Dalby and Highfields under-19s turn in on in ‘3 point’ thriller

Dalby Diehards and Highfields Eagles under-19s produced a three-point thriller on Saturday. Find out how the game played out plus all of Saturday’s Toowoomba Rugby League talking points here.

Nick Short (pictured in action against Warwick Cowboys earlier this season) scored for Gatton on Saturday. Picture: Mike Spence/TRL

Saturday’s round 11 Toowoomba Rugby League A-grade men’s fixtures kicked off in all too familiar fashion.

Gatton Hawks played, and Gatton Hawks won in impressive fashion – maintaining their unbeaten record to start the season.

Over at Kuhls Road Oval, Dalby Diehards star Chris Woodbridge helped clip the Highfields Eagles’ wings with a tryscoring double in his side’s win.

Check out all the big talking points from Saturday’s matches here.

Hawks soar again

There really is no stopping the Gatton Hawks juggernaut right now.

At home on Saturday night, the Hawks raced out to an early 12-0 lead before Goondiwindi’s David McGrady halved the deflect in the 18th minute.

It wasn’t long before the Hawks were back on the front foot though, just 10 minutes to be precise, and the premiers went into halftime leading 22-12.

Hawks 2024’s Hutchinson Builders A-grade premiership was built on power and fitness – their success so far this season has been built on the same foundations.

They eased the pace a little in the second half but still produced three tries and kept the Boars scoreless.

Hawks props Ben Haviland and Tate Rhea punched holes in the Boars defence, scoring a try each, and their work up the middle gave their backline all the room they needed to score out wide.

Based on current form it’s really hard to see how the high-flying Hawks can be beaten.

Captain Ben Haviland (pictured in action against Brothers earlier this season) scored for Gatton on Saturday. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Gritty Diehards

The Boars’ loss was the Dalby Diehards’ gain on Saturday.

Sitting in eighth spot at the start of the round, Dalby leapt into fifth with a 32-24 win over a gritty Highfields Eagles.

Diehards fullback Chris Woodbridge was the star of the show again – scoring a double.

If Warwick beat Wattles on Sunday afternoon, Dalby will drop back to sixth but for know they’re holding onto the last finals spot.

It’s a key win for Diehards ahead of what will be a key fixture in a fortnight’s time.

The Diehards make the 200km-plus road trip to Goondiwindi’s Gilbert Oval.

With both sides sitting around the top five, the match up could ultimately decide which team goes on to compete for a finals spot and who plays the role of spoiler.

Highfields were competitive and determined in this clash and it could be argued they deserved a win.

Under-19 thriller

Highfields and Dalby played out an absolute thriller on the weekend.

Dalby jagged a 16-13 with Fletcher James, Cooper Wedrat and Lachlan Paerau crossing the line and Joey Sankey kicking two conversions for Diehards.

In response Will Flegler and Josephy Coren scored for Eagles, Hayden Nicholson kicked two conversions and Mitchell Dabin booted home a field goal.

Incomplete statistics prevent us from determining the exact sequence of events but it is evident both teams gave it their all.