Knights rule roost
Club tops three GCDRU grades
THE Griffith University Colleges Knights have wrapped up their third GCDRU club championship in a row with minor premierships across all three senior grades.
It was a dominant season for the club from bottom to top but especially in first grade, where it finished 24 competition points clear of second-placed Nerang.
After a Round 1 washout, Colleges recorded bonuspoint wins in every fixture except one, reeling in 64 of possible 65 points across the remainder of the season.
In second grade, Colleges finished 11 points clear of the Gold Coast Eagles while third grade enjoyed a closer run to the minor premiership, beating Helensvale by a point in the last round to lead it by the same margin on the ladder.
Knights senior co-ordinator Josh Scott said the success was a remarkable achievement for a club well-used to life on the other end of the scoreboard.
“It’s absolutely huge, particularly seeing that seven years ago we were really struggling to make finals in any grade,” he said.
“We’ve been building something special with our recruitment and development of players and coaches.
“We’ve paid attention to our depth across the board and with the culture we’ve built guys want to be a part of our club and stay around.”
Scott dismissed complaints his club had paid players as the grumbling of jealous rivals.
“I’ve been at the club for 10 years and we have never paid any of our players,” he said.
“We have never bought anyone so it’s comical that we’re accused of that. We invest into our coaches but never players.”
Conquering the demons of 2019, where all grades lost grand finals, is the club’s most pressing concern with the finals series beginning for first and second grade and already under way in third grade.