THE COAST’S 20 GREATEST TEAMS OF 2019
It has been another blockbuster year for Coast sporting sides, with another big haul of titles at state and national levels, as well as big local league campaigns. The Bulletin ranks the 20 best teams of 2019.
1. NORTHCLIFFE (SURF LIFESAVING)
FIFTEEN years ago Shane Warne rewrote Test cricket’s record books with his 500th wicket and Makybe Diva won the Melbourne Cup for a second time.
That year, 2004, also marked the start of Northcliffe’s incredible national title record. In 2019, Northcliffe cemented their reputation as Australia’s leading surf club with a remarkable 16th consecutive Aussies pointscore title. They finished 391 points ahead of their nearest rival and will be the team to beat again in 2020. Northcliffe also boast arguably the best women’s roster of any Australian club, laying claim to NutriGrain series stars Georgia Miller, Maddy Dunn, Kirsty Higgison, Hannah Sculley, Danielle McKenzie and Harriet Brown and the Australian representative boat crew, Northcliffe Krankits.
2. TWEED SEAGULLS (RUGBY LEAGUE)
HAVING claimed their statewide Mal Meninga Cup on May 5, the Seagulls marked themselves as the country’s best under-18 side with victory over NSW club Illawarra in the national final at Redcliffe a week later.
A number of those Tweed players, headlined by Toby Sexton (Titans) and Reece Walsh (Broncos), are now pushing for NRL berths in 2020.
3. DJR TEAM PENSKE (MOTORSPORT)
THE Stapylton-based team won the Supercars drivers championship, teams championship and Bathurst – first team to take that trifecta since Triple Eight in 2012.
St Stephen’s College product Scott McLaughlin (far right with teammate Fabian Coulthard), led the charge to claim a second successive Supercars crown to cement his status as the sport’s top dog.
4. BURLEIGH BEARS (RUGBY LEAGUE)
THIRD at the end of the regular season after winning 17 of their 23 games, Burleigh stormed home in the Intrust Super Cup finals series to claim a fourth premiership.
With Player of the Year Jamal Fogarty leading the way, the Bears thumped Wynnum Manly 28-10 in September’s grand final before a heartbreaking 20-16 loss to Newtown in the NRL State Championship.
The Bears also dominated from start to finish in this year’s Rugby
League Gold Coast
A grade competition, losing just once during the regular season to romp to the minor premiership. They then downed Southport 30-12 in September’s grand final to claim their first title since 2015.
5. TWEED HEADS (LAWN BOWLS)
THE Ospreys enjoyed the ultimate success in their debut Australian Bowls Premier League campaign, claiming the BPL10 title at Brisbane’s Club Pine Rivers.
The Tweed club also won the Australian and Queensland triples championships, Queensland Champion of Champion Fours and Gold Coast Tweed Champion of Champion Fours.
6. GOLD COAST KNIGHTS (FOOTBALL)
MAKING their NPL Queensland debut, the Knights pushed premiers Lions FC all the way before finishing four points behind in second place.
Not content with their efforts however, Grae Piddick’s men then beat Olympic 2-1 in September’s grand final to seal their first piece of NPL silverware.
7. GOLD COAST STINGRAYS COLTS (GRIDIRON)
AN undefeated regular season was just the start for the Gold Coast under-19s, who dominated Sunbowl XXXV against Brisbane Rhinos 54-0 to win their fifth straight title in the division.
The Stingrays were honoured by representative selectors, who invited 11 members of the team to trial for the Australian Outback Under-19 World Cup squad.
8. THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL (CRICKET AND RUGBY UNION)
BEATEN by Nudgee College in Round 1, TSS defied the odds to seal a third straight GPS First XI cricket crown with victory over Ipswich Grammar School in March.
With most of the squad moving on, they now face a monumental task to make it four titles in a row next year.
Meanwhile, seeking to better their runner-up finish of 2018, TSS emerged as the standouts of this year’s GPS First XV rugby competition. The 2019 campaign marked their first outright premiership and unbeaten season since 2007 as they went within a whisker of breaking the all-time point-scoring record.
9. SURFERS PARADISE DEMONS (AUSSIE RULES)
IT was the QAFL season punters had felt coming in recent years. The Demons’ decision to invest in their youth came to fruition with a 2019 premiership win.
Surfers Paradise went on a six-game winning streak going into the finals, recording the only regular-season win over reigning premiers Palm Beach Currumbin along the way, before beating the Lions in the grand final at Metricon Stadium.
10. MIAMI STATE HIGH SCHOOL (RUGBY SEVENS)
FROM humble beginnings in 2017, 2019 was the year Miami State High’s fledgling rugby sevens program came of age. The school won the Queensland All Schools State Championships, the SEQ Schoolgirls 7s, the Gold Coast 7s, the Sunshine Coast 7s and the Miami 7s tournaments and were major contributors to Queensland’s National Youth Sevens success.
11. GOLD COAST UNITED (FOOTBALL)
HAVING edged out Lions FC by a single point for top spot in the NPL Queensland’s under-18 female competition, United then sealed the double with a dramatic 3-1 win in the grand final in September.
With scores locked a 1-1 at fulltime, the Surfsiders then struck in extra time to emerge triumphant.
12. GOLD COAST DOLPHINS (CRICKET)
THE Dolphins’ women put five failed grand final attempts behind them in January to claim their first piece of Katherine Raymont Shield silverware.
Their victory over Valleys in the Twenty20 decider was followed by an appearance in the one-day final in March, where they dominated proceedings against Wests before rain intervened. They then fell to the Bulldogs by 20 runs in the replay a week later.
13. PALM BEACH CURRUMBIN (AUSSIE RULES)
The high school won the senior and junior female competitions of the AFLQ Schools Cup state finals, proving that they own the next generation of AFLW talents on the Gold Coast. The added bonus was all games were livestreamed by the Bulletin.
14. LABRADOR TIGERSTIX (HOCKEY)
LABRADOR did what they hadn’t done before and claimed their first Brisbane Hockey League premiership in 2019.
It was a mighty effort considering their opponents Easts were the first team since 1985 to go through a BHL season undefeated (aside from the mid-season Memorial Cup final which Labrador won but didn’t count towards competition points). Despite carrying the demons of two
BHL decider losses, the
Tigerstix were ruthless from start to finish and thoroughly deserved the 4-2 win. Boasting a list full of both experience and emerging youth talent, expect the Tigerstix to challenge again in 2020.
15. BURLEIGH BOARDRIDERS (SURFING)
AFTER winning the first Straddie teams event in 2019, they qualified again for the Australian Battle of the Boardriding Clubs in February 2020 at Newcastle.
Coached by Jay “Bottle” Thompson, a former World Tour competitor, and Kyle “Dvex” Robinson, a multiple Australian champion, the club will also host the 23rd annual Burleigh Single Fin Classic event next month.
16. CURRUMBIN VIKINGS (ATHLETICS)
WITH Australian representatives like Murray Goodwin and Ellie
Beer (pictured) training alongside emerging stars Britney Ingr and Bailee-Anne Tewake, the Vikings certainly have the talent to match it with most Australian athletics squads. Beer, 16, especially has come in leaps and bounds this year, winning the Brisbane Track Classic open women’s 400m race. She became the youngest person to represent Australia at a world athletics championships, in the 4x400m relay, and also won the Carbine Club Bursary. Under the guidance of sprint coach Brett Robinson, the Vikings also had a stellar performance at the Queensland school athletics championships in Cairns, chalking up 10 personal best times and picking up nine medals.
17. HELENSVALE HOGS (RUGBY UNION)
THE Hogs‘ maiden GCDRU title win was a fairytale in the truest sense of the word.
Trailing premiership favourites Knights 24-0 midway through the first half of the 2019 grand final, the team leaned on an unwavering belief in themselves and their teammates to post 31 unanswered points, raising the trophy for the first time in 33 attempts.
18. SURFERS PARADISE (AUSSIE RULES)
THE Demons girls dominated the 2019 QFAW Division 2 South season, losing just one game on their way to winning the premiership.
Surfers Paradise kept their opponents scoreless on six occasions and lost once, to Mt Gravatt in Round 15, before beating the Vultures twice in the finals.
19. GOLD COAST ROLLERS (BASKETBALL)
DEFYING their harshest critics, the Rollers made the QBL women’s grand final. After only three wins in 2018, the Rollers came within three points of sending the QBL decider into a third match.
Up against two-time defending champions the Southern District, the Rollers proved to everyone why they made it this far. Despite the grand final heartbreak, expect them to take a lot of confidence into 2020. They finished fourth on the ladder (before finals) with 13 wins and five losses. The men also reached the grand final.
20. COOMERA COLTS (FOOTBALL)
THE Gold Coast Premier League minnows defied all expectations to reach the national stage of the FFA Cup in July.
While their run came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Mackay and Whitsundays in the Round of 32, the Colts would surprise again in the 2019 season to reach the Gold Coast Premier League preliminary final.