Coolaroo and Toowoomba Tigers claim victory in senior men’s and women’s AFLDD grand finals
Two of Toowoomba’s top senior coaches were the focus of attention at Rockville Park on Saturday after they bowed out in style with victories in the senior men’s and women’s AFLQ Darling Downs grand finals. Details here.
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There were emotional scenes at Rockville Park on Saturday as two of AFLQ Darling Downs’ leading coaches ended their stints in style, claiming the senior premierships for their side.
Miels Grice ended a stunning four-year reign in charge of the Coolaroo men’s side when the Roos defeated Goondiwindi 111-24, while Nev Jericho’s decade long stand as women’s coach of the Toowoomba Tigers ended with a 60-4 win over University Cougars.
Grice was “absolutely stoked” to complete an incredible three-peat in such dominant fashion.
“Been a long year, but the boys turned up when it mattered, so to win one premiership is unreal, to win three in a row is phenomenal,” he said.
“I think that thing I’m most proud of is the culture that we breed here.
“I took on the job four years ago and we had a lot of work to do in the last four years.
“It’s a credit to the boys to buy into the standards I’ve set, nobody gets a free ride at our club.”
Grice is set to step down from the role as head coach to give himself more time to focus on himself and his family and recalled some of the highlights from his time in charge.
“I think the first premiership will always mean a lot to me … just the good times around the club, seeing the families come around to Coolaroo and being able to look up on the hill and see the culture we have built,” he said
“Saturday meant a lot to me knowing it was my last game as coach, my daughter played in a premiership that morning so it was a fantastic way to cap off my time as senior coach.”
With Coolaroo building an incredible dynasty in the last three seasons, Grice was delighted to step down with the club in a strong position.
“I really hope I have left the club in a better place than I found it and I believe I have,” he said
“It’s left me very proud to say I’m handing over in a good spot.”
Nev Jericho’s 10-year stint as head coach of the Toowoomba Tigers women’s team had a fairytale ending as his side claimed its ninth premiership in 10 years.
“(I am) very, very proud, they played well, right from start to finish and our defence was amazing,” he said.
“The scores don’t really reflect the game, Uni’s midfield played really well, our defence and ability to score was the difference.
“It has been very special, there’s been three girls that have been right through - Lauren Taylor our captain, Penny Dukes and Lillie Patterson have been with us all the way.”
Along with winning premierships, Jericho was delighted to have helped develop some talented players over the last decade.
“The major highlights have been watching girls with no AFL experience whatsoever, become quite talented footballers,” he said.
“Realistically we’ve had two girls that were sports girls that came in and in their first year ever of AFL have won the Heather Green medal so that’s pretty special.”
Along with leading the Tigers to on-field success, Jericho has led the way as club president and oversaw the development of Rockville Park.
“I probably have been president for most of those years, Tigers hold a pretty good spot in my heart,” he said.
“We’ve been able to develop from a big open paddock to one of the premier sports facilities in Toowoomba.”
Junior grand finals
In the under-14.5 grand final, the South Toowoomba Bombers held on for a thrilling 30-27 win over University.
Coach Andrew Groom was delighted with his side’s performance and the way they stood tall when it mattered most.
“I am extremely proud, the team played a great brand of footy and just gelled together really well,” he said.
“It was a really close game, they (University) came back hard, they fought back hard and really challenged it in the final quarter.”
Groom also revealed the key to success in such a nailbiting contest.
“I think it was their commitment and effort to play their footy and the commitment and effort they showed to each other,” he said.
“There are no special or amazing players, just a good bunch of people.”
The commitment to the cause was most evident with several players who suffered injuries throughout the campaign still supporting the side at training and at games every week.
“We’ve had a stack of kids with injuries who also just kept coming to training even though they were injured,” Groom said.
In the under-12.5 grand final, Coolaroo was a class above, defeating University 39-20.
Interestingly, the Cougars had one more scoring shot than the eventual premiers, but accuracy in front of goal proved the difference, with Coolaroo kicking six goals three, and University two goals eight.
This made the win all the more fulfilling for coach Tom Claydon as accuracy in front of goal was a key focus for his side throughout the campaign.
“I am very proud, we worked hard all year, they put in effort from start to finish, they knew it was going to be tough but put in the hard work,” he said.
“Our goalkicking has been a real focus the last 8 weeks, at the start of the season we were kicking seven or eight more behinds than goals in games.
“As a coach you want to see the work you put in come to fruition, we were lucky enough our goalkicking straightened up over the last five weeks.”
While Coolaroo will lose some players next season as they move up an age bracket, there is no cause for concern for Claydon as there are players already waiting in the wings to make the step up.
“We were lucky we had six under-10s that could have played in the grand final on the weekend,” he said.
Between the revolving door of talent at the junior level, to the sustained success in the seniors, Claydon revealed the keys to the club’s development.
“You could name 15 people that want to see the club succeed, the club committee drives the success and has been beneficial for all of us,” he said.
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