Diehards defeat the Southern Suburbs Tigers 32 -18

After a near flawless season the Dalby Diehards under-19 side have continued their form into the finals taking out the flag against the game Southern Suburbs Tigers. Find out more.

TRL Diehards win

After a dominant season with just one loss to their name the Dalby Diehards under 19s have taken home the 2024 TRL premiership in a thrilling win over Souths.

Playing on Saturday at Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer Stadium the minor premiers defeated the Southern Suburbs Tigers 32 -18.

The Diehards got off to a strong start getting up 12-0 early and despite a valiant effort from the Tigers levelling the score at 12 a piece the Diehards were simply too much running away with it with three tries in quick succession thanks to Lyucian King-Togia, Joey Sankey and Joe Willet.

Bailey Rathmell then extended the lead for the Diehards before the Souths returned fire but it was too little too late and Dalby’s centre Matthew Drews scored one more to secure the game 32-18.

President Dan Manley said he was proud of how the team played.

“It was adulation on Saturday, they played a fantastic game, they played as well as I’ve seen them play and they were the deserving team on the day,” he said.

“It got up to 12 all but we kicked clear once we scored a try, it's not too hard to get up for a grand final and they left nothing out on the field it was an outstanding day.

“It’s incredible how good of a side they really are, it’s a strong comp in those top sides and our boys were clearly the better of the two sides.

“They’ve got some old heads on some young bodies out there and I think you can put that down to our halves who are both very composed, it takes a lot to fluster them.”

After taking home the under-19 Top Point Scorer and Best and Fairest award at the recent TRL awards Joey Sankey was also awarded player of the match.

“Joey was outstanding, I don't think there was a bad player out there but he was certainly among the best on the day,” Mr Manley said.

“Joey Gillett was another outstanding performance, those two really laid a platform for us and kept Souths on the backfoot the whole day.”

Mr Manley said the club was shaping up well for the future.

“It’s fantastic a lot of those boys have another year in under 19s so we are certainly very blessed with what we’ve got coming through the ranks, we should be in good standing for the next couple of years,” he said.

“A few of the more senior players will start playing a bit more A-Grade and Reserve grade next year which strengthens us so we are very excited for what the future holds.”

Originally published as Diehards defeat the Southern Suburbs Tigers 32 -18