Premiership winning TRL captains heap praise on their teammates

Another thrilling TRL senior season wrapped up at the weekend with four new premiers crowned. Find out what the winning skippers had to say post-game.

The Dalby Diehards capped off their stellar 2023 Toowoomba Rugby League season in style with a six-point win over Valleys in the A-grade grand final on Saturday night at Clive Berghofer Stadium.

Dalby A-grade captain Steve Franciscus spoke with The Chronicle after the game and shared his delight to bring home Dalby’s second TRL A-grade premiership.

“It feels really good,” he said.

“We were up against it, so we will go through the motions, have a few beers and enjoy our time together.

“I think we have the best supporter crew in the Western Downs and I am just glad we were able to do it for them.”

The Diehards faithful turned out in full force as they created a thunderous atmosphere for both the A-grade and Reserve grade teams.

It did not take long for the travelling band of supporters to be rewarded as the Webcke Price Medallist, Chris Woodbridge, opened the scoring with a try in the corner in just the third minute of the game.

However, the Dalby fullback went from hero to zero in the blink of an eye as he was sent to the sin bin five minutes later after being involved in an altercation off the ball.

The Roosters used this to their advantage as they equalised shortly after thanks to a try from fullback Dylan Chown.

Both sides struggled to get their offensive game flowing but Dalby managed to take an 8-6 lead into halftime after a Woodbridge penalty goal in the 29th minute.

In a contrast to the last time these two played – where Dalby claimed a 38-34 win – it was the defence that ruled supreme with several errors forced and impressive goal line defending from both teams.

After struggling to put the pressure on at the end of sets, as Valleys gave Dalby regular seven-tackle sets form the 20m line, the Roosters were eventually made to pay for one too many poor kicks as the Diehards went the length of the field from the following set to score their second try in the 54th minute of the contest.

Valleys hit back five minutes later through Matthew Waites and it was a two-point game once again.

As the clock began to tick down, the Roosters began to get more desperate and with 15 minutes left to play, Valleys halfback Sam Betros let his frustrations boilover as he threw the ball at his opponent following a knock-on and was sent to the sin bin.

Now with an extra man, the Diehards needed no extra invitation to make the most of it as Woodbridge was again front and centre as he scored a try in the corner in the 72nd minute to make it 18-12 with a kick to come.

With the stakes high, Woodbridge held his nerve and slotted through the conversion to give Dalby an eight-point lead with six minutes on the clock.

With less than 90 seconds on the clock, the Diehards looked to have the premiership in the bag.

Dalby Diehards players and supporters celebrate winning the TRL Hutchinson Builders A-grade premiership.

However, a late penalty gave the Roosters a chance to make it a six-point game.

Dwayne Duncan kicked truly from 40m out to set up a dramatic final set with Valleys needing to go from one length of the field to another in less than a minute.

The Diehards then gave away another penalty in the dying second of the game which meant the Roosters had time for one possession from the 30m line.

Dalby ultimately held on to claim a historic victory as jubilant scenes followed with Diehards fans storming the field to join in celebrations with the players.

After a dominant performance, Woodbridge took home the John McDonald Medal for best on ground and Franciscus was full of praise for his fullback.

“We are just glad (to have him), I think he is quicker than daylight,” he said.

“He deserves all the credit he gets, he is a very humble dude and has been a great asset to our side.

“We are just really ecstatic at the moment and I think we were written off in Round 5 and we

have just come back and shown that we are a galvanised group and we could do it.”

Franciscus said the group mentality was a major reason why his side came out on top in the end as he said every player played their part.

“We just knew we all had a role to play, we don’t have too many superstars – we have a couple but everyone just played their role,” he said.

Franciscus pinpointed the efforts of role players Blake Mara, Daniel Wassell, Max Brady and Noah Brady, as well as the work of his wingers and centres, who set the tone for the Diehards.

With the Diehards claiming their first A-grade premiership since 2017, Franciscus was over the moon to see his side return to the top pedestal.

“It is unreal, We have been in the wilderness since 2017, so we are back in the jungle now.”

Under 19 men

In the match of the day, Highfields secured back-to-back Under 19 men’s TRL premierships with a thrilling 27-26 win over Valleys in golden point on Saturday.

In a seesawing clash which had countless twists and turns, Highfields captain Declan Ryan stood tall when it mattered most to kick the winning field goal.

Speaking to The Chronicle at the conclusion of play, Ryan described the win as a ‘pretty surreal moment’.

“We made it hard on ourselves, but full credit to the boys, they dug deep and the boys in the middle played a lot of minutes,” he said.

The victory did not come easy for the Eagles as they had to contend with a Valleys outfit which refused to die.

Highfields had the ascendancy for the majority of the contest but the Roosters came storming home thanks to a try followed by a clutch conversion from the corner with less than five minutes on the clock.

More drama ensued in the final moments before full time as Valleys had a full set of six just 20 metres out following a penalty with 70 seconds on the clock.

However, a knock-on early in the tackle count meant the Eagles survived the late scare.

“It looked like it was theirs for all money,” Ryan said.

“They had a tap on the 20 but we had a bit of good fortune and we came away with the win.”

Ryan stood tall as captain when it mattered most as he kicked the premiership-winning field goal in golden point which he described as one of the highlights of his career.

“I haven’t hit them well all year at training,” he said.

Highfields Eagles Under 19 men celebrate their premiership win.

“We have been practising and I have been skewing them to the right, but to get that one, it was a pretty surreal moment.”

Ryan praised the work ethic of his side throughout the season which was a driving factor behind their back-to-back premierships.

“One to 20, everyone did a job, we played this year with sometimes just 10 players but we just dug deep,” he said.

“Stevo (Highfields coach Steve Haywood) always says ‘earn it’ and today we earned it.”

A-grade women

Gatton’s dominance in the A-grade women’s competition continued on Saturday as the Hawks secured their third premiership in as many seasons thanks to a comprehensive 32-16 win over Newtown.

After an arm wrestle in the early stages of the contest, the Hawks scored two tries in the last five minutes of the first half to take an 18-4 lead at halftime.

This proved to be a pivotal moment in the clash as it allowed the floodgates to open and the Hawks began to show their class.

Gatton added another two tries early in the second half before a late surge gave the Lions a glimmer of hope.

“The last two years in the grand finals it has been really tight heading into halftime and it has only been like a two-point difference so it was a weird vibe for us because we are not normally in those situations,” Gatton captain Kimberley Dore said.

“So it was a big breathing space for us, maybe that contributed to us getting a bit complacent there towards the end of the second half, but for us, it was calmer heading into those changing rooms at halftime.”

However, the Hawks held on and scored a try in the dying minutes of the game to put the premiership beyond doubt.

After surviving the late scare, Dore was relieved to hold on for the win.

“It has been an up and down season for us and to get to this point has been a fabulous achievement for us given we have had a lot of different players coming in and out for various reasons,” she said.

Gatton Hawks women celebrate the premiership.

“To keep on regrouping, it has been a massive task for us and it has just been the heart of the girls to be able to get to this point and come away with the win.”

The magnitude of claiming three premierships in a row was not lost on her.

“It was hard because you want to back it up and the third one is always the hardest – it’s the

making of a dynasty,” Dore said.

“There is quite a bit of pressure added to make sure you get there and get that win, so the pressure was on us more than Newtown.”

Gatton hawks women's captain Kimberley Dore receives the trophy.

A major factor to the Hawks’ success was the togetherness of the team, with all the players willing to chip in and play their part.

“It takes a while to get that united front going, but it has been really good,” Dore said.

Reserve grade

Valleys Roosters claimed a hard-fought 26-10 win over Dalby to take home the Reserve grade premiership.

After both sides traded blows early, Valleys took a 12-6 lead late in the first half.

Despite the setback, the Diehards remained unfazed and had momentum on their side as they eyed off an equalising try in the dying stages of the first half.

However, just as Dalby began to hit its straps, disaster struck when Diehards prop Tomasi Naborisi was sent to the sin bin just moments before halftime.

This moment proved pivotal as Valleys made the most of the extra man to begin the second half and extended the lead out to 10 points.

From there, Dalby was always on the back foot as the Roosters dictated play and eventually ran home to claim a 16-point win.

Valleys captain Jaren Bender was best on ground and was ‘over the moon’ to claim the premiership.

“We have worked all year for this, so it is good to be here and win it,” he said.

“We all worked as a team, we all stuck together, did those one-percenters and came out on top.

“I am proud of the boys.”

Despite winning the medal for best on ground, Bender remained humble and instead diverted his focus to the rest of the team, who all played their part in the premiership success.

“I didn’t want this award but someone voted me for it, so I got to accept it,” he said.

“I had 21 men there who worked all year and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

Bender gave specific praise to the forward pack, who laid the foundations for him to get to work in the backline.

“Our forward pack all year, they laid the platform for us,” he said.

“Us backs can’t do our thing unless our forwards are getting us forward – which they were.

“They were excellent today, the game was all up the guts and they won that battle.

“We told the boys before the game, we got to make it personal and they did.”