Former NRL star Jarrod Wallace makes Dalby Diehards debut

REVEALED: Former NRL star Jarrod Wallace made his TRL debut in a 13-try, 74-point thriller on Sunday. Find out how the major Dalby Diehards signing fared in his first game.

Gatton’s Nick Short (pictured against Warwick earlier this season) scored in his side’s win over Oakey at the weekend. Picture: Mike Spence/TRL

All eyes were on the Queensland border on Sunday with Goondiwindi Boars playing host to Dalby Diehards.

Big, vocal and passionate home crowds are the norm at Gilbert Oval but there were extra eyes on the game with ex-NRL star Jarrod Wallace debuting for Diehards.

Wallace’s big match and Valleys clash with Highfields headline our TRL Round 12 Sunday Talking Points.

Diehards demolished

Jarrod Wallace’s Dalby debut did not go to plan.

Running out in a new shade of maroon, the former NRL and Queensland star was on the wrong end of an 18-point defeat.

In the build up to Sunday’s showdown Dalby president Dan Manley talked about Wallace being “a clever runner which I think will open up more chances for Woodie (Diehards fullback Chris Woodbridge)”.

That appeared to be the case in the opening 15 minutes of the match with Woodbridge scoring a double and Dalby securing a 16-point lead in the same period.

That is about as good as it got for Wallace and his new side though. Goondiwindi ran in the next five tries and went on to record a 46-28 win.

The addition of Wallace appears to have inspired his fellow forwards though with talented second rower Bailey Rathmell scoring a double and hooker Fletch Prendergast crashing over a try.

Dalby fans will have their first chance to see Wallace in action at home this Saturday.

Roosters crowing

Cellar dwellers Highfields Eagles looked primed to pull off the upset of the season when they led Valleys Roosters 16-12 at halftime.

Roosters coach Josh Barrett rallied his troops at the break though, and the home side were a different beast in the second half.

The young Eagles pack were no match for Roosters ‘big boppers’ who dominated the middle of the field to set up a 48-28 win.

The biggest talking point of this encounter is the continued improvement of Highfields young stars.

Highfields Junior Rugby League Club is a hotbed of top tier talent with the best of those stars naturally joining the senior club.

The Eagles A-grade team is not short on talent, passion or skill – their main challenge is physically staying in games against bigger, more experienced opponents.

They are however improving each week.

Sunday superheroes

There were plenty big scores on Sunday across the Under-19, Reserve and A-grade competitions.

Here’s a look at every player who scored a double.

Joshua Quinlan, Bailey Nash, Will Holley, Chris Woodbridge, Bailey Rathmell, Brady Martyn, Brian-Adam Babington, Dylan Glenbar, Varo Niuni, Cooper Wedrat, Daniel Brown, Joseph Coren all scored doubles for their respective

SATURDAY SHOWDOWNS

Unbeaten Brothers

The future of Brothers Rugby League Club is bright with the next generation of stars already making their mark.

With just four wins from 11 games, Warwick haven’t had much to celebrate this season but the Cowboys tested Brothers’ mettle at the weekend.

Ashton Wilson was the difference between the two sides with the hard-running Brothers lock scoring a double in his side’s 16-12 win at home.

Wilson is also Brothers’ leading try scorer and sits in second place with 11 tries behind Goondiwindi Boars’ Ray O’Neill.

There are some glaring inconsistencies in Brothers’ performances this season with the players occasionally ‘switching off’ during matches, but they are still a perfect 11 from 11.

At their best they’re an exciting team to watch boasting the competition’s best attack and defence.

Like the unbeaten Hawks in A-grade, Brothers’ success to date has been built on solid forward play providing the space for their electric halves and backs to work in.

Brothers were also on the back foot, trailing in last weekend’s President’s Cup only to fightback for a win – just like Gatton in the Madsen Rasmussen Trophy.

Dalby and Wattles will be huge tests but Brothers have five very winnable games in the run home and could finish the season unbeaten.

Hawks still flying

It wasn’t the big scoreline we’re accustomed to seeing when Hawks play mid-table teams, but the premiers did enough at home on Saturday night.

Hawks centre Bradley Zampech kicked off proceedings in the 19th minute crossing over for the first of his two tries in his side’s 20-6 win over Oakey Bears.

Surprisingly Hawks were unable to convert from the kicking tee, missing all five of their conversion attempts, in their five tries to one victory.

Winger William Bevin scored in the 74th minute for Bears.

Hawks remain unbeaten after the win.

Gatton’s Tate Rhea (pictured during the TRL Madsen-Rasmussen trophy final) scored on Saturday. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Dynamite Duncan

It’s no consolation for losing the Madsen Rasmussen from a winning position last weekend, but Wattles bounced back in style against Southern Suburbs Tigers.

As has been the case all season, Dwayne Duncan was the star for Wattles, scoring three tries in his side’s 42-18 win.

Duncan is arguably one of the best signings made by any club this season with the veteran five-eighth adding another layer to Wattles’ attack.

His pairing with halfback Tom Hatch make the Wattles a difficult prospect to contain.

Brothers beat Warwick Cowboys 26-22 in the other A-grade match on Saturday.

Terrific Tait

Tait Cameron was the man in a 10-try Under-19 thriller between Souths and Wattles.

Souths leapfrogged Wattles into fifth place after securing a 28-26 win at Gold Park.

Amazingly both teams scored five tries and kicked all of their five conversion attempts.

Lining up at fullback for Tigers, Cameron kicked a penalty goal to hand his team the win.

The skipper also scored a try and kicked three conversions.

Open for business

The scoreboard officials were kept busy on Saturday with a combined 172 points scored across the first three Reserve grade games of round 12.

Gatton thumped Oakey 44-6, Wattles beat Souths 46-20 and Warwick proved too good for Brothers, winning 36-20.

The top players from the three matches included Michael Bloomfield (Warwick 2 tries), Ezekiel Kugel (Gatton 2 tries), Ty Gardner (Wattles 2 tries) and Jordan Dimmack (Souths 2 tries).

After an injury plagued past few seasons, star outside back Austin Jennings marked his second week straight for Wattles Reserves with the opening try.