Wattles Warriors defeat Gatton to claim 2022 Toowoomba Rugby League A-grade premiership

The Wattles Warriors A-grade side has soared to victory in the 2022 TRL grand final, clinching their first season win in years as one of their top players calls time on an inspired career.

Premiership winners: 2022 Wattles side secured the win with a thrilling 51-20 victory at Toowoomba (Photo: Amanda O'Halloran)

The Wattles Warriors have claimed victory in the 2022 Toowoomba Rugby League A-grade grand final, bringing the premiership trophy back to the Southern Downs for the first time since 2015.

The Allora-Clifton side defeated Gatton 51-20 in a thrilling showdown at Clive Berghofer Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Wattles were behind on the scoreboard at half-time, but the team put on an impressive display in the second half to take the win convincingly.

The club’s reserve grade team were beaten 27-6 in their earlier grand final clash with Highfields.

Wattles are the 2022 TRL champions (Photo: Amanda O'Halloran/ Wattles Warriors)

Player-coach Travis Burns, Matthew Christensen, and Matt Duggan were among the Wattles’ top point-scorers, with Duggan’s impressive work in the halves seeing him named player of the match.

Wattles president Amanda O’Halloran said she felt over the moon after the win, and thanked the huge number of community members who turned out to support the club.

“We had hundreds of local spectators travel up for the game, and everyone was feeling a little bit low after the reserve grade game, but it didn't take long for the A-grade to run on and we saw they were playing the same calibre of football they have been for the last couple weeks,” O’Halloran said.

Premiership winners: 2022 Wattles side secured the win with a thrilling 51-20 victory at Toowoomba (Photo: Amanda O'Halloran)

“All the energy came back and the crowd immediately so into it, it was then we realised how special what we were watching was.

“We had fans on the hill and a lot of the grandstand were all Wattles supporters, old boys, fans and community members travelled from as far as Sydney, Sunshine Coast and out west.

With the premiership secured for this year, the team is reflecting on the season they’ve had and looking to the future.

Premiership winners: 2022 Wattles side secured the win with a thrilling 51-20 victory at Toowoomba (Photo: Amanda O'Halloran)

“I believe the club will stay in strong form - we’ve got great players and the majority of them are returning next season,” O’Halloran said.

“There are so many players that feel that they belong to the club and will continue to play for us.

“We’ve got a few things we want to do, like our under 19s - we want to build them up and see if we can get a women‘s team going, so hopefully we can fill that gap and can do that next year.”

The grand final was the last in A-grade player-coach and former NRL star Travis Burns‘ massive rugby league career, who says he will return as coach despite retiring from the field.

“It is absolutely unbelievable, we’re feeling on top of the world. It was amazing to win the competition with my local club, (it’s) just fantastic,” Burns said.

“I think my boys deserved it. We were in great form, all the boys were ready and we went out and delivered for our community, which is all we wanted to do.

“As soon as it was over we knew all the hard work paid off, we had done it. I have no doubt the boys will go far again next year.”

Originally published as Wattles Warriors defeat Gatton to claim 2022 Toowoomba Rugby League A-grade premiership