Valleys needing spark
Five things learnt from TRL finals
The finals of the TRL Premiership have delivered so far, and with a fortnight to go, a major spanner has been thrown in the works.
Warwick caused an upset over Valleys to book the first spot in the grand final, while Wattles remained alive with a tight victory over Dalby.
From a super Sunday of action, here are the five talking points.
BEST FINALS COMEBACK WE’VE SEEN?
I know I’m not alone when I thought Warwick was cooked at the start of the second half.
Hnaloan Budden had just completed his hat-trick and Valleys led by 20 points.
The comeback was something to behold, and took a lot of the Cowboys grinding down the Roosters to secure victory.
To say it was a polished second half would be an understatement.
COACH OF THE YEAR CERTAINTY
There are a number of awards that can go a number of ways at the TRL’s presentation evening, however one accolade that shouldn’t be up for negotiation is coach of the year.
If Warwick’s Matt Grew doesn’t win, a parliamentary enquiry will need to be held.
The latest masterstroke from the rookie A-grade coach was guiding the Cowboys to a grand final berth, as they look to end their 30+ year premiership drought.
That’s not to disrespect the achievements of the likes of Liam Capewell, who improved Southern Suburbs by six wins, or Mark Offerdahl who led Goondiwindi into the finals, however Grew’s work at the Cowboys has been simply phenomenal.
VALLEYS FLAT TO THE GAME FINISH HURTS ROOSTERS
The flipside to the success of the Cowboys was the demise of Valleys in the space of 30 minutes.
In an uncharacteristic showing, the Roosters lacked energy and poise to close out a game they led comfortably in.
While they’ll be disappointed with the result, you’d be a brave person to back against them bouncing back this weekend.
SUNDAY NIGHT IS ALRIGHT FOR FOOTBALL
I wasn’t a fan when I found out that Sunday’s finals would be played into the evening.
It may have had something to do with games running past our deadline, as well as the fact fatigue seems to kick in at double the rate at that time.
As it turned out, the final game of a long day of football didn’t start until past 6pm, however there was a sense of something in the air at Clive Berghofer Stadium.
It felt wrong being there on a Sunday night, but the on-field action made everything feel so right.
BURNS FIRES UP TO LEAD WATTLES IN FIRST HALF
Wattles five-eighth Travis Burns was unstoppable in the first half against Dalby, posting three try assists to help his side onto this weekend’s preliminary final.
After a subdued performance by his standards against Warwick, this was the perfect response and saw the former NRL talent at his playmaking best.
He helped lay the platform for a strong attacking effort, and asked plenty of questions of the Diehards defence.