RAY OF SUNSHINE BURNS AWAY THE HEARTACHE
IMAGES of Brothers celebrating the end of the Teachers West dynasty swirled through the mind of Frank Ray and his teammates all season.
For some it made them feel sick, for others it was an empty feeling.
As motivated as their North Ward rivals may have been in Saturday’s grand final, the Bulldogs were out to restore their invincible aura and remind the competition exactly who was Townsville’s top dog.
Teachers West returned to the top of the Townsville and District Rugby Union podium with a 48-28 triumph over the Old Boys.
In what was Ray’s first start in a decider for his childhood club, the No.8 came out with a point to prove and finished with the player-of thematch medal dangling around his neck. With a try to his credit, it capped off a dream comeback to the winners’ circle, one which all started with those same memories of last year.
“All year it (the loss to Brothers) was on our minds, that’s what we came into this game thinking about the whole time,” Ray said.
“It’s awesome to win the grand final again, six out of seven years is pretty surreal.
“This was my first grand final starting in the position I liked so it means a lot to me. This club means a lot to me, it’s helped me through a lot.
“It’s absolutely unreal, it’s amazing to be a part of this club.
“We said all game we had to be physical and we came out, did it and showed them the Teachers West way.”
The Bulldogs had their foot on the throat of the contest from the get go, with winger Dan Chorley crossing early and Ray and fullback Nick Poole following soon after.
But with a maiden title on the line for North Ward, they were always going to remain in the fight.
A comeback led by Old Boys No.8 Mitchell Clarke eventually got them within 10 points, however they were unable to keep the pace for any longer.
It continues a theme for the club in the past two years – so near, so far.
Just last season, North Ward fell agonisingly short of the big dance when they lost to Brothers in a thrilling semi-final.
Even making their first grand final appearance since 2005 was not enough inspiration to stop the
Teachers West juggernaut. But for North Ward skipper Alex Nicolosi, this is just the beginning.
With a group of young players starting to find their feet in the top level, Nicolosi said a breakthrough piece of silverware was a matter of when, not if, provided the nucleus of the squad remained intact.
As much as it hurt seeing a historic milestone slip through their fingers, he said it took nothing away from the strides the team had taken.
“It hurts a bit but it doesn’t take away from the season we’ve had. We’ve proved a lot to ourselves, it hurts but our heads are up still,” Nicolosi said.
“We’ll continue to grow, we’ve got a lot of youthful players coming through so we’ll continue to build and be back better next year.”