Wildcards set agenda for rivals in decider
EDDIE Aholelei and Connor Pritchard are the two wildcards striving to propel their team to Gold Coast District Rugby Union glory.
Aholelei spent much of the year playing for Queensland Premier Rugby side Bond University, making training or playing appearances for Surfers Paradise when he was not double-booked.
Griffith University Colleges flanker Pritchard meanwhile missed much of the season while on the road representing Zimbabwe, first in the Africa Cup where World Cup qualification was on the line and then as part of their national sevens team.
The Bulletin understands both players required special dispensations to take part in finals, having been listed in only nine games between them during the regular season.
For Aholelei, the grand final on Saturday at Bond Pirates shapes as a second bite at the cherry after the Bullsharks narrowly missed out on making the play-offs.
“The boys at Surfers, they have been playing well all year. I’m just lucky to join a club that has been successful the last few years,” he said.
The 37-year-old has a big role to play at prop in the Dolphins’ pursuit of a third straight title.
For Pritchard, it’s an overdue opportunity given that he missed last year’s final due to a broken jaw suffered two weeks prior.
A premiership would be an ideal early present ahead of his 22nd birthday on Monday.
Though he was disappointed Zimbabwe could not do enough to secure a spot in the 2019 World Cup, Pritchard could feature at the showpiece tournament four years later with talk that it could expand to include 24 teams.
“It would be an awesome experience,” Pritchard said. .