A few high-scoring affairs headlined Round 4 of the Toowoomba Rugby League competition.
Pittsworth are unstoppable at the top of the ladder at the moment with a 76-6 thrashing of the Boars on Friday night. Meanwhile, Valleys and Dalby still remain undefeated after four rounds and join the Danes on top.
Pittsworth Danes v Goondiwindi Boars
Defending premiers Pittsworth Danes continued their winning ways defeating the Goondiwindi Boars at Club Pittsworth on Friday night.
After missing last week’s game due to work commitments, Pittsworth fullback Jeff Weber scored four tries with Jordan O’Shea picking up a hattrick.
Alex Kahler was the man of the match in his best game of the season.
Goondiwindi found out the hard way what it takes to be competitive in this competition.
A GRADE: Pittsworth 76 (Jeff Weber 4, Jordan O’Shea 3, Daniel York 2, Liam Jocumsen 2, Kabu Kofe, Thomas O’Sullivan, James Dempsey, Bradley Brosnan tries; Alex Sinclair 8 goals) defeated Goondiwindi 6 (Jack Laidlaw try; John Goodfellow goal)
RESERVE GRADE: Pittsworth 38 defeated Goondiwindi 10
UNDER 18: Goondiwindi 24 defeated Pittsworth 16
Oakey Bears v Warwick Cowboys
Warwick spoilt Oakey’s party at Trevor Mickleborough Oval with a resounding win over the Bears.
Brodie Quirk scored four tries on the back of their brilliant back line.
Dylan Galloway was the Cowboys’ best and it’s great to see Mick Bloomfield starting to settle in after a long layoff.
The Bears were their own worst enemy with simple mistakes, especially in the first 20 minutes when the Cowboys raced to a 20-0 lead.
The Bears had no ball in the first stanza and it showed in the second half when they ran out of puff, but they did show plenty of ticker to play till the end in front of their first home crowd of the year.
Sadly for the huge home crowd though, it was all Warwick after an indifferent start to the season.
They did not take their foot off the pedal and played well till the end.
A GRADE: Warwick 66 (Brodie Quirk 5, Dan Watson 2, Josh O’Brien, Paul Cantwell, Mick Bloomfield tries; Dan Watson 3 goals) defeated Oakey 0
RESERVE GRADE : Warwick 16 defeated Oakey 8
UNDER 18: Warwick 22 defeated Oakey 18
WATCH: TRL Media speaking with Warwick coach Craig Mullaly
Southern Suburbs Tigers v Toowoomba Brothers
In the form reversal of the year so far, Brothers recovered from a 70-point thrashing by Pittsworth last weekend to amass a 40-point triumph over Souths at Clive Berghofer on Saturday.
The Leprechauns raced to a 38-0 lead at halftime but Souths did hold the onslaught with a spirited second half.
It’s a welcome relief for Brothers coach Liam Cullen.
The turnaround was amazing but was mostly aided by gun players, Michael Witt and Jeff Nielsen returning, amongst others.
Tigers on the other hand were very much surprised after their encouraging form over the last couple of weeks.
A GRADE: Brothers 50 (Michael Cochrane 2, Brandon Cubby, Matthew Rose, Jeffrey Nielsen, Bradley Taylor, Aidan Watterson, Josh Duncan, Kyle Walker tries; Michael Witt 7 goals) defeated Souths 10 (Luke Nolan, Junior Chong Nee tries; Luke Nolan goal)
RESERVE GRADE: Souths 28 defeated Brothers 26
UNDER 18: Souths 34 defeated Brothers 10
Dalby Diehards v Wattles Warriors
Dalby Diehards kept their impressive defensive record intact with another convincing effort against Wattles in Dalby on Saturday night.
Jason Waldrop scored two tries in a man of the match performance whilst Dylan Taylor convinced the Clydesdales selectors in a polished display.
Wattles were without a few troops but had no answers for the undefeated Diehards.
Dalby have started the season well having only 10 points scored against them in three games and averaging well more than 30 points a game.
The halftime score was 28-0 with Warriors putting in a more spirited effort in the second half.
A GRADE: Dalby 44 (Jason Wardrop 2, Brent Hunt, Zac Morris, Chris Wilkes, Corey Blades, Daniel Harms tries; Zac Morris 8 goals) defeated Wattles 0
RESERVE GRADE: Dalby 20 defeated Wattles 6
UNDER 18: Dalby 60 defeated Wattles 0
Highfields Eagles v Gatton Hawks
In the match of the season so far, the Gatton Hawks and Highfields Eagles threw everything at each other in a high-quality game.
Highfields skipped away to an 8-0 lead after 15 minutes, but a Dennis Burgoyne try in the 19th minute got the Hawks on the board.
One of the form players in the competition, Callum Woolacott got the Hawks in the lead after chasing an in-goal chip kick to score near the posts, edging the visitors in front.
With the halftime siren looming, the Eagles recaptured the lead with a clever try to Conor Nolan to go the break leading 14-12.
Woolacott scored again just after halftime as did Hawks flyer Riley Godwin a couple of minutes later to keep Gatton ahead 22-14.
Both sides had many raids on the goal lines and on one occasion, the Hawks had all the momentum and look liked scoring when an errant pass went to ground.
As a result, Eagles speedster Aaron Hooper swooped on the lost ball and scored an 80 metre try to put Highfields back in the match, trailing 22-20 with 30 minutes remaining.
It was an absorbing struggle for the remaining period of the match with end-to-end, edge of your seat footy but at fulltime, the Hawks held on, defeating the home side 22-20.
Both teams should be congratulated on their high standard throughout the match.
The Hawks made the most of their opportunities which ended up being the difference.
Hawks utility Robbie Fletcher was the Hutchies Man of the Match.
Daniel Marsh and Dennis Burgoyne were also good for Gatton whilst Jarrod Lee and Jayden Motley were among Highfields best.
A GRADE: Gatton 22 (Callum Woolacott 2, Dennis Burgoyne, Riley Godwin tries; Callum Woolacott 3 goals) defeated Highfields 20 (Aaron Hooper 2, Brent Tucker, Connor Nolan tries; Jarrod Lee, Braydon Mitchell goals)
RESERVE GRADE : Highfields 14 defeated Gatton 12
UNDER 18: Highfields 32 defeated Gatton 10
WATCH: TRL Media speaking with Hutchies Man of the Match, Gatton's Robbie Fletcher
In the other TRL Under 18 match, the Valleys Roosers defeated the South Burnett Eagles 34-18 at Herb Steinhort Oval on Sunday.
After four rounds of competition, these are how the competition ladders stand:
A GRADE: Pittsworth 8, Valleys 6, Dalby 6, Wattles 4, Warwick 4, Highfields 4, Gatton 4, Souths 2, Brothers 2, Oakey 0, Goondiwindi 0
RESERVE GRADE: Wattles 6, Gatton 6, Souths 6, Highfields 5, Dalby 4, Brothers 4, Warwick 4, Valleys 3, Pittsworth 2, Goondiwindi 0, Oakey 0
UNDER 18: Dalby 8, Valleys 8, Souths 6, Goondiwindi 6, South Burnett 4, Warwick 4, Highfields 4, Pittsworth 3, Gatton 2, Wattles 2, Brothers 1, Oakey 0
SECOND DIVISION: Gatton 4, Warwick 4, Pittsworth 2, Brothers 2, Dalby 0, Valleys 0
At the conclusion of the Round 4 fixtures, the Toowoomba Rugby League announced this year's Clydesdales squad who will compete at the 47th Battalion carnival in Yeppoon on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30.
The squad includes:
Corey Blades (Dalby), Jackson Green (Wattles), Alex Ambia (Dalby), Billy Jackwitz (Gatton), Steve Franciscus (Dalby), Dwayne Duncan (Souths), Dylan Taylor (Dalby), Jarrod Lee (Highfields), Matt Duggan (Wattles), James Dempsey (Pittsworth), Jason Wardrop (Dalby), Rahari Peeti (Highfields), Callum Skinner (Goondiwindi), Dale Perkins (Wattles), Cameron Millar (Pittsworth), Eli Wickham (Dalby), Braydon Gibbs (Pittsworth), Ronnie David (Goondiwindi), Ricky Davis (Brothers), Jayden Motley (Highfields)
For full results, ladders and upcoming fixtures of the Toowoomba Rugby League, visit the TRL website.
