Dalby Wheatmen win 2024 A-grade Risdon Cup grand final over Goondiwindi Emus
It was an unforgettable day of action at Clive Berghofer Stadium on Saturday, with the Dalby Wheatmen, Toowoomba Bears, Goondiwindi Emus and Gatton Black Pigs all tasting premiership glory. See what all the captains had to say here.
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Down 7-6 at halftime in the 2024 Risdon Cup final, the Dalby Wheatmen were staring down the barrel of an agonising defeat.
However, the cream of the crop rose when it mattered most as Dalby dominated the second half to claim an impressive 23-12 win over the Goondiwindi Emus.
Wheatmen captain Lachie Currie was visibly emotional after the game as the long hours were made all worth it when he hoisted the Risdon Cup above his head.
“It is unbelievable, just a season of such hard work, determination, not just from our A-grade boys, the whole club,” he said.
“To win the game like that, a lot of hard work and a lot of injured boys but we just kept trucking through.
“It’s the stuff you play for these moments and I am so proud of these boys, I am so proud of this club, it is just one of the best feelings you could ever have, it’s why you play footy.”
Currie revealed the halftime pep talk he gave his side which helped flip the game on its head in the second half.
“I think it was a few of us leaders, coaches, senior boys we brought them all in and just said ‘you’ve got 40 minutes, everything you’ve got left, this is the last game in the year, whatever you’ve got left in that tank that’s what we’ve got to unleash’ and we did and we were able to come away with a great result,” he said.
“We knew with Gundy, it was always going to be that tough, tough arm wrestle back and forth.
“We just had to make sure we kept getting points and kept going, we knew something was going to come eventually and eventually it did and we were able to capitalise on that.
“It came from a lot of hard work from the boys and just white-knuckling it and dealing with the pain.”
The class of the Wheatmen in all grades was clear to see with all three men’s teams making the grand finals in their respective competitions.
“Dalby rugby is going great this year, I think what’s been really good is everyone has just bought into what we’re trying to do,” Currie said.
“You just got to look at today with all the fans and all the support and that just shows you how good we’re doing at the moment.
“Everyone truly believes what we’re trying to achieve and no one is in it for the wrong reasons, they’re all in it for how much they love Dalby and how much they want to win and how much they want to do it for the jersey.”
Despite the strong seasons from all three Dalby sides which competed on Saturday, only the A-grade side triumphed, with B and C-grades both suffering heartbreaking defeats, something that Currie believed spurred his side on even more.
“We were feeling a little bit gutted for those boys, they both lost very close games,” he said.
“So it was just in us that there was no option, in that tunnel before we went out I said to the boys ‘there’s no option, we don’t leave without that cup’.
“And all our boys they really just bought it … we knew we had to win this thing.”
You could have been confused for thinking the clash was played at Dalby, instead of Clive Berghofer Stadium in the heart of Toowoomba, such was the roaring reception the Wheatmen sides were given from the fans in attendance.
“It is unbelievable, I speak for myself personally, I’ve been busted out there, you got that crowd out there just cheering you on, it makes you want to go that extra mile even if you didn’t have anything left in you,” Currie said.
“You don’t get that unless you’ve got that support from everybody.”
It was a case of deja vu for many with the roaring reception identical to what was given to the Dalby Diehards, in their TRL premiership in 2023 at the same ground.
With the Dalby rugby league and rugby union sides both claiming premierships in the space of 12 months, the town is buzzing.
“For the town it’s massive, just this whole week, the messages and all the support from all the businesses, it can’t help but make you feel emotional,” Currie said.
“Diehards won last year, we’ve got it this year, it’s just amazing and I think it’s a big credit to how much we all really care about this town and how much we care about sport in general.”
Bears claim women’s premiership
The Toowoomba Bears’ dominance in the women’s game continued on Saturday as they claimed a gutsy 10-7 win over Roma/St George to complete the double of winning both the rugby sevens and 15s competitions this year.
Captain Anna Johnston was delighted with the performance from her side and how they continued their momentum from the Emilee Cherry Cup earlier in the season.
“I am so proud of the girls to be able to switch codes, it’s not easy, the endurance is completely different for both games,” she said.
“It is so exciting to have our own comp here in the Downs, there’s Brisbane comps but now there’s a Toowoomba comp, not just rep but actually club so it is so exciting to have these two options growing rugby union on the Downs.”
After a strong first half, the Bears did not have the dominance on the scoreboard to reflect their efforts as they only led by five points at the break.
However, a try from Anna Park early in the second half gave them a 10-0 lead and some breathing space.
The second try sparked Roma/St George into action, as the Western Wanderers were charging home in the final 15 minutes of the contest and scored a converted try to make it a three-point game.
However, despite their best efforts, the Bears held on to claim a thrilling victory.
“We pulled through the whole game, it was such a great battle, but we were able to just hold in there and get the job done,” Johnston said.
“I am so proud of the girls, there’s some girls who haven’t played before, no rugby background at all and they’ve just pulled through won a grand final and I am just so proud of the girls.
“We had a chat with the girls just pulling in after that last try, we were just like ‘we’ve only got five minutes left, we’ve just got to pull it in, this is where it counts’.
“We just had to try and lift our own game to those girls and defend our hearts out.”
The fact Toowoomba conceded just one try for the clash was made all the more impressive considering there were two occasions where they were down to 14 players due to yellow cards.
Despite the disadvantage, Johnston said the side was prepared for the task and lifted their efforts.
“We’ve had a few occasions throughout the seasons where we’ve been down players just due to numbers,” she said.
“So we’ve been able to pull on our experience, pull together as a team and work that defence, just play with the sisterhood and getting the job done together.”
Emus hold on to claim thrilling B-grade title
Down to 13 men for seven minutes against a Dalby Wheatmen side determined to claim a come-from behind victory, the Goondiwindi Emus had their backs to the wall defending their narrow 13-12 lead.
It was in this moment that the stars within the Emus line-up stepped up and defended for their lives before going on to claim an unforgettable 18-12 win against the odds.
Goondiwindi captain James Scanlan was delighted with his side’s performance throughout the campaign.
“(I am) immensely proud, we’ve worked hard all year, we’ve had a good side, we’ve put in effort,” he said.
“I can’t fault the effort today, we were down a couple of men there which wasn’t ideal but the boys just kept turning up.”
Scanlan was impressed by the way his side stepped up during the short period where they were down two players due to yellow cards.
“We’ve talked a lot this year about our defence, a couple of close games against Dalby we’ve come from behind and won,” he said.
“We knew that if we just hung in and kept turning up in defence that we’d frustrate them and eventually get the ball back and that’s what happened.
“I just think it’s about not panicking at that point, we just had belief in our defence and just number up, keep sliding and working hard.
“Teams try and throw the ball around when they know they’ve got extra numbers and it draws mistakes and that’s what happened.
“They tried to chuck it round and we were there.”
After defending against countless Wheatmen attacks, Oscar Hunt scored a late try to shift momentum back into the Emus’ favour, before the final siren sounded shortly after.
“It was good, we were in our end there for 15, 20 minutes, absorbing all the pressure, we just needed a momentum swing and to get over halfway and Oscar got a sniff and he got the job done,” Scanlan said.
“I’m bloody proud, we just hung in, we’ve done it before, if we were within striking range we could hold it out and that’s what we did.”
Gatton’s long drought finally over
The Gatton Black Pigs ended a drought which had lasted more than two decades when they claimed a thrilling 25-17 win over Dalby in C-grade.
Captain Angus Brennand could not contain his excitement when he was handed the premiership cup.
“It’s my first ever win in a grand final so it’s pretty awesome, just absolutely over the moon, can’t describe it, it is awesome,” he said.
“23 years since we’ve been in one (a grand final) and a lot longer than that since we won one so it is a big day for the club and a big day overall.”
Brennand said the win would have a massive impact for the Gatton community.
“The last years have been a bit of difference between the uni and the town itself,” he said.
“We are sort of bringing the culture back, getting the town through it, this is the first time we’ve had more community fellas than uni fellas playing in C-grade and we love it, bringing the community together.”
Like the women’s and B-grade grand finals, the side with the lead faced an almighty task of defending in the final stages of the contest, with Dalby roaring home late in the game.
However, with a touch of luck and some individual brilliance, Gatton thwarted Dalby’s premiership hopes.
“It was unreal, everyone was so keen, wanting to get it done, we just had to control ourselves and really ride out that last 15 minutes,” Brennand said.
“The boys did really well, kept our heads on, played our game, we did awesome, we got to the end.
“Jared Fearby always plays a great game at 12 there, really directs us around.
“Harry Marshall who got player of the match, always directs the forwards around, does well but across the board, we all stood up today, we had some boys getting better but everyone pulled it out of the hat, we did really well across the board.”
After such a historic moment for the club and the community, Brennand said the party was set to last for some time.
“It is going to be a few days, I’ve got Monday off work so it is going to take a little while to recover from this one,” he said.”
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