It's uncommon in a season to have three teams still undefeated after six rounds. It's expected that one or two teams dominate and remain at the top, but not three ... it just proves the quality of competition being played in Toowoomba.
It was a good weekend of fixtures in the TRL competition for Round 6, particulary for the Oakey Bears who achieved their first win in two years defeating Goondiwindi 36-20.
Southern Suburbs Tigers v Gatton Hawks
In the biggest surprise of the season so far, Souths captain/coach Daniel Holmes made a return to the field following an ACL injury earlier in the season.
Holmes is booked in for surgery in the coming month, but took to the field knowing he couldn’t do any further damage to his injury.
Whilst restricted in his movement, he was one of Souths best.
The Tigers fought courageously but one Hawk, Billy Jackwitz, had his best TRL game to date and was the difference in his side’s win.
Jackwitz was everywhere and his combination with Callum Woolacott had the opposition guessing.
They scored the Hawks’ first two tries and helped Gatton to a 22-10 halftime lead.
The Hawks scored the first two tries in the second half before the Tigers surged with two late tries to Sam Cocker and Daniel Holmes to get within 6 points, but it was too little, too late for the Tigers.
Whilst the score was close in the end, the contest was excellent with both sides playing well.
A GRADE: Gatton 36 (Billy Jackwitz 2, Riley Godwin, Callum Woolacott, Dennis Burgoyne, Allan Morris tries; Callum Woolacott 5 goals) defeated Souths 28 (Dwayne Duncan 2, Jack Henningsen, Sam Cocker, Daniel Holmes tries; Luke Nolan 4 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Gatton 38 defeated Souths 14
UNDER 18: Souths 30 defeated Gatton 24
WATCH: TRL Media speaking with Gatton Hawks coach Mick Armstrong
Oakey Bears v Goondiwindi Boars
The Oakey Bears won their first game in two years almost to the day when they accounted for the Goondiwindi Boars at home on Saturday night.
It was a long time coming for the Bears who have shown glimpses of form and put it all together in a dominant display.
Bears prop David Anderson played non-stop for 80 minutes whilst Aaron Cherry and Josh Stanton also played well for the Bears.
The Boars had no answer for the Bears, who were inspired by their large home crowd, but did have their opportunities.
Matthew Beare scored a double for the Boars in the first half as to trail by 16-8 at halftime.
The Bears went on with it though in the second half with Oakey’s coach Brendan Dolan over the moon to end their drought!
The Bears have had good half periods of footy and are showing some much-needed consistency.
A GRADE: Oakey 36 (Josh Stanton 3, Aaron Cherry 2, Josh Robinson tries; Jason Lucas 5 goals) defeated Goondiwindi 20 (Matthew Beare, 2, Callum Skinner, Stewart Lowe tries; Dean Kennedy 2 goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Goondiwindi 28 defeated Oakey 10
UNDER 18: Goondiwindi 42 defeated Oakey 18
Valleys Roosters v Wattles Warriors
Valleys remain undefeated after taking care of Wattles at Herb Steinhort Oval on Sunday.
The Roosters led 20-8 at halftime following tries to Ryan Stevens, Marc McGrady and Aaron Sillitoe with Wattles’ Braydon Wilson scoring two of his three tries in the first half as the Warriors’ only points before the break.
Wattles second rower Michael Pearson finished off a spirited start to the second half with a try to get the Warriors to 20-14 but the Roosters seemed to always have Wattles’ measure surging to a 34-14 lead with 15 minutes remaining thanks to tries to Oliver Scott and a second to Aaron Sillitoe.
Wattles made the score closer with Braydon Wilson scoring his third and James Johnson scoring out wide to make the final score 34-24.
Nathan Bowering won the Hutchison Builders player of the match as well as the Toowoomba Sports Club play of the day with his kick down field for swift winger Emmanuel Cerei to score.
Ryan Stevens also played well as did Reggie Munn off the bench.
The Wattles’ injury tally grows with Matt Duggan and Dale Perkins not starting and Karl Marsh and Brendan Wilson sustaining injuries during the match, which left Wattles with a two-man bench for a lot of the second half.
Valleys’ cross-field attack is difficult to read and is very effective which will be needed next weekend.
They face defending premiers Pittsworth next week in the match of the day at Club Pittsworth.
Both teams are undefeated at the top of the table and it’s shaping up to be a sensational clash!
A GRADE: Valleys 34 (Aaron Sillitoe 2, Ryan Stevens, Marc McGrady, Oliver Scott, Emmanuel Cerei tries; Emmanuel Cerei 5 goals) defeated Wattles 24 (Braydon Wilson 3, Michael Pearson, James Johnson tries; Michael Pearson, Tye Gardner goals)
RESERVE GRADE: Valleys 22 defeated Wattles 12
UNDER 18: Valleys 50 defeated Wattles 16
SECOND DIVISION: Gatton 60 defeated Valleys 12
WATCH: TRL Media speaking with Valleys captain/coach Brett Seymour
Dalby Diehards v Toowoomba Brothers
Dalby Diehards flexed their muscles onto the Hutchison Builders TRL competition with a comprehensive win over Brothers at home.
The Diehards ran in seven first half tries to lead 36-4 at the break.
Newly selected Central Crows fullback Corey Blades scored a hattrick for Dalby with Colin Green, Daniel Flynn and Zac Morris picking up doubles.
It was a clinical display by Dalby, who are averaging nearly 50 points a game and seem unstoppable at this point in the competition.
Brothers had no answer for Dalby, but can have comfort knowing that they are not the only team to succumb to the competition leaders.
A GRADE: Dalby 60 (Corey Blades 3, Colin Green 2, Zac Morris 2, Daniel Flynn 2, Eli Wickham, Steve Franciscus tries; Zac Morris 8 goals) defeated Brothers 12 (Ray Duncan, Sam Betros, Matthew Cottee tries)
RESERVE GRADE: Dalby 36 defeated Brothers 6
UNDER 18: Dalby 36 defeated Brothers 18
SECOND DIVISION: Dalby 28 defeated Brothers 22
Highfields Eagles v Warwick Cowboys
The Highfields Eagles stayed in touch with the competition leaders beating Warwick 34-4 at Kuhls Road on Sunday.
Eagles winger Aaron Hooper continued his excellent form this season with a nice hattrick of tries whilst Nick Bainbridge and Danny Dean starred for Highfields.
The contest took 21 minutes to register any points but Highfields ran away with the match from that moment on.
A GRADE: Highfields 34 (Aaron Hooper 3, Nick Bainbridge, Josh Birch, Cooper Bowyer, Jarrod Lee tries; Jarrod Lee 3, Braydon Mitchell goals) defeated Warwick 4 (Brodie Quirk try)
RESERVE GRADE: Highfields 32 defeated Warwick 24
UNDER 18: Warwick 32 defeated Highfields 12
In the other TRL Under 18 match, the South Burnett Eagles put on a show on Saturday against Pittsworth wining 72-0 in Cherbourg.
After six rounds of competition, these are how the competition ladders stand:
A GRADE: Dalby 10, Pittsworth 10, Valleys 10, Highfields 8, Gatton 6, Warwick 4, Wattles 4, Brothers 4, Souths 2, Oakey 2, Goondiwindi 0
RESERVE GRADE: Gatton 10, Wattles 8, Dalby 8, Valleys 7, Highfields 7, Brothers 6, Souths 6, Warwick 4, Pittsworth 2, Goondiwindi 2, Oakey 0
UNDER 18: Dalby 12, Valleys 10, Souths 10, Warwick 8, Goondiwindi 8, South Burnett 6, Highfields 6, Gatton 4, Brothers 3, Pittsworth 3, Wattles 2, Oakey 0
SECOND DIVISION: Gatton 6, Warwick 6, Pittsworth 2, Brothers 2, Dalby 2, Valleys 0
For full results, ladders and upcoming fixtures of the Toowoomba Rugby League, visit the TRL website.
