Sport
31 July, 2024
Townies triumph over Wanderers in cold, wet grand final
After losing their last two grand finals, the Lions made amends on Saturday night.
A cold and wet second half did not put a dampener on Town’s celebrations as they soaked up their first Mount Isa Rugby League premiership since 2021.
While it wasn’t a game for the ages as both sides struggled to find rhythm in a sloppy contest, Town were clearly the superior side both on the night and throughout the season as they claimed a 30-6 win in the decider.
The scoreboard was not a true reflection of the contest, although the game was decided early in the second half as the rain tumbled down, making it impossible for the Devils to mount a comeback.
“I think we stuck to our guns in that first half and that laid the platform for the second half,” said winning coach John Doyle, who now has a 3-0 grand final coaching record at Townies.
“We did it hard going into the wind in that first half and to have that lead (14-6) at the break was worth a lot.
“Once the rain came it started to become hard to make passes and hold your footing so we tightened up a bit ... they were obviously trying to force a few more things to get them over the line and ended up making a few more errors.”
The first half was a genuine arm wrestle and Wanderers were denied two tries – both correctly – but on another night they could have considered themselves unlucky not to have been rewarded for their work.
Town took a 4-0 lead when Jeremy Jones crossed in the right corner in the 12th minute, however lost their lead in the 22nd minute when Sietoa Teesi s Uitime crossed for what would be the Wanderers’ only try of the night.
The conversion from captain Pekz Brown had the Devils up 6-4 but it soon became one-way traffic.
Town skipper Harlem Russell had a great game and gave his side an 8-6 lead when he crossed in the 31st minute, while Joel Turaga took the wind out of the Wanderers sails with a late try to give the Lions a 14-6 half-time lead.
The heavens opened up and that was basically the ball game.
Wanderers tried everything to get back in the game, but the harder they tried, the more mistakes they made.
Meanwhile, Townies halfback Marty Paulson continued to make smart kicks and used the ball well to maintain the lead – his effort resulted in him claiming player of the match honours.
Two tries in the space of five minutes to Darcy McDonald and Jones had Town up 26-6 with 25 minutes left on the clock and that looked like being he final score until Turaga – somehow on a wing – crossed for a try on the hooter.
Turaga actually tried to convert it but the big man just missed.
Doyle said he had a long list of contributors in the decider.
“It’s hard to pick from 1 to 20 – even our bench came on and did their job well,” the coach said.
“Our fullback Zemic (Patuwai), Marty (Paulson), Harlem (Russell), Jackson Siemer, Joel (Turaga) ... I couldn’t fault anybody, they all turned up and put their bodies on the line.”
Doyle gave special mention to Rohan Gibbs, who didn’t play.
“He stepped up and said ‘look, I don’t think I’m going to be good enough and I don’t want to be a liability,” the coach said of the injured forward.
“He’s a starting front rower and he gave his position to Owen (Blinco) and he did a job for us, too. I just thought it was really selfless because often blokes will carry injuries into a grand final just so they can win a premiership and end up letting their mates down.”
GRAND FINAL SCOREBOARD
Town 30 (Tries: Jeremy Jones 2; Joel Turaga 2; Harlem Russell, Darcy McDonald; Goals: Jones 3) d Wanderers 6 (Try: Sietoa Teesi s Uitime; Goal: Pekz Brown)