft try followed by man of the match Xavier Manley scoring right on the siren to have the Diehards up 16-4.
Following the break, Gatton again toiled away for the next 20-30 minutes, but Dalby continued to put the points on with Corey Blades scoring late in the game to put the win beyond doubt.
Dalby deserved to win as they finished out their periods before and after the break.
The Diehards’ Manley and Wardrop were good with lock Eli Wickham busy in defence and attack.
For the Hawks, Callum Woolacott tried hard as did Daniel Marsh and Dennis Burgoyne.
A GRADE: Dalby 32 (Xavier Manley 2, Jason Wardrop, Mitchell Taylor, Steve Franciscus, Corey Blades tries; Zac Morris 4 goals) defeated Gatton 8 (Callum Woolacott, Ray Erbacher tries)
RESERVE GRADE: Gatton 6 defeated Dalby 0
UNDER 18: Dalby 32 defeated Gatton 6
SECOND DIVISION: Gatton 20 defeated Dalby 10
WATCH: TRL Media speaking with Dalby coach Kerry Carmichael.
Toowoomba Valleys v Toowoomba Brothers
Old foes Valleys and Brothers played a see-sawing game at Pillar Street on Saturday.
Valleys came out of the blocks firing to race to 22-6 lead before halftime with Brothers captain Ricky Davies scoring a try on the bell to keep the Brethren in the game at halftime 22-12.
Brothers dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half and led 28-22. It was an amazing effort given they were 22-6 down at one stage.
Valleys didn’t give up though as in-form Rooster Balay Viane made his mark on the game with two tries in 10 minutes to wrestle control back for Valleys.
Fittingly, Emmanuel Cerei scored his third try for Valleys to put a 12-point gap on Brothers with eight minutes remaining. They hung on to win and are firmly situated on the top of the TRL Ladder.
Valleys captain / coach, Brett Seymour made his TRL debut and led his team around nicely.
Balay Viane played well for Valley and Jeff Nielsen and Ricky Davies worked hard for Brothers. Brothers did lose Jayden Davies and Josh Duncan early to injury and played men down for the majority of the game.
It was an incredible achievement for Roosters winger Emmanuel Cerei who had a field day scoring a hat-trick of tries and six goals to score 30 of his team’s 40-point total.
Both teams will certainly be in the mix come finals time.
A-GRADE: Valleys 40 (Emmanuel Cerei 3, Balay Viane 2, Gus Mati tries; Emmanuel Cerei 6 goals) defeated Brothers 28 (Brandon Cubby 2, Ricky Davies, Jeff Nielsen, Koby Cubby tries; Brandon Cubby 4 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Valleys 18 drew Brothers 18
UNDER 18: Valleys 34 defeated Brothers 18
SECOND DIVISION: Brothers 34 defeated Valleys 20
Pittsworth Danes v Wattles Warriors
In an anticipated match, defending premiers Pittsworth hosted a rejuvenated Wattles.
The game lived up to its expectation with both sides dominating in various stages of the match.
Whilst the Danes opened the scoring with a try to Liam Jocumsen, the Duggan brothers Matt and Ryan combined to race Wattles to a 12-4 lead after 12 minutes.
Cameron Millar and Thomas O’Sullivan got the Danes back in the match with two tries to lead 16-12 after 24 minutes. The game settled down and following an Alex Sinclair penalty goal right on halftime, the Danes lead 18-12 at the break.
After the break, the game was tit-for-tat as both sides took turns at levelling the score.
With 11 minutes remaining and the score at 22-22, man of the match Braydon Gibbs scored to break the deadlock and eventually seal the match for the Danes 30-22.
This game was a true test for both sides this early in the season.
Pittsworth couldn’t wish for a better start after playing two quality sides (Warwick and Wattles) in the first two rounds, whilst Wattles can still take plenty out of their start to the season.
A-GRADE: Pittsworth 30 (Liam Jocumsen, Cameron Millar, Thomas O’Sullivan, Jeffrey Weber, Braydon Gibbs tries; Alex Sinclair 5 goals) defeated Wattles 22 (Matthew Duggan, Ryan Duggan, Timothy Sharpe, Braydon Wilson tries; Matthew Duggan 3 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Wattles 28 defeated Pittsworth 10
UNDER 18: Pittsworth 64 defeated Wattles 4
Highfields Eagles v Goondiwindi Boars
One of the favoured teams for the title this year, Highfields got a surprise when Goondiwindi came to play after their lacklustre start last weekend against Valleys. They even led 12-10 at halftime.
Highfields started strong in the second half though and got away to a 28-12 lead after 55 minutes thanks to tries from Braydon Mitchell, Zack Loxley and Nick Bainbridge.
Goondiwindi’s late resurgence started after that with a try to Stewart Lowe. Carl Clement brought them within a sniff of victory, but the Eagles held on running out winners 34-24.
Boars coach Scott Schultz was pleased with the turn around and praised his players.
Goondiwindi players Stewart Lowe, Callum Skinner, Tom Fitzgerald and Carl Clement were their best with Jarrod Lee, Wayne John Weribone and Nick Bainbridge the best for the Eagles.
This result is refreshing for Goondiwindi as it’s a long time coming. The amazing part is that Highfields have been in the mix the last few years and for the Boars to contest the result is great for the competition.
A-GRADE: Highfields 34 (Aaron Hooper 2, Brent Tucker. Nick Bainbridge, Zack Loxley, Braydon Mitchell tries; Jarrod Lee 5 goals) defeated Goondiwindi 24 (Stewart Lowe 2, Thomas Fitzgerald, Carl Clement tries; Dean Kennedy 4 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Highfields 56 defeated Goondiwindi 8
UNDER 18: Goondiwindi 16 defeated Highfields 8
Southern Suburbs Tigers v Warwick Cowboys
Warwick travelled to Toowoomba to find they needed to change venues from Clive Berghofer stadium to Herb Steinhort Oval due to the drainage problems at the stadium.
The Cowboys got off to a great start with a soft try to Bradley Morrish in the fourth minute, followed by two great tries to Alec Stewart and Dylan Galloway to give the Cowboys a 16-0 lead at halftime.
Souths always seemed in the game and never gave up, but Warwick’s defence was on song and led for most of the game. Souths scored two late tries to help the for and against but it wasn’t enough with the Cowboys winning 30-22.
Warwick lock Farao Mataafa was the Hutchies Man of the Match whilst Alec Stewart won the Toowoomba Sports Club Magic Moment.
Mataafa, in particular, got through a ton of work and was the backbone of Cowboys defence. Paul Cantwell, Dylan Galloway and Josh O’Brien contributed to the win. Alec Stewart was also very good for Warwick.
Luke Nolan, Dwayne Duncan and Jacob Whittaker all played well for the Tigers. They toiled hard and will beat sides this year, but it just wasn’t their day on Sunday.
A-GRADE: Warwick 30 (Alex Stewart 2, Dylan Galloway 2, Bradley Morrish, Brandon Vaughan tries; Dan Watson 5 goals) defeated Souths 22 (Tom Landers, Connor Pyke, Dwayne Duncan, Kyle Athorn tries; Luke Nolan 3 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Souths 40 defeated Warwick 18
UNDER 18: Souths 20 defeated Warwick 14
WATCH: TRL Media speaking with Warwick coach Craig Mullaly.
In the other TRL Under 18 game, South Burnett defeated Oakey 60-18 on Saturday at TJ O’Neill Oval Kingaroy.
For full results, ladders and upcoming fixtures of the Toowoomba Rugby League, visit the TRL website.
