Over the weekend our Senior Brolgas travelled down to Brisbane to continue their Queensland Country rugby campaign with all teams playing games at the spiritual home of rugby – Ballymore Stadium.
Womens Brolgas:
Day 1 – Game 1 saw the team come up against their first South Queensland Team. A lot of the girls were entering only their second game of 15’s so nerves were high, however the girls held their own against a much bigger and more skilful team. The girls from Townsville hung in right until the end before the score line blew out. The final score was 42-0.
South Queensland 42 DEF Brolgas 0. 321 – Kristy Bolton, Jessie Schwartz, Mallory Hofmeier.
Day 1 – Game 2 saw the girls come up against Central Queensland. The Brolgas were slow out of the blocks and CQ dominated ball possession however the girls did well to defend their line. The second half saw the Brolgas kick into gear, with brilliant hands from the backline allowing flying winger Tamika Bray to scorch the turf to score a try. Unfortunately, the final score was 12-5.
Central Queensland 12 DEF Brolgas 5 – Tamika Bray 1t. 321 – Jessie Schwartz, Tayla Davidson, Ellie Gray.
Day 2 – Day 2 was the final day and final game for the Brolga Women with a match against a second South Queensland team. The girls showed plenty of heart with some brilliant attacking rugby as well as some gritty defence. Unfortunately, the South Queensland girls were much bigger and more skilful with the final score resulting in a 42-0 defeat.
South Queensland 42 DEF Brolgas 0. 321 – 3- Olivia Anderson, 2 – Madison Lis, 1 – Kiara Henry
Under 19’s:
Day 1 – Day 1 for the Under 19’s saw the boys take on an Undefeated Darling Downs outfit who boasted rather large and physical players. From the start the boys knew they would have to win the physicality battle and did so with a patient lead up resulting in a Jack Mitchell try under the posts. As the battle raged into the second half, Darling Downs jumped out to a 27-7 lead in a heartbeat, before the brolgas came home strong. In the final 10 minutes of the game the boys from Townsville dug deep to find a second gear, running in two late tries to prop Brodie Scott & winger Ben McEwan. The final score saw the Brolgas go down 27-21.
Darling Downs 27 DEF Brolgas 21 – Brodie Scott 1t, Ben McEwan 1t, Jack Mitchell 1t, Lewis Ottaway 3c. 321 – 3 – Connor Cavallin, 2 – Jack Mitchell, 1 – Lewis Ottaway.
Day 2 – Day 2 was always going to be a challenge for the 19’s with the Brolgas coming up against arguably the best side in the 19’s competition. The boys put in a gutsy performance considering it was their second game within 24 hours. The set piece was once again laid a strong platform for the Brolgas backline however, they were unable to capitalise on their opportunities given. The final score was 34-0.
Sunshine Coast 34 DEF Brolgas 0. 321 – 3 – Connor Cavallin, 2 – Jack Andreassen, 1 – Harry Mahoney.
Men’s:
Day 1 – Game two for the Zambrero Men’s Brolgas saw them face a tough opponent in Darling Downs. That platform was set for a family affair with two set of brothers playing for two different teams. Tom Vinson and Martin Brennan donned the Brolgas blue and yellow stripes whilst John Vinson and Patrick Brennan donned the Downs yellow and green stripes. The opening exchanges were an arm wrestle with the Brolgas having plenty of opportunities to score however they struggled to finish them off. After leading 14-7 at Half time the Brolgas set piece set the platform to allow the Townsville boys to come away with their second win of the competition 26-7.
Townsville 26 def Darling Downs 7- Daniel Chorley 1t, Nick Poole 1t, Cameron Griffin 1t, Josh Fletcher 1t 3c. Best Players: Daniel Chorley, Hugh Huppatz, Lewayne Barrett.
Day 2 – Day 2 saw the Brolgas come up against their toughest side yet – Sunshine Coast. A double to flying winger Nick Poole was not enough to help the Brolgas remain undefeated with the men from Townsville going down in a nail-biter. Unfortunately, the Brolgas were unable to capitalise on their opportunities late in the game with handling errors creeping in and proving costly. The men will now return to Townsville to take on the Gold Coast in a double header with the Under 19’s. Final score saw the Brolgas lose 14-12.
Sunshine Coast 14 DEF Brolgas 12 – Nick Poole 2T, Josh Fletcher 1C. Best Players: Tom Vinson, Tom Wells, Nick Poole.
