Roosters and Sharks win touch premierships

Unbeaten Roosters secure Toowoomba Touch Association premiership with hard fought win

CLOSE FINAL: Sharks player Izzy Reed lines up the ball during her side's Toowoomba Touch Association grand final clash against Roosters. Roosters won the match 4-1. Picture: Nev Madsen

TOUCH: A hard fought 4-1 premiership win capped off a perfect season for Roosters at the weekend.

Facing a determined Sharks outfit, Roosters secured the A-grade women's title with three second half touchdowns after the scores were locked 1-1 at the break.

For Roosters captain Tegan Byrnes the victory was an "unreal” way to end the season.

"It feels unreal. You never think you're going to do something like this (go through unbeaten),” she said.

"I'm really happy for all the girls. Everyone worked really hard this season.

"It was a real team effort, there were no individuals - we worked for each other.”

Expecting a fired up Sharks, smarting after an 11-0 semi-final defeat, Byrnes was impressed with her side's resilience and and patience.

"We expected them to start like a bull out of the gates,” she said.

"We beat them 11-0 in the semi but we knew they'd be better in the final.

"They started really strong and the first half was a real arm wrestle.

"We adjusted a few things at half-time and got the win.”

Sharks triumph

Driven by the pain of grand final defeat last season, Sharks put a line through Saints' premiership reign on Saturday.

On the way to claiming their first A-grade title since 2007, Sharks also stopped Saints' run of six straight premierships wins.

"I'm really happy for the boys,” Sharks A-grade coach Greg Lisle said.

"Losing to Saints after a drop-off in 2017 really hurt.

"I think they showed a real strength of character to prevail this time.”

The fact Sharks did not have a single training run this session is further prove of the team's character.

"We've been building this club for about seven years now,” Lisle said.

"Back then we had four junior sides, now we have more than 50 and probably 80% of the men's side are juniors.

"They've matured into a group of players who can manage themselves and work out their issues as they play.”

Sharks won 9-7 after the scores were locked 4-4 at half-time.

"It was really tight in the first half,” Lisle said.

"Both teams were scoring but it was lots of hard work - lots of repeat sets and tryline pressure.

"I think we played a little more expansively in the second half that helped us get the win.”

Originally published as Roosters and Sharks win touch premierships