Easts Magpies will be attempting to break a 16-year drought in the Bundaberg Broadcasters A Grade Premiership when they take on arch-rivals Past Brothers in what promises to be an epic grand final at Salter Oval today (Sunday, August 29) at 3.30pm.
The last time the Magpies swooped on the grand old trophy was on September 4, 2005, where they beat Isis Devils 20-16, under their then coach, the late club great John Booth.
Back then, their current captain, and BRL A Grade Player of the Year for the past two seasons, Matt Craven, was playing alongside current Melbourne Storm, State of Origin and Test star Felise Kaufusi in the Brothers team which won the under 13 grand final.
Craven played all his junior career for the Brethren, and he also won an A Grade title with them, before joining Valleys in the Gladstone Rugby League. He also played in Brisbane, but returned home in 2018, playing one season for Isis, before they dropped out of the BRL.
Craven joined Easts in 2019 and has been outstanding week-in-week-out, and he has a fierce, but friendly rivalry with his former longtime coach and uncle Andrew Hamilton, who returned to the Brothers’ coaching position this season, while first-season Magpies coach Brent Kuskey, has played a starring role as a player in Brothers’ past seven premierships, in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
The Magpies claimed the minor premiership, while Brothers scraped into third position with a 50 per cent winning record.
Honours have been split in clashes between the two sides in 2021, with Brothers getting home 32-16 on April 24, Easts romping home 46-16 on June 6, the Brethren ending the Magpies’ eight-match winning streak with a 38-22 penultimate round upset on July 17. However, Easts returned to their brilliant best in a 38-16 victory in the major semi-final a fortnight ago.
The match will also feature a fierce sibling rivalry with Easts rugged front rower Hayden Priestley up against his younger brother, Brothers fullback Tyrell, who grabbed a late double in their come-from-behind 34-14 victory over Hervey Bay Seagulls in the preliminary final last Saturday.
Wallaroos will meet Wests Panthers in the under 18 and Reserve Grade deciders at 12.30pm and 1.45pm respectively.
The bumper grand final program got under way with Roos also facing Waves Tigers in under at 8am, with the Tigers combating Brothers in the under 14 and under 15 at 9am and 10am respectively.
The Seagulls and Panthers to battle it out in under 16 decider at 11.15am.
Bundaberg Broadcasters A Grade Premiership 2021 teams
Easts Magpies
1. Clinton Horne 2. Andreas Nona, 3. Matthew Ross, 4. Trent Seeds, 5. Dylan Taylor, 6. Matthew Craven, 7. Tyrell Howard, 8. Leigh Eade, 9. Arden Lankowski, 10. Hayden Priestley, 11. Tien Nguyen, 12. Craig Bek, 13. Caleb Van Lawick, 14. Joel Keune, 15. Justyn Porter, 16. John Akers, 17. Tyrone Ward.
Past Brothers
1. Tyrell Priestley, 2. Thomas Kronk, 3. Ban Schrader, 4. Jayden Alberts, 5. Benaiah Kambanei, 6. Zak Bainbridge, 7. Lachlan Tanzer, 8. Kevin Sherriff, 9. Tim Cole, 10. Brendan Stewart, 11. Royce Blair, 12. Aaron Hall, 13. Tom Murray, 14. Tyla Hodge, 15. Daniel Finter, 16. Jake Thompson, 20. Logan Tanzer
Main image: Past Brothers captain Kevin Sherriff steps out of tackle against Hervey Bay Seagulls in the preliminary final last Saturday. The dual premiership winning skipper will be a key man as Brothers chase back-to-back titles in the grand final against Easts Magpies this Sunday. Photo: Vince Habermann
