Beerwah Bulldogs claim 2024 Sunshine Coast rugby league A-grade grand final
Not even torn hamstrings and dislocated shoulders could stop the Bulldogs from winning back-to-back A-grade premierships after one of the gutsiest and grittiest performances in Sunshine Coast rugby league history. Go inside their unbelievable rollercoaster season.
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At the beginning of the 2024 season Beerwah Bulldogs head coach Brett Hill said his round one side would look a lot different to the side that would run out towards the back end of the year.
Despite winning the 2023 A-grade grand final, which was the club’s first piece of senior silverware in 44 years, the hinterland club lost a handful of senior names during the off season and started the 2024 season on the back foot.
The Doggies lost their first two matches before the bye and snagged a win over Maroochydore in round four.
Fast forward to round nine, Beerwah sat with a record of three wins and four loses with Hill admitting ‘we pretty much just stripped it all back, forgot any expectations we had and focused on positive efforts in all our games’.
The men in blue and white flicked a switch, storming through their next seven games undefeated.
“Our biggest positive has been our never give in attitude I’d say,” Hill said midway through Beerwah’s winning streak.
“We’ve had to bring a lot of new players into the team so it’s taken us a while to gel but they’ve stuck at it and we’re coming together nicely at the right time.”
Beerwah finished the regular season with a two-point loss to Kawana and the result came at a cost with four players picking up suspensions and a handful more ending up on the injury sheet.
With enforcer Jamie Hill away on Sunshine Coast Falcons Queensland Cup duties, he added to the unavailable list of Beerwah players that included starting forwards Jackson Kite and Rowan Jardine.
A mis-matched Bulldogs side was handed a quick reality check in their qualifying final, going down 32-6 to Noosa away from home.
Doing it tough, Beerwah kept their season alive as they grinded their way to a 24-22 win over Maroochydore in the minor semi final before a turnaround 16-14 result against Noosa to secure their spot in the grand final.
Beerwah were ready to play minor premiers Coolum in the decider, a side in just their second full season in the top Sunshine Coast division.
The achievement meant it was Beerwah’s third grand final in three straight seasons and the chance to go back-to-back after claiming a 12-10 victory against Kawana in 2023.
During the regular season, both matches had been swung by home field advantage with Coolum claiming a 30-16 victory in round two followed by a 20-12 win for Beerwah in round 11.
In the lead up to the big dance, Hill said his side simply didn’t expect to be here.
“About four weeks ago we had four different blokes suspended so to be honest we didn’t give ourselves much of a chance,” he said.
“We’ve had to put together a side from there and the performances have been really gutsy.
“We probably shouldn’t be here but we are so we’re on top of the world despite having a lot of wounded players.
“We’re not as stressed as last year so we just want to be positive, enjoy the week and have some fun because playing in the grand final is a bonus in itself.”
Behind the scenes, star halfback and captain Matt Kidd joined his brother Daniel ‘DK’ on the sidelines for training as Matt nursed a dislocated shoulder while Daniel rested as much as possible with a possible torn hamstring.
The Kidd brothers, who started at the club in under-7s, were two of three players that didn’t train during the week with Daniel unable to even participate in the team’s grand final warm-up.
As the Bulldogs reserve grade side contested and won their own grand final, the A-grade starting lineup was fighting an uphill battle.
DK lasted one run, limping from the field in the opening minute as his Bulldogs teammates, coaching staff and supporters fell silent.
As the match ticked over, schoolboy fullback Tristan Roselt, who made his A-grade debut in round 13, produced some fancy footwork to score the first try of the match before Coolum hit back with tries from Sam Elara in the 21st minute and Sam Bernstorm in the 26th.
Tensions boiled in the final 10 minutes of the first half as Beerwah hooker Damian Forde-Hurrell and Colts winger Yamba Bowie were sent to the sin bin for separate infringements.
Bulldogs number seven Matt Kidd quickly targeted Coolum’s winger-less right edge as Sam Fullerton scooped up a crossfield kick to score and reduce the gap to 10-8.
Both teams came out with plenty of energy to start the second half and it was Beerwah who regained the lead thanks to a smart grubber kick in behind the defence from Taoho Kake for Damian Forde-Hurrell to dive all over.
The extra two were added from Tom McClure but the try did come at a cost with Forde-Hurrell leaving the field with a dislocated shoulder.
Minutes later, utility hooker Taoho Kake suffered a broken arm causing the Beerwah faithful to erupt when Forde-Hurrell returned to the field with his right arm hanging by his waist.
His first attempt at making a tackle caused the shoulder to dislocate again and as medical staff failed to pop it back into place, the tough number nine knew he didn’t have too many other options than to stay on the field as long as possible.
Forde-Hurrell’s one armed passing and directional play was invaluable for Beerwah as some slick hands from Matt Kidd and Nick Jennings meant winger Dylan Kerr produced a stunning superman dive to score in the left hand corner.
McClure rose to the occasion with a dead-eye conversion attempt from the sideline as Beerwah held a 10 point lead with 14 minutes to play.
With form on their side, Beerwah had lost just twice all season when scoring 20 points or more but with just 14 players still standing, it was always going to be a tough ask to see out the match
Another tackle attempt in the 70th minute mark from Forde-Hurrell was his final straw as he exited the field and the match commentary team feared for the worst.
“He’s gone off now, it’s been a brave effort and he’s played a part but I just hope he hasn’t made that right arm worse because it is absolutely cactus,” they said.
“The wonder is if 10 points will be enough here.
“I know the reserve grade boys have gone off and are celebrating their premiership win but they might have to start making some phone calls because this Beerwah bench is depleted.”
Defensive efforts were all Beerwah had in the final 10 minutes until Coolum fullback Marlon Hawksin sliced through the defensive line before passing to Nate Saumalu who ran around and scored under the posts.
The atmosphere and intensity lifted once again in the final three minutes as Coolum had Beerwah pinned in their own 30m line.
An incorrect play the ball after a huge hit on Beerwah’s Conor Ferguson awarded Coolum a scrum feed and the footy with two minutes to play.
Coolum threw all they could at the Beerwah goal line defence, including a barnstorming run from prop Jaeden Usher who was held up over the line with just seconds remaining.
The ball whizzed from side to side in the final play of the match before a grubber kick in behind was gathered by sweeping second rower Tom Dwan as the siren sounded.
As Beerwah celebrated their 20-16 victory and claimed back-to-back Sunshine Coast A-grade grand finals, head coach Brett Hill was left stunned.
“We’ve been tough and gritty for the last eight weeks,” he said.
“We had three blokes by the end of the game that simply couldn’t go back on the field but it’s in our DNA to not give in and we kept our plan pretty simple.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic because we started the year on the back foot and we shouldn’t have even been here.”
Captain and player of the match Matt Kidd said the victory was a milestone achievement.
“It’s unreal, last year was special but I think this one means even more,” he said.
“We played the last 20 minutes with no bench, our main front rower DK played about 45 seconds and there’s a lot more guys that remained injured and were unable to play.
“You look back at how we started the year, after our first few games we had a chat to see where everyone’s heads were at and addressed that we simply had not been good enough.
“We turned our year around and I spoke last week to the boys that we got the monkey off the back last year and that the pressure wasn’t on us this time.
“This game and going back-to-back in what is our third straight senior grand final was about building a legacy and I think our grit showed that.”
Bulldogs stalwart and leader Daniel ‘DK’ Kidd said to watch his teammates battle and fight while he stood helpless on the sidelines was extremely tough.
“I hadn’t trained for two weeks but I couldn’t pull out with how busted and battered our side was,” he said.
“I rested and recovered as much as I could in the hopes of playing any part I could today and I was so shattered when I was leaving the field so early.
“It was absolutely horrible being on the sidelines and as the other injured bunch joined me I didn’t know what to think.”
The 2023 premiership winning captain labelled Sunday’s effort as one of his favorite ever team performances.
“This is the toughest team I’ve ever played in by far, I’m just so proud,” he said.
“It took us 45 years to win one so to go back-to-back now is such a testament to the culture we’ve built at the club.
“To win today in this fashion is honestly hard to believe and it’s something everyone should be very proud of.”
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