Mustangs U21s produce the goods in Tom Gorman Challenge

See the full results from a gripping Tom Gorman Challenge for the men and women at Glenholme Park.

The Western Mustangs U21s celebrate their win in the Tom GOrman Challenge. Photo: Western Mustangs

RUGBY LEAGUE: The TRL’s inaugural Tom Gorman Challenge has been capped off in style.

The two-day carnival came to a conclusion on Saturday night, with the Western Mustangs U21s taking out the men’s title, and Newtown reigning supreme in the women’s division.

It marked a turnaround for the Mustangs, who bounced back from a loss in their first outing to Gatton, going the rest of the tournament undefeated, capped off with a 24-8 victory over Dalby in the final.

Coach Eugene Seddon said he was proud of the resolve his team was able to show, coming up against a number of experienced sides in the process as they prepare for their round one Hasting Deering Colts clash with Mackay.

“It came about us going into the comp with the TRL taking over the Mustangs,” Seddon said.

“I thought it was very beneficial for the boys to be playing against men. It’s a great experience to take on the likes of Steve Franciscus and Darcy Maroske.

“That was our final trial for Mackay and was a really good result. It was well deserved and I couldn’t be prouder of the group and the way they went about their business.”

The Mustangs won two of their pool games, before downing Highfields 20-18 in a hard-fought semi final.

That saw them progress to take on the Diehards, who also won two of their pool games before taking care of Gatton by 22-10 in the semi.

Seddon said his team was able to take lessons from the pool stages through to the finals.

“In our loss to Gatton we were up by eight with seven to go, but took some lessons away from there and applied it to the rest of the tournament,” he said.

“In the juniors you can get away with that, but against men you have to be fairly methodical and clinical with what you do.

“They were able to set a good platform defensively and that’s something they’ll take away (from the weekend).

“Kyle Petersen was exceptional and Les Hartvigsen was massive in defence.”

Alex Dunemann was named player of the match in the final.

Newtown was able to recover from an early defeat to Gatton in the pool stages, bouncing back in the final to score a 14-6 win over the Hawks in the final.

Kiara Taylor’s two tries saw her take out player of the match honours for the Lions, with Carissa Taylor scoring the lone try for Gatton.

TOM GORMAN CHALLENGE RESULTS

MEN

Pool A: Gatton 20-18 Mustangs, Souths 14-4 Brothers, Mustangs 18-6 Souths, Gatton 32-10 Brothers, Gatton 26-6 Souths, Mustangs 38-18 Brothers

Pool B: Pittsworth 12-6 Newtown, Highfields 20-10 Dalby, Highields 40-0 Newtown, Dalby 40-? Pittsworth, Dalby 24-18 Newtown, Highfields 20-20 Pittsworth

Semi finals: Mustangs 20-18 Highfields, Dalby 22-10 Gatton

Grand final: Mustangs 24-8 Dalby

WOMEN

Pool games: Gatton 40-0 Dalby, Newtown 20-6 Brothers, Gatton 8-4 Newtown, Dalby 8-8 Brothers,

Grand final: Newtown 14-6 Gatton