Bulldogs eye up glory after snapping premiership drought
While a breakthrough premiership is still sinking in, Beerwah coach Jordan Meads already has Sunshine Coast glory on his mind.
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While a breakthrough premiership is still sinking in, Beerwah coach Jordan Meads already has Sunshine Coast glory on his mind.
The Bulldogs snapped a 41-year premiership drought after defeating Redlands 34-08 in the Brisbane Division 1 grand final on Saturday.
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It was the first piece of silverware the club had won since forming in 1971.
"To be honest, it probably hasn't sunk in as much as it will over the next couple of weeks but it's a massive achievement and massive thing for us," Meads said.
"We're over the moon and I know the club are.
"I've seen so many tears in the last couple of days and it just makes it all worthwhile."
He said the Bulldogs had plenty of support down south and celebrated the victory in style back at the club that night.
"We got back and there was 100s of people waiting for us at the club so you could see how much it meant for the community, and the boys were just over the moon."
Their success followed a rollercoaster year, with Rugby League Sunshine Coast pulling the pin on getting an A-grade season off the ground due to COVID-19.
However, not giving up, the Bulldogs explored their options and were eventually granted a spot in the Brisbane Division 1 league in late July.
Now with silverware honours to their name, Meads said he was eager to see the Bulldogs push on and achieve the feat in home territory.
"Everyone knows that the first one (premiership) is the hardest," he said.
"We're under no illusions that we will be the hunted next year which is perfectly fine for us.
"But, we will enjoy this moment and spend a couple of weeks enjoying it with the community and then we will focus on 2021.
"By all means the job is not done and we will be ready to roll come March next year."
They've featured in three Coast grand finals, their latest attempt involving a heartbreaking loss against Maroochydore in 2018.
"You want to win your home competition, so that's still something we haven't achieved yet and that'll keep the boys going for the next couple of years at least," Meads said.
"So, we're certainly hoping to make that happen but we know that the Sunshine Coast competition next year will be pretty strong and there will be lot of players keen to rip in after 12 months without any rugby league."
With a season under their belt, he believed the Bulldogs would be primed to strike come 2021.
"I think you're going to find that most players playing in the Sunny Coast competition next year are going to be the best part of 18/19 months without rugby league," he said.
"But, there is a lot of great coaches in our competition so they'll have a pretty strenuous pre-season and be best prepared.
"But, no doubt, playing rugby league this year has been a massive advantage for us."
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