Rugby League

Brothers - Easts Grand Final
Grand final program for  Sunday.
Vince Habermann reports on the Schoolboys finals.
Scoreboard
Points tables - Final
No fairytale ending for the Hawks
Bayley Herwig - Cold Rock Star
Suggested Warm up routine by  Keith Dell, Director of Barolin Physiotherapy Services
Brothers Junior Committee - 2008

Bayley Herwig

At the tender age of six, Bayley Herwig chose Rugby League over Soccer. The former Waves player now plays league for the Brothers Shamrocks in an under 7 team coached by his dad Paul.

The St. Pats student, a Manly supporter named fullback Brent Stuart as his favourite player and says the best show on TV is “Wipeout”.

more Cold Rock Stars

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Schoolboy's News

Final Standings

Shalom College emerged as the most successful school in the 2008 Ergon Energy Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Challenge, taking out two of the five titles up for grabs at Salter Oval on Bundaberg District Secondary Schools Sports Winter Grand Finals Day on Wednesday. They contested just two of the finals and they won both, downing Kepnock 24-14 in the 14 years category and outgunning Bundaberg High in the blue riband Open division.

Shalom had been beaten by Bundaberg High in the Open decider for the past two years, but the two-times defending premiers’ hopes of a hat-trick were decimated by the withdrawal of their two by far best players, Marshall Murphy and Jakob Horn. Shalom took full advantage with all of their big guns firing as they raced to a 22-0 half-time lead in almost even time (25-minute halves), and while they were not nearly as dominant in the second stanza, they defended well enough to be never challenged on the score-board.

Michael Formosa    (Photo courtesy Moving Images)

Signs were ominous from the start when Bundaberg High kicked out on the full from the opening whistle, and it took Shalom just four tackles to open their account with blockbusting front rower Jake Chappel powering over and halfback Matt Craven converting. Although Chappel and fellow starting forwards, captain Felise Kaufusi, Michael Vaega-Robson, Joe Trost and Toafa Nasio continued to hammer away up front and hooker Nathan Bobin gave excellent service, it was five-eighth Brock Peters who really put Shalom’s stamp on the game. The dynamic all-rounder drew and passed for Bobin to score in the 8th minute and made the initial incisive 40m break before Kaufusi finished off two minutes later, before grabbing a try of his own after the half-time siren and converting himself after first-choice kicker Craven had limped off with a leg injury five minutes earlier.

Bundaberg High lifted in the second half, and riding on the back of a string of penalties, they got on the board with winger Jason McEwan crossing in the right corner after seven minutes. Given a sniff, they launched another explosive raid, this time down the left side, in their first set from the restart, but Shalom fullback Cody Grohn produced possibly the biggest play of the game, stopping what appeared a certain try with a copybook desperate last-ditch tackle. Bundaberg High engineered another golden chance with a booming 40/20 kick two minutes later, but their execution was not good enough in the face of a rigid defence. Shalom were however restricted to just one try for the half, and it took some more Peters magic to do it, receiving the ball on the left side 35m out, sliding across the field and probing open a gap before charging through it and touching down under the posts, then again adding the extras for a personal haul of 12 points. Still, Chappel was a thoroughly deserved winner of the Man of the Match award after equal-topping the hit-ups with Kaufusi, each with 13, and sharing the tackling honours with Trost with 16 apiece

.

Colin Hounsell was also a man on a mission in the second half, coming off the interchange bench to tally 12 tackles for the period, while in the backs, centre Jan De Villiers was also outstanding with 10 hit-ups and 10 tackles. Front rower Mark Handley never stopped trying for Bundy High but they were beaten by a better team on the day.

Kaufusi’s younger brother Patrick also notched a double in Shalom’s 14 years victory, but he was beaten for the Man of the Match award by fullback Ben Lanskey, who contributed 10 points with one try and three goals. Bundaberg High contested two other grand finals, starting the day with a 22-14 victory at North’s expense in the 13 years division, but being upstaged by Kepnock 24-8 in the 15 years showdown. Second rower Josh Birch grabbed a double for North but he was beaten for the Man of the Match by Bundy High five-eighth Kyle Laybutt who was among their try scorers. Kepnock 15 years captain Joel Fagan also led from the front, while his twin Brodie chipped in with a try, and five-eighth Shannon Smith was another to feature with one try and two goals.

The Seconds decider produced the closest match of the day, with in the end, Gin Gin claiming an historic title with a 24-22 victory over St Luke’s Anglican School. Both teams scored four tries but St Luke’s missed one conversion to fall agonisingly short. St Luke’s fullback Cruz Adams amassed a game-high 14 points with two tries and three goals, but his opposite Sam Bernstrom was Man of the Match after also racking up two tries and slotting one goal in a slick all-round performance. Gin Gin halfback Todd Moller also made his mark with three goals.

Former Broncos stars Michael Hancock and Mick De Vere, who are now integral parts of the club’s coaching and development program, were on hand to present trophies throughout the day, along with Development Officer Paul Dyer.

Firsts: Shalom 28 (Brock Peters 2, Nathan Bobin, Jake Chappel, Felise Kaufusi tries; Peters 2, Matt Craven 2 goals) def Bundaberg High 4 (Jason McEwan try).
Seconds: Gin Gin 24 (Sam Bernstrom 2, William Rieck, William Collier tries; Todd Moller 3, Bernstrom goals) def St. Lukes 22 (Cruz Adams 2, Glen Walker, Michael Emerick tries; Adams 3 goals), Man of Match: Sam Bernstrom.
15 years: Kepnock 24 (Hayden Smith, Mitchell Unwin, Shannon Smith, Brodie Fagan, Jacob Wright tries; Shannon Smith 2 goals) def Bundaberg High 8 (Reece Maughan, Cameron Chambers tries).
14 years: Shalom 24 (Patrick Kaufusi 2, Ben Lanskey, Jacob Kronk tries; Lanskey 4 goals) def Kepnock 14 (Jake Paranihi, Jared Keirnan, Sam Free tries; Ryan Moss goal), Man of Match: Ben Lanskey.
13 years: Bundaberg High 22 (Dylan Bredhauer, Kyle Laybutt, Tom Brierley, Cohen Kirby tries; Zak Bainbridge 3 goals) def North 14 (Josh Birch 2, Jack Barnett tries; Tyrell Priestley goal), Man of Match: Kyle Laybutt.

Vince Habermann

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50 years of Brothers RL

Final Standings

Open

Seconds

15 Years

14 Years

13 Years

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Results

A Grade

Easts 34 (Anthony Evans 2, Matt Tanner, James Scott, Jono Peters, Trent Zillmann, Andrew Mason tries; Matt Tanner 3 goals) def Hervey Bay 24 (Mitch Wilkinson, Ashley Rainbow, Shannon Ireland, Matt Curtis tries; Tyrone Hopgood 4 goals).

Supa 11^'s

Wallaroos 56 (Shaun Collins 3, Jake Bridges 2, Marshall Scott 2, Zac Iker, Ryan Bernie, Mitch Jobson tries; Daniel Beatty 6, Sam Hutchins 2 goals) def ATW 24 (Keegan Lankowski 3, Luke Davis, Chris Amos tries; Ben Tinker 2 goals).

Under-18.

Wallaroos 38 (Ben Cosgrove 2, Dalton Balke, Phil Bennett, Josie Fowler, Angus Aylmer tries; Daniel Beatty 7 goals) def ATW 26 (Lyndon Langton 3, Steven Bernst, Robert Bouchardt tries; Wally Saunders 3 goals).

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Draw

8am: Under-12: Easts White v Brothers;

8.50am: Under-13: Brothers Blue v Wests;

9.50am: Under-14: Brothers v Easts;

10.50am: Under-15: Wests v ATW;

11.50am: Under-16: Hervey Bay v Easts;

12.50pm: Under-18: Brothers v Wallaroos;

2pm: Supa 11’s: Easts v Wallaroos;

3.20pm: A Grade: Brothers v Easts.

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Dynamic Warm Up

1. Run forward and backward (20 metres distance)
2. Light skip
3. Side step
4. High knee pull
5. Light high knees
6. Power skip
7. Light butt kicks
8. Step pull lean
9. Walking lunge
10. Straight leg kick
11. Side lunges
12. B skip
13. High knees
14. Carioca and tapioca (grape vine)
15. Short Sprints (up to 50metres)
16. Drills with the ball
a. Offensive
b. Defensive

Warm Down (post practice and after the game)

1. Light jog
2. Stretches (covering the whole body)
3. Post match nutrition (recovery)
4. Post match recovery (ice bath and warm shower)

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Committee

President Konrad Thompson 0408 536 616 bathcc@interworx.com.au

Secretary Di Barrett
dideeb4@bigpond.com

Treasurer Karen Frohloff
frohloffs@bigpond.com

Registrar Kev Crook 0419 652 625 tattyho@bigpond.com

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Matt Gavin (Shalom) takes the ball up
against Kepnock High in the grand final.
(Photo courtesy Moving Images)

Easts Magpies will contest their seventh Bundaberg Rugby League (BRL) A Grade grand final in 10 years after defeating Hervey Bay Seagulls 34-24 in the preliminary final on Sunday. But they will need to improve greatly if they are to topple the unbeaten Brothers in the decider after it was only the some big plays by their big guns Anthony Evans, Andrew Mason and Queensland Country Ranger Matt Tanner which got them home in a mistake-a-thon. Easts were expected to dominate the match after the Seagulls lost their champion fullback Clinton Horne with a broken collar-bone in the minor semi-final a week earlier, and they went straight on the attack after retrieving the ball from a favourable bounce from their own kick-off. But they knocked on centimetres short of the line on the fifth tackle, in the first of numerous handling errors by both sides.

However it took the Magpies just two minutes to score with front rower Evans making a signature charging run before holding up the pass and presenting the ball for star centre James Scott to finish off. The Seagulls hit back in the 6th minute with hooker Mitch Wilkinson scoring from dummy-half and newly crowned BRL Rookie of the Year Tyrone Hopgood, who shrugged off his injuries to play in the centres, converting. They knocked on from the ensuing restart, but they weathered that storm, and after both sides were unable to capitalise on chances, Hervey Bay extended their lead with front rower Ashley Rainbow plunging over soon after the Magpies had knocked on on the first tackle from a scrum win on their own 20m line in the 22nd minute and Hopgood adding the extras.

Easts drew level at 12-all with five-eighth Jono Peters slicing through on the left and reaching out to ground the ball in the 28th minute and Evans surging over in the 36th minute after another promising Seagulls’ attack had broken down at the other end moments earlier. The impact of an uncharacteristic third failed regulation conversion became greater when Hopgood landed a penalty kick 42 seconds before the break to again put the Baysiders ahead 14-12.

But the Seagulls made a tardy start to the second stanza, with the Magpies striking in less than 60 seconds with hard-running centre Daniel Tanner putting them on the attack with an incisive 60m raid down the right before tough lock Andrew Mason dived over adjacent to the posts a few tackles later, and Matt Tanner took over the kicking duties and raised the flags. Mason made another clean break from deep in their own half two minutes later, only to be cut down in desperate cover defence. But the Magpies’ fragile defence around the rucks was again exposed two minutes on when Rainbow also cracked the line with alarming ease, then presented a beautiful pass for Matt Curtis to dive over in the left corner.

A Matt Tanner 40/20 kick gave Easts field position before front rower Trent Zillmann spun out of a tackle and forced his way over in the 50th minute for Matt Tanner to convert. But their defensive deficiencies were again exposed when Hopgood somehow slipped through heavy traffic and presented another gem of a pass for second rower Shannon Ireland to sprint the last 20m for a try which Hopgood converted four minutes later.
In a rare sight, the score-board soon read 24-24-24 with scores locked together at the 24-minute mark of the second half.

Lyal Darby receives the A Grade Player of the Year award
from Peter Donaldson, of Travelworld,
and State Member for Bundaberg Jack Dempsey.

But Matt Tanner again seized the initiative, grabbing an intercept from deep in their own half with the Seagulls again on the attack in the 58th minute and sprinting 85m for a try, but while he missed the conversion from close range, it was a play which again knocked the Seagulls to the canvas and a blow from which they were unable to come back. From that point, Easts had the bulk of the attack, but after having a try disallowed for a forward pass in the 66th minute and having lost the ball over the line in the 71st minute, the result hung in the balance until Evans proved unstoppable, launching himself low and hard at the line six minutes from the end and Matt Tanner kicked truly for a 10-point lead. Mason was denied a double when he was held up over the line in the 78th minute, but he was rewarded for a typically robust all-round performance when he pipped Evans and Matt Tanner for the BRL Player of the Day award.

It is probably fitting that the Magpies will advance to the grand final, because they lost only two matches in the fixture rounds to finish a close second on the ladder to Brothers, before having to do it the hard way after missing a simple conversion in the last minute of extra-time to lose to the Seagulls 30-28 in the qualifying final. They rebounded strongly to knock out their 2007 grand final conquerors Across The Waves (ATW) 48-22 in the minor semi-final, and they will now chase their first A grade premiership for three years.

On the other hand, ATW, who also won the under-18 title last year, will not be represented in the senior finals this time after their Supa 11’s and under-18 teams both suffered preliminary final defeats at the hands of Wallaroos 56-24 and 38-26 respectively. Easts and Brothers will be the best represented clubs in the grand finals, each contesting five of the eight matches, with Wests and Wallaroos to line up in two each, and ATW and Hervey Bay to feature in one apiece.

Matt Tanner had also been among the major winners at the BRL Centenary Dinner on Friday night, taking out the Senior Representative Player of the Year award. He and Evans were also finalists for the A Grade Player of the Year, but both were beaten by Brothers game-breaker Lyal Darby for that coveted award, the prizes for which included a return trip for two to the NRL grand final and $1,000 prize money.

Brothers young gun Marshall Murphy was honoured as the Under-18 Representative Player of the Year, with the other playing awards shared between ATW’s Wally Saunders and Easts’ Daniel Beatson, who were hailed as the Under-18 and Supa 11’s Players of Year respectively.

Danny McGuire, Shane Breen, Mal Breen and Norm Provan

Rugby league icon Norm Provan, who has been immortalised with his embrace of Arthur Summons after the 1963 Sydney grand final captured in the sculpture on the NRL Premiership Trophy, making a surprise guest appearance at the night. It was also a special night for long-serving BRL chairman Mal Breen, who received a BRL Life Membership, which was presented to him by Provan and Wide Bay Rugby League chairman Danny McGuire.

Vince Habermann

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Points tables - Final

A Grade

Supa 11's

Under 18^'s

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There was no fairytale ending for Gin Gin Hawks in the Northern Districts Rugby League grand final at South Kolan on Sunday with explosive five-eighth George Nuku Nuku snaring a hat-trick of tries to spearhead Miriam Vale Magpies to a 32-6 victory over them. The Hawks were attempting to break a 28-year drought in also their first grand final appearance for 17 years, and they went into the match on the back of seven straight wins.

Miriam Vale celebrate their win

But the Magpies had claimed the minor premiership, they were warm favourites, and their huge advantage in terms of experience proved decisive. Gin Gin had first possession, and they made a cautious start, but they were penalised on Miriam Vale’s first use of the football. They survived their first defensive test on their line, but they were again penalised deep in their own half in the wash-up to a melee soon after, and this time, crafty Magpies hooker Todd Hansen scurried over the line on the second tackle from the tap restart in the fourth minute, and captain, second rower and “superboot’’ Aaron Causton added the extras for a 6-0 lead.

Hawks rake Ben McLeay went close to scoring five minutes later, falling short in a last-ditch lunge for the line, but two minutes on, they were denied what appeared a fair and superbly executed try, with exciting 17-year-old centre Chris Holmes racing through and grounding the ball millimetres short of the dead-ball line from an astute Matt Fleming kick, only to be ruled off-side by referee Matt Mason. That decision became even more critical when they were again penalised late in the ensuing set, and Miriam vale made them pay dearly with Nuku Nuku shedding would-be defenders on the second tackle to open his personal account before Causton again raised the flags for a 12-0 lead in even time. Seven minutes later, moments after star Hawks centre Dwayne McKay had been held up over the line, they looked to have finally scored when bullocking young second rower Ben Watling scooped up the ball and plunged over from what appeared a Magpies knock-on on their own line, but it was again denied by Mason. That decision seemed to knock their confidence and for a 10-minute period, they kept coughing up cheap possession and they were camped in their own half, but they defended grimly including for three straight sets of six tackles in their red zone. However after making a rare foray into opposition territory, they were knocked to the canvas with Nuku Nuku swooping on a mistimed Hawks pass and sprinting 80m in the 32nd minute, before Causton again kicked truly for an 18-0 lead.

Gin Gin started the second stanza with renewed vigour, but after they were held up over the line in the 42nd minute, and with the Magpies continuing to defend stoutly and in numbers, panic started to creep into their game, and their patterns deserted them. Miriam Vale nudged further ahead with a Causton bread-and-butter penalty goal from in front of the posts in the 49th minute, but Nigel Shield revived Gin Gin’s hopes when was put through a needle-eye opening by rookie halfback Josh Lammin and he evaded two Magpies on a 40m burst to the line, before Watling converted. Try as they may, their execution continued to let them down and there was no way through again or around a rock-solid defensive line.

The writing was on the wall that they were fighting a losing battle well before flying Magpies winger Stuart Trampnau not only exploited a huge overlap on his left wing but was allowed to stroll around to place the ball adjacent to the posts in the 64th minute for a simple Causton conversion to re-establish a 20-point buffer. The floodgates could have opened after Nuku Nuku carried defenders over the line for his third try three minutes later, before Causton maintained his 100% success rate with the boot. But to their credit, the Hawks never flew the white flag and they tried their hearts out until the contest was ended three minutes early after an ambulance had to be summoned to the ground to treat interchange utility Ryan Pearce, who had been stricken with a serious lower back injury.

Causton lead magnificently from the front with a heavyweight all-round performance, but there were many other heroes in a robust team effort, including front rowers, 40-year-old evergreen player/coach Darren Wildman and Darren Brennan who really laid the platform up front. The skipper said aggression had been the key to the result, and that they knew the game was still not won even after opening up a 20-0 lead. “They are a good, young, fit and mobile side and we always knew they would come back, so we had to keep out foot on their throat, so to speak,’’ Causton said.

It was the Magpies’ second premiership in three years, and it also atoned for their 50-38 grand final loss to Biggenden 12 months ago, and Wildman described it as “excellent’’. “It was very tough and that’s how we wanted it – unlike the major semi-final, the intensity was there and the week off obviously did us real good – the first half was just about perfect,’’ Wildman said. Wildman made special mention of the efforts of Causton, high-class fullback Shaun Draper and Nuku Nuku. “With our forwards going forward, George (Nuku Nuku) was just brilliant, and so was Aaron (Causton) and Shaun (Draper), and Stuart Trampnau also had a very good game on the wing,’’ he said.

Nigel Shield did everything in his power to lift the Hawks, but his elder brother and powerhouse second rower Damien was their best, repeatedly hurling himself into the fray and making good metres, while McKay’s class shone, and Pearce also did everything in his power to inspire the side. But Holmes, who was less than three months old when the Hawks last contested the decider in 1991 and who only came into the side after turning 17 in May, again proved his enormous potential with a five-star display, and Lammin also confirmed himself as a star of the future. But Nigel Shield admitted they were beaten by a better side on the day. “They came out 100 miles an hour and knocked us off our game plan – they got a bit of momentum and we never really recovered from that - also we were probably a bit light in the forwards and a few nerves didn’t help,’’ Shield said. But Shield was extremely proud of his team and what they have achieved for the year, and he believes then can go on to bigger and better things next year. “Hopefully we can learn from that but the key will be to keep us all together,’’ he said.

MIRIAM VALE 32 (George Nuku Nuku 3, Todd Hansen, Stuart Trampnau tries; Aaron Causton 6 goals) d GIN GIN 6 (Nigel Shield try, Ben Watling goal).

Vince Habermann

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